The NFER Northern Office is situated on York Science Park, close to the University of York. Researchers at the Northern Office conduct local, national and international studies in a wide range of substantive areas. We work with the various service departments at the Slough headquarters to provide the full range or NFER research services.

As part of REID the Northern Office provides high quality, evidence-based research in the following areas:

• Disengagement from learning, including non-attendance and exclusion; support for vulnerable children including gypsy traveller pupils and asylum seekers; behaviour support plans and effective behaviour management in schools; and alternative education provision
• the professional development of teachers, including the Early Professional Development Pilots Scheme; sabbaticals; the Teacher Learning Academy; and the deployment of staffing in subjects with teacher scarcity
• arts and cultural education, including the arts-education interface; the arts in primary schools; the visual arts at key stages 3 and 4; the arts element in initial teacher education; education programmes in galleries and museums; and arts in PRUs and LSUs
• curriculum evaluation, including the Northern Ireland Curriculum Cohort Study and an extended literature review of pupils’ experiences of the curriculum
• school funding and commercial activity in schools, including studies of the impact of new funding arrangements and commercial activities in Scottish schools
• Children’s Services, including the development of extended schools, the role of local authorities and multi-agency working.
• prison education, including parenting programmes for fathers in prison and evaluating the effectiveness of the new Offenders’ Learning & Skills Service

The department is led by Kay Kinder and is staffed by a dedicated team with a range of backgrounds and expertise in many aspects of education research as well as its own support staff.