This book is about more than safeguarding children. It is an exploration of the interagency, collaborative nature of that safeguarding task. It is accessible, understandable and promotes a positive, collaborative agenda. In the period after the Lord Laming's Inquiry into the death of Victoria Climbie, the government is changing boundaries in childcare, to foster collaborative interagency work. But this reorganisation can only address part of the interagency problem. This book takes several further steps by examining: why collaborative work in childcare is so difficult to achieve what can individual practitioners and agencies do to promote collaboration the perspectives, roles and training of key groups of practitioners how we can all move towards a model of positive collaborative practice This work was inspired by government advice and guidance about interagency child protection work, which always seemed to presume too much. This book does not presume too much - it explores, it explains and it attempts to be helpful and relevant to practice.
Originally published as Working Together in Child Protection (Ashgate 1995) that first edition was informed by all the changes that the Children Act 1989 inspired. This second edition has been made necessary by the plethora of changes introduced subsequently into childcare practice by Working Together to Safeguard Children, Framework for Assessment of Children in Need. More important, it comes in the wake of the profoundly distressing inquiry into the death of Victoria Climbie where, once again, the difficult nature of interagency work has been highlighted. It explores the Government's response to the Laming Inquiry and its response to the interagency 'problem' including Keeping Children Safe and the green paper Every Child Matters. It explores particular points arising from this complexity and determination by use of numerous practice scenarios, drawn from relevant practice.
