Schools play a vital role in safeguarding children and young people, and this timely book examines how schools identify and respond to child protection concerns, and their engagement with local authority children's services.

Introduction 1. Making sense of schools’ engagement in multi-agency working in the changed educational landscape Part 1: The national picture 2. A historical perspective: the evolving role of schools in child protection and safeguarding Reflections from Susannah Wright, Senior Lecturer in Education Studies, School of Education, Oxford Brookes University 3. Contemporary challenges: views from local authorities and ‘the field’ Reflections from Anne Edwards, Professor Emerita, Department of Education, University of Oxford Part 2: Schools’ perspectives 4. How schools are responding to safeguarding and the challenges they face 5. Meeting the threshold: referral to children’s social care services 6. Beneath the threshold: ‘early help’ and schools’ support for children and families Reflections from Alun Rees, Alun Rees Learning Limited and Consultant to the Rees Centre for the Study of Fostering and Education, University of Oxford Part 3: Concluding thoughts 7. Schools and safeguarding: aligning expectations with reality

This is the only book to offer unique and important insights into how schools are managing significantly increased responsibilities in safeguarding children, in terms of breadth as well as severity of concerns.