Dr Tom Disney

I am an Associate Professor in Childhood Studies at Northumbria University, with expertise in social geography and child welfare. My research sits at the intersection of Geography, Social Work, and Childhood Studies, exploring how place and space shape the lives of children and families in contact with welfare systems.

I have conducted research across international contexts, including the operation of residential care settings and the experiences of young people transitioning out of state care in the Russian Federation. In the UK, my research has focused on longitudinal-ethnographic research into child protection social work; care-experienced students' access to higher education; and the engagement of Early Help services with families seeking support. Alongside this, I am also engaged in efforts to bring the concept of place into social work education.

I am currently PI of the Leverhulme Trust three-year funded project The Horror of Place-based Harms (£267,717). The project employs a transdisciplinary approach, bridging horror studies, social work, geography, and arts and design, to understand why certain places become associated with extra-familial harms for young people. It will contribute to theory building across all four disciplines.

I welcome collaborative research proposals that push the boundaries between Social Work and Geography, and am particularly interested in partnerships that bring new disciplinary perspectives to bear on questions of place, harm, and care.

Teaching is also central to my academic identity. I contribute to a wide range of modules across the Childhood and Early Years BA and MA programmes, and I bring research-informed perspectives into my teaching. I am a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA) and am committed to inclusive, equitable teaching and academic practice that reflects the diverse experiences students bring to their studies.

 

• Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
• Child Protection Practice, Disney, T. 11 Jun 2026, Encyclopedia of Mobilities, Cheltenham, Edward Elgar
• Gender, resilience and recognition: masculinities and transitions out of care in Russia., Walker, C., Disney, T. 21 Apr 2026, In: Journal of Youth Studies
• Otherwise engaged? Learning from non-participation in research with care experienced students, Harland Shotton, L., Disney, T., Carrick, A., Thurman, L. 21 Jun 2026, In: British Educational Research Journal
• Family Hubs and the vulnerable care ecologies of child and family welfare in austerity, Disney, T., Crossley, S., King, H., Phillips, J., Robson, I., Smith, R. 1 Sep 2025, In: The Geographical Journal
• Care and Coronavirus: Perspectives on Childhood, Youth and Family, Disney, T., Grimshaw, L. 2 Dec 2024
• Caring and Schooling in the Time of COVID-19, Disney, T., Grimshaw, L., Thomas, J. 2 Nov 2024, Care and Coronavirus: Perspectives on Childhood, Youth and Family, Leeds, Emerald
• Introduction: Care, Childhood, Youth and Family in the context of Coronavirus, Disney, T., Grimshaw, L. 2 Nov 2024, Care and Coronavirus: Perspectives on Childhood, Youth and Family, Leeds, Emerald
• The power of relationship-based supervision in supporting social work retention: A case study from long-term ethnographic research in child protection , Warwick, L., Beddoe, L., Leigh, J., Disney, T., Ferguson, H., Cooner, T. 1 Sep 2023, In: Qualitative Social Work
• Young people leaving care and institutionalised vulnerability in the Russian Federation, Disney, T., Walker, C. 1 Dec 2023, In: Children and Youth Services Review
• Relationship-based practice and the creation of therapeutic change in long-term work: Social work as a holding relationship, Ferguson, H., Warwick, L., Disney, T., Leigh, J., Cooner, T., Beddoe, L. 17 Feb 2022, In: Social Work Education

• Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
• Half Day CPD event, McGovern, W. (Principal Investigator), Disney, T. (Co Investigator), Newcastle City Council, 27/11/23 - 27/11/23, £2,744.00

• Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
• Organising a conference, workshop, ...: Supporting care experienced students journeys into HE. 1 day training event delivered by Become The National Charity for Care Leavers 2025
• Other: A qualititative evaluation of Become The National Charity for Care Leavers Uni Rewady Programme 2024

Fiona Ranson Finding home: Identifying ‘best interests’ provision for Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children Start Date: 18/01/2021 End Date: 01/06/2026

• PhD
• PGCert
• MA
• MA (Hons)
• Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society FRGS
• Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy SFHEA