Ellie Harris

Principal research fellow and head of children and young people

Ellie is a principal research fellow and head of children and young people's policy at IPPR. 

At IPPR, Ellie works on a range of topics across public services, focused on how services deliver for children and young people. This includes education, early years, family and youth policy. Ellie is an experienced policy maker who specialises in turning evidence into actionable recommendations and uses her skills as an evaluator and qualitative researcher to build evidence-based policy.

Before joining IPPR in 2026, Ellie was Director of Policy and Evidence at an education charity, Head of Policy at the What Works Centre for Children and Families, and a senior policy advisor at the Department for Education.  

More from this author:

  1. Sad young woman sitting on the window

    The loneliest generation: What it is like to grow up in England today

    Connection should be the fabric that binds society together. But today’s young people have never felt more disconnected. 

  2. “I feel quite unsettled and unsafe”: Young people, belonging, and the broken promise of childhood

    Young people in England feel less secure, supported and connected than a decade ago. Based on nearly 200 conversations, this blog explores why childhood feels more stressful and less joyful.
  3. A group of primary school aged children using ipads around a table, a little girl smiles at the camera

    "Primary is what comes first": How end of key stage 2 exams impact disadvantaged children

    End of primary school tests need reform to work better for the children who need the most support at school.