They talk about working with a team of parents to crochet 2,999 unique squares to represent each excluded child and provide a voice to an under-served section of society, resulting in a giant, colourful blanket. The blanket is touring national organisations, local authorities, schools and community groups in England to encourage conversations about the extent and impact of school exclusion and what can be done to reduce preventable exclusions. Sarah and Hayley talk about their personal experiences, key findings from the research and suggest areas for improvement and change.

Sarah and Hayley also answer the big question: "If you had one message for our listeners to take away, what would it be?" Listen now to find out.

Listen now on Apple, Spotify and Amazon Music or wherever you get your podcast

About our guests

Sarah Martin Denham is an Associate Professor of Care and Education at the University of Sunderland and uses the creative arts to hear the experiences of children and families, particularly related to school exclusion.

Hayley Hudson is a parent, research project partner and advocate for children and families.

About our host

Cheryl Blake is an expert by experience who has collaborated closely with Fuse and the wider public partner-led podcast planning group in creating the 'Public Health Research and Me' podcast. Her interests and specialised subjects are around mental and sexual health, domestic abuse, coercive and violent behaviour, and family court and social workers within that system. She supports survivors of sexual/abuse to find female empowerment through art, poetry and meditation.

Resources and further information

• Fuse news item - Excluded children at the heart of giant patchwork blanket
• BBC news item - Blanket highlighting school exclusion unveiled
• NIHR School for Public Health Research⁠

Contact ⁠⁠⁠info@fuse.ac.uk⁠ for more information, or a copy of the transcript prepared by Academic Audio Transcription.