Introduction

Before providing a commentary from a practitioner perspective, it may be helpful briefly to describe my own background and approach to direct work with children. I shall also describe how I approached the task of providing a commentary on these five case studies.

My professional background is in probation, where latterly I worked as a divorce court welfare officer during the early 1980s. This experience had a profound impact on me, coming at a time when a fresh approach to family conflict resolution found a voice in conciliation. Work in a team that adopted the principles of conciliation, and applied them to situations of family conflict within a systemic framework, began to achieve startling results that avoided the damaging impact of Courtbased decisions. The approach began to recognise the value of children's contributions – if used carefully and sensitively and avoiding the courtinduced imperative of ‘Who would you rather live with?’ We began to involve children more and more in the decision-making process, developing communication skills through training and practice.

This experience demonstrated the necessity of helping children make sense of their circumstances past and present, express their feelings and wishes, and contribute to any decision-making process. These principles I carried into child protection work in the NSPCC, as a team manager and then trainer of practitioners and supervisors.

In summary, my approach to working with children combines the application of the major theories of childcare, the value of a systemic framework, and a constant questioning of assumptions based on discrimination and the mis-use of power. My current interests lie in exploring our conceptions of childhood and how these are played out in the systems and structures we employ for them, working inclusively with children, and achieving a balance of rights for children linked with a sense of responsibility – for their families, schools and communities.

A recent role has been responsibility for the development and production of training and resource packs. was first involved with the consortium that produced ABCD: Abuse and children who are disabled (NSPCC et al, 1994), which resulted in a greater inclusion of disabled children.