Sara specialises in all levels of complexity in care and private law proceedings. She has expanded her practice skills and knowledge by recently completing her doctorate which focused on the challenges that child participation poses for professionals and children (directly and through their Children’s Guardian) in the arena of care proceedings, where notions of child protection are so dominant. She continues with her academic interests and writing, through her Honorary post with the Open University.

She has acted in public law proceedings for Local Authorities, parents, children, their relatives, Special Guardians and adopters. She has acted for parents, grandparents, interveners and children (both directly and through their Guardian appointed under R16.4 FPR 2010) in private law proceedings. 

Sara has also acted in Court of Protection cases, including when those proceedings have overlapped with care proceedings. She has expanded her knowledge and practice skills in this area by co-researching dementia care for older people, research conducted by Imperial College, London.

She has acted for Respondents and Applicants in injunction and committal proceedings. Sara has also completed the Freedom Programme Facilitator course, which provided her with a much deeper insight as to the complexity of domestic violence in all its forms for families and professionals working with them.

Publications 

• Hammond, S. L. (2019) A Review of Challenging the Politics of Early Intervention: Who’s Saving Children and Why’ by Val Gillies, Rosalind Edwards & Nicola Horsley, Bristol Press, 2017. Children & Society 33(5), 504-5.
• Hammond, S. L. (2020) A Review of Children’s Rights, Educational Research and the UNCRC: Past, Present and Future’ by Jenna Gillet-Swan and Vicki Pocock (Eds). Children & Society 34 (5), 458-9.
• Sanatinia, R., Crawford, M. J., Quirk, A., Hood, C., Gordon, F., Crome, P., Staniszewska, S., Zafarani, G., Hammond, S. L., Burns, A., & Seers, K. (2020) Identifying features associated with higher-quality hospital care and shorter length of admission for people with dementia: a mixed- methods study. Health Services and Delivery Research 8(22), 1-92.
• Hammond. S. L. (2022) ‘The Paradox of Participation. Exploring the Discourses and Affect of Child Participation in Public Law Children Act proceedings.’
• Hammond, S. L., Crafter, S. & Motzkau, J. F. (in press) ‘Struggling with Participation. Children’s and Professionals’ perspectives on child participation in public law Children Act proceedings.’ In Sinha. P., Richards. S., and Stella. M. ‘Re-visiting Contemporary Childhoods’, Bristol Policy Press.