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Associate Research Director for Employment and Social Policy

Research interests: 

Heather no longer works for NIESR

Heather Rolfe leads NIESR's Employment and Social Policy team. Her main interests are in immigration, education and barriers to employment. Her immigration research focuses on employers’ use of migrant labour and skills and workable immigration policies. She also researches public attitudes towards immigration and particularly understanding of economic and social impacts. She is also currently researching the integration of migrant pupils in schools, and integration of religious and ethnic groups. Her research is currently funded by the Leverhulme Trust, Paul Hamlyn Foundation, DfE, Education Endowment Foundation and the Cavendish Coaltion. 

Education: 

BA (Sociology), Sheffield
PhD Southampton - Technological change and skill

Employment: 

1998 – present NIESR
1990-1998 - Research Fellow, Policy Studies Institute
1987-1990 - Research Officer, Banking Insurance and Finance Union
1985-1987 - Research Officer, Essex University

Additional information: 

Examples of current and recent projects

  • Evidence and perceptions in the Brexit immigration debate (Leverhulme Trust) 
  • Promoting integration of religious and ethnic minority groups in schools (for DfE)
  • Good practice in the Integration of migrant pupils in schools (Paul Hamlyn Foundation)
  • The impact of reforms to welfare and welfare to work on equality groups (for the Equality and Human Rights Commission)
  • The impact of the National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage on employers' pay setting practices (for BEIS)
  • Workable options for immigration policy, post Brexit (ESRC UK in a Changing Europe)
  • The response of employers in key sectors to Brexit (ESRC UK in a Changing Europe) 
  • Use of employment agencies in the public sector - for the Office of Manpower Economics 
  • The impact of free movement on the labour market (ESRC)
  • Changing the debate on immigration using video animation - funded by the City of London
  • Local employment and skills programmes - for the Local Government Association
  • The long-run dynamic impacts of migration - funded by Barrow Cadbury Trust, NASSCOM and Unbound Philanthropy
  • The potential impact of migration from Bulgaria and Romania on the UK resulting from the lifting of restrictions in 2014 - for the British Embassy/Foreign Office
  • Evaluation of projects commissioned by the Education Endowment Foundation:
    • Mind the Gap2 - a trial using 'Growth Mindset' by Portsmouth University
    • Developing Healthy Minds in Teenagers - a PSHE programme delivered by How to Thrive
    • Powerful Learning Conversation 
    • Lesson Study (with CEP/LSE) 
    • The Abra Phonics programme (with CEP/LSE) 
    • Evaluating Formative Assessment - a trial delivered by SSAT
    • Improving Working Memory - a trial delivered by Oxford University
    • Young Enterprise

 

Other Information:

Journalists: for a high resolution picture of Heather Rolfe for print, please use this file

https://econpapers.repec.org/RAS/pro855.htm

Publications by Dr Heather Rolfe

Changing Mindsets: Effectiveness trial Foliano, F, Rolfe, H, Buzzeo, J, Runge, J, Wilkinson, D.
Teaching assistants, computers and classroom management Rolfe, H, McNally, S
Promoting Ethnic and Religious Integration In Schools: A... Manzoni, C, Rolfe, H
Introduction: Challenges for Immigration Policy in Post-... Rolfe, H
Immigration Policy from Post-War to Post-Brexit: How New... Rolfe, H, Runge, J, Hudson-Sharp, N
How schools are integrating new migrant pupils and their... Manzoni, C, Rolfe, H
Mathematical reasoning Stokes, L, Hudson-Sharp, N, Rolfe, H, Dorsett, R
Brexit and the Health & Social Care Workforce in the UK Dolton, P, Nguyen, D, Rolfe, H
Post-Brexit Immigration Policy: Reconciling Public... Rolfe, H, Runge, J, Hudson-Sharp, N, Ahlstrom-Vij, K
Embedding Formative Assessment Speckesser, S, Runge, J, Foliano, F, Bursnall, M, Hudson-Sharp, N, Rolfe, H
The impact of welfare reform and welfare- to-work... Hudson-Sharp, N, Munro-Lott, N, Rolfe, H, Runge, J
National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage Impact... Ebell, M, Speckesser, S, Rolfe, H, Bursnall, M, Naddeo, A
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Blog posts by Dr Heather Rolfe

New immigration policy: a bitter pill to swallow for those who give us our daily bread
Rolfe, H's picture 22 Aug 2019, Rolfe, H
Growing pains: growth mindset effects are hard to measure but that doesn’t mean it’s not helping
Rolfe, H's picture 11 Jul 2019, Rolfe, H
Integration isn’t about ‘improving’ minorities but preparing all children for life in diverse Britain
Rolfe, H's picture 31 May 2019, Rolfe, H
Schools help migrant pupils to achieve despite funding cuts
Rolfe, H's picture 13 May 2019, Rolfe, H
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Projects

An Evaluation of Equality and Human Rights Commission’s ‘Is Britain Fairer 2018’
Changing Pupils' Mindsets
Changing the debate: video animation on the impact of immigration
Day One mandation of prison leavers to the Work Programme
Educational attainment, ethnicity and disadvantage
Effective school approaches towards integrating migrant children and their families
Embedding Formative Assessment
Evaluation of Mathematical Reasoning
Evaluation of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation’s Minimum Income Standards Programme
Evidence and perceptions in the post-Brexit immigration debate
How employers set pay for young people
How to Thrive - improving pupils' non-cognitive skills
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