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Purpose: The teaching of cooking is an important aspect of school-based efforts to promote healthy diets among children, and is frequently done by external agencies. Within a limited evidence base relating to cooking interventions in schools, there are important questions about how interventions are integrated within school settings. The purpose of this paper is to examine how a mobile classroom (Cooking Bus) sought to strengthen connections between schools and cooking, and drawing on the concept of the sociotechnical network, theorise the interactions between the Bus and school contexts. Design/methodology/approach: Methods comprised a postal questionnaire to 76 schools which had received a Bus visit, and case studies of the Bus' work in five schools, including a range of school sizes and urban/rural locations. Case studies comprised observation of Cooking Bus sessions, and interviews with school staff. Findings: The Cooking Bus forged connections with schools through aligning intervention and schools' goals, focussing on pupils' cooking skills, training teachers and contributing to schools' existing cooking-related activities. The Bus expanded its sociotechnical network through post-visit integration of cooking activities within schools, particularly teachers' use of intervention cooking kits. Research limitations/implications: The paper highlights the need for research on the long-term impacts of school cooking interventions, and better understanding of the interaction between interventions and school contexts. Originality/value: This paper adds to the limited evidence base on school-based cooking interventions by theorising how cooking interventions relate to school settings, and how they may achieve integration.

Purpose: Involvement of parents/carers may increase effectiveness of primary school-based alcohol-misuse prevention projects through strengthening family-based protective factors, but rates of parental engagement are typically low. This paper reports findings from an exploratory trial of a school-based prevention intervention--Kids, Adults Together (KAT), based on the Social Development Model, which aimed to promote pro-social family communication in order to prevent alcohol misuse, and incorporated strategies to engage parents/carers. The purpose of this paper is to assess the feasibility and value of conducting an effectiveness trial of KAT. Design/Methodology/ Approach: The study was a parallel-group cluster randomised exploratory trial with an embedded process evaluation. The study took place in South Wales, UK, and involved nine primary schools, 367 pupils in Years 5/6 (aged 9-11 years) and their parents/carers and teachers. Questionnaires were completed by pupils at baseline and four month follow-up, and by parents at six month follow-up. Findings: Overall KAT was delivered with good fidelity, but two of five intervention schools withdrew from the study without completing implementation. In total, 50 per cent of eligible parents participated in the intervention, and KAT had good acceptability among pupils, parents and teachers. However, a number of "progression to effectiveness trial" criteria were not met. Intermediate outcomes on family communication (hypothesised to prevent alcohol misuse) showed insufficient evidence of an intervention effect. Difficulties were encountered in identifying age appropriate outcome measures for primary school-age children, particularly in relation to family communication processes. The study was unable to find comprehensive methodological guidance on exploratory trials. Research Limitations/Implications: It would not be appropriate to conduct an effectiveness trial as key progression criteria relating to intervention and trial feasibility were not met. There is a need for new measures of family communication which are suitable for primary school-age children, and more guidance on the design and conduct of exploratory/ feasibility trials. Originality/Value: KAT achieved high rates of parental involvement, and its theoretical framework and processes could be adapted by other interventions which experience difficulties with recruitment of parents/carers.

School-based interventions for young people with emotional/mental health problems are often provided by external practitioners and their relationship with host schools is a key influence on implementation. Poor integration within school systems, schools' tendency to define interventions around pupils' behaviour and teachers' control over access, may undermine therapeutic relationships. This study examines how one school-based intervention--Bounceback--addressed these challenges. Methods comprised interviews with programme staff, school staff and service users. Bounceback sought to develop therapeutic relationships through creating a safe, welcoming place and maximising pupils' choice about how they engaged with it. To ensure Bounceback was delivered as intended, staff developed five conditions which schools were asked to meet: adhering to referral criteria, ensuring that attendance was voluntary, appropriate completion of referral forms, mechanisms for contacting pupils and private accommodation to maintain confidentiality. Pupils reported high levels of acceptability and described relationships of trust with Bounceback staff. Although pupils had choice about most aspects of Bounceback, teachers controlled access to it, partly in order to manage demand. The study highlights the need for external agencies to communicate their aims and needs clearly to schools and the importance of peripatetic practitioners being well integrated within their parent organisations.

Demands for more participatory, collaborative family support services have grown, however implementing such methods in practice has proved difficult. The use of a restorative approach (RA) within family services shows promise but little research has explored the provision of such services for families affected by parental mental ill-health. To address this gap, this article reports findings from a three-year feasibility study of an innovative restorative family support service developed to support military veterans and families affected by a veteran's service-related mental health problem. Interviews and focus groups with service professionals (n=4) were conducted on the completion of programme development, and at regular stages during service implementation. Interviews were undertaken individually or in pairs with eight service user families, including six veterans, six partners and two children, and four veterans who chose not to take part in the service. This article reports professionals' experiences of service delivery and refinements made to support programme implementation, and the veteran and family opinion on service receipt, including the areas they identified that could be improved. It also details the restorative mechanisms which resulted in family changes, with the development of collective empathy being located as a crucial RA mechanism which leads to positive effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]