Protecting and Safeguarding Children in Schools

Mary Baginsky is Senior Research Fellow at the NIHR Health and Social Care Workforce Research Unit and NIHR SSCR Senior Fellow at the Policy Institute at King’s, King's College London. Jenny Driscoll is Reader in Children's Rights at the School of Education, Communication and Society in the Faculty of Social Science and Public Policy at King’s College London.Jill Manthorpe is Professor of Social Work and Director of the NIHR Policy Research Unit in the Health and Social Care Workforce at the Policy Institute at King’s, King's College London. Carl Purcell is Research Associate in the NIHR Health and Social Care Workforce Research Unit at the Policy Institute at King’s, King's College London. Ben Hickman is Research Director at Myriad Research and Visiting Research Fellow at the NIHR Health and Social Care Workforce Research Unit, King’s College London.

“This research-informed analysis of how schools work with other agencies to protect vulnerable children is essential reading for those engaged in this difficult and important task.” June Statham, Emerita Professor of Education and Family Support, UCL Institute of Education

• Introduction1. Making sense of schools’ engagement in multi-agency working in the changed educational landscapePart 1: The national picture2. A historical perspective: the evolving role of schools in child protection and safeguardingReflections from Susannah Wright, Senior Lecturer in Education Studies, School of Education, Oxford Brookes University3. Contemporary challenges: views from local authorities and ‘the field’Reflections from Anne Edwards, Professor Emerita, Department of Education, University of OxfordPart 2: Schools’ perspectives4. How schools are responding to safeguarding and the challenges they face5. Meeting the threshold: referral to children’s social care services6. Beneath the threshold: ‘early help’ and schools’ support for children and familiesReflections from Alun Rees, Alun Rees Learning Limited and Consultant to the Rees Centre for the Study of Fostering and Education, University of OxfordPart 3: Concluding thoughts7. Schools and safeguarding: aligning expectations with reality