Archive

 Safeguarding and Promoting the Well-being of Children, Families and Communities
 Edited by Jane Scott and Harriet Ward, Jessica Kingsley Publishers
 ISBN 101843101416, £39.99 (hardback)

 STAR RATING: 2/5

Children's well-being can be improved when professionals work with parents, families and communities, writes Barry Raynes.

That is the central premise of this work which covers a range of issues relevant to child welfare and would interest practitioners, senior managers, policy-makers and academics. But therein lies its problem: it tries to cover too much for too wide an audience.

Also, although we should be able to learn from abroad, many of the chapters from the US, Canada and Australia describe situations too far removed from the UK to be relevant.

Chapters on UK projects would prove of interest to managers and practitioners. The chapters on measuring outcomes and a description of government guidance were particularly helpful.

More could have been done to develop a more obvious theme for this book rather than a series of separate articles brought together under one cover. 

Barry Raynes is executive director of Reconstruct