What does working in partnership look like in practice? Getting multi-agency working right is an exciting but challenging goal in early years care and education; this book suggests ways to draw together the different professional ideas, methods and targets. Enhancing the delivery of services to children, parents and communities is essential if we are to address the detrimental effects of poverty and exclusion. Looking at the Birth to 8 age range and drawing on interviews with Children's Centre leaders, the book considers: - the benefits, and complexities, of multi-agency working; - what enables, and impedes, good practice; - examples of successful multi-agency working; - what the 'new professionals' look like; - international perspectives. Suitable for all pre-school and early years practitioners working in, or organizing, multi-agency practice at any level, this book is relevant to all those working in Children's Services and useful for anyone studying early childhood or multi-agency working in practice. Michael Gasper is an educational consultant and researcher. He has over 30 years of experience in early years education and research, including roles as a mentor, assessor and tutor on the National Professional Qualification in Integrated Centre Leadership (NPQICL).

Ethical considerations are raising new questions about the involvement and participation of children in research. By considering the ethical issues that can arise when working with and doing research with young children from birth to five years, this book examines a wide range of topics including: - involving young children in research - informed consent - research tools with children under five - researching children with special needs - researching vulnerable groups - researching other cultures - multi-agency working - loss and bereavement - ethical practices when studying early childhood - safe-guarding young children - inspection - ethics and leadership Examples from education, health and social work are examined, and there are chapter overviews, activities, case studies, points for discussion and recommendations for further reading and useful Websites in each chapter; which help to engage the reader and facilitate critical thinking and reflective practice. This is a comprehensive guide to a developing field for the early years student and practitioner.

Offering practical advice and guidance on how to establish and maintain effective multi-agency partnership working in your setting, this book will tell you how to meet the Every Child Matters outcomes for children and young people. It clarifies the skills and knowledge required in order to form productive partnerships, and shows you how to set up and maintain good collaborative practice.

Working Together for Children provides an account of the systems and processes of multi-agency work with several groups of children and their families. The key philosophy of the book is that such work is inherently complex, and only by understanding and grappling with these complexities can prospective or practising professionals within children's services contribute really effectively to multi-agency working. This second edition contains updated references to legislation and guidance underpinning multi-agency working, as well as fresh configurations of chapters to reflect new ways of categorising needs of, and organising support for, children in a variety of circumstances. New chapters are included for specific groups of children including coverage of special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and youth justice. Reflection on practice, to help link policy with practice, is a theme running throughout the book, which uses features to assist the reader including: - information boxes giving further factual details of particular areas related to multi-agency working - reflective exercises including case studies - questions designed to stimulate reflection on issues raised - an appendix providing points to consider and suggestions for the exercises This introduction is for trainee practitioners in childcare or childhood related courses, education, social work, youth work and health care, or for those already working in such settings who are looking to improve their practice.

Discusses the changes to children's services undertaken to improve the outcomes of all young children. This book shows how the overall aims are to tackle child poverty, improve child protection and the education and childcare for young children, to raise standards, and to provide greater support for parents in bringing up their children.

Fully up to date with the SEND Code of Practice this book explores all the key contemporary issues relevant to supporting children with special needs in an early years context. Combining theory with practice, it demonstrates how to ensure children’s individual needs are at the heart of early years provision. Key topics covered include: The history and current climate of SEN provision Working with Parents Models of special needs provision Leadership and inclusion Professional ethics Multi-agency working Early intervention International perspectives This core textbook is an essential read for early years students at all levels, and early years practitioners who wish to gain a greater understanding of the core issues affecting special needs provision.