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Background: Changes in England's education policy have increased the autonomy of schools, thus substantially altering the nature of the role played by local government. Concurrently, a sharp rise in referrals to children's social care services, together with budgetary pressures, have led local authorities to seek to manage demand by emphasising the role of other agencies in providing early help to children and families. Purpose: This article focuses on schools' engagement with safeguarding and child protection from the perspective of senior education and children's social care professionals employed within local authorities. It considers the effect of policy developments on the relationship between local authorities and schools in meeting their statutory duties to identify and support vulnerable children and families (safeguarding) and intervening in those considered to be at risk of significant harm (child protection). This research was undertaken as the preliminary stage of a study investigating schools' decision-making in child protection, their engagement in multi-agency working and the support available to schools. Methods: Scoping interviews were conducted with 68 professionals working in children's social care or education services in 20 local authorities across England that varied in terms of geographical location and socio-economic diversity. Interview transcripts were analysed qualitatively, using a two-phase process. The analysis included the identification of a thematic framework, mapping and interpretation. Findings: In-depth analysis of the rich interview data allowed exploration of the participants' perspectives, which elucidate and give insight into some of the emerging pressures that are challenging schools and local authoErities, as well as the agencies supporting them. Key factors identified were: increasing school autonomy; the upward trend in the rate of referral to children's social care services and rising thresholds for accessing those services; and the availability and nature of 'early help' for children not meeting the threshold for social care intervention. Conclusions: Pending later data gathered through surveys and directly from schools, the findings from this preliminary study suggest that local authorities face new challenges in working with a fragmented educational community: while their statutory responsibilities remain, the channels by which they are carried out have been severely weakened.

Most children in state care do not do as well in school as their peers, but the period of leaving care and transition to adulthood may offer a "turning point" for positive change. Based on a small study of care leavers in England, this article employs the concept of resilience to explore the significance of supportive relationships in enabling this group of young people to make decisions about their future and encouraging them to overcome setbacks in educational attainment. (Contains 1 table.)

Most children in state care do not do as well in school as their peers, but the period of leaving care and transition to adulthood may offer a 'turning point' for positive change. Based on a small study of care leavers in England, this article employs the concept of resilience to explore the significance of supportive relationships in enabling this group of young people to make decisions about their future and encouraging them to overcome setbacks in educational attainment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In R (M) v Hammersmith and Fulham London Borough Council the House of Lords held that a local authority housing department which purported to provide accommodation to a 17 year old homeless young woman under section 188 of the Housing Act 1996, and failed to refer her to the children's services department to assess whether a duty to accommodate her was owed under section 20 of the Children Act 1989, had acted lawfully. This meant that the young woman did not become a `looked after' child pursuant to section 22 of the Children Act 1989 and thus was not entitled to the duties which the local authority owes to children leaving their care. This commentary explores the reasoning of the House of Lords decision and considers whether an alternative outcome was possible, and examines in particular the relationship between housing departments/authorities and children's services departments/authorities. As M spent time in a custodial institution following a criminal conviction, the commentary also considers the duties of local authorities to children who have been accommodated by the state following their involvement with the criminal justice system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]