Between 1996-1998, England, Scotland and Sweden moved responsibility for all early childhood education and care (ECEC) and school-age childcare (SACC) services from welfare into education. Following an earlier study researching these reforms up to 2003, this article examines and compares subsequent developments and consequences of the initial…

This paper discusses the adoption of an integrated approach to children's services. The paper opens by introducing the Scottish policy statements that recommend that it is at the level of the school and community that integrated services need to be effective for the aims of social justice and inclusion to be achieved. The policy discourses are…

Concerns about the mental health and well-being of children and young people have been articulated in health and education policy fields as a call for closer working between schools and providers of mental health support services. Drawing from a Scottish study, this article explores issues of access, when mental health initiatives are sited in…

Reviewing relevant policy, this article argues that the current "integration interlude" is concerned with reformation of work relations to create new forms of "social capital". The conceptual framework of social capital has been used by government policy-makers and academic researchers to examine different types, configurations…

An evaluation of a Scottish secondary school-based counselling service for students aged 11 to 18 is presented. Improvement in student emotional well-being was measured using the Young Persons Clinical Outcomes for Routine Evaluation (YP CORE) questionnaire and participant questionnaires which were developed for the study. Significant improvements…

This paper outlines the efforts of an Educational Psychology Service (EPS) to develop its practice in the area of research. It will argue that the Action Enquiry model of service delivery can empower teaching staff and may allow an effective means of change and improvement to take place in schools. This model steers research towards providing…

This paper opens with an introduction to the current Scottish legislation and policy context relating to the integration of children's services. It offers the view that integrated service policy is framed by the concept of "social capital" and the notion of social capital building and goes on to introduce the concepts of "types of…

Discusses issues involved in the assessment of community nurseries providing integrated education, health, and social services in the Strathclyde region of Scotland. Describes a quality assessment that found that quality varied over time and between institutions, although all showed improvements by the third and final rating. (MDM)

Compared the progress made by children in regard to social and emotional behavior problems in community nurseries providing integrated education, health, and social services and in traditional nursery schools in the Strathclyde region of Scotland. Found that progress made by most children in community nurseries was similar to that made by children…

Discusses the provision of preschool education in the United Kingdom and other nations, focusing on the influence of the European Union and the European Childcare Network in setting European targets for the coherent development of services. Also discusses the role of local initiatives, such as those in the Strathclyde region of Scotland, in the…

Examines the nature and extent of interagency liaison in the context of two community nurseries providing integrated education, health, and social services in the Strathclyde region of Scotland. Concludes that effective liaison can significantly reduce the number of young children taken into residential care. (MDM)

Examines the development of integrated child-care services in Scotland with a particular focus on the role of residential child-care provision. Describes three particular examples of service integration--residential outreach work, a center for young people under an integrated management, and multiagency youth strategies. Discusses the impact of…

Describes a longitudinal and ecological methodology for evaluating innovation in preschool education which features the involvement of those responsible for the innovation being evaluated. Reviews the use of this methodology in an evaluation of community nursery schools in the Strathclyde region of Scotland. (MDM)

The Additional Support for Learning Act is a key piece of legislation in Scotland's efforts to achieve a more inclusive society and to give all young people access to the learning opportunities they need in order to meet their potential. The Act also has a key role to play in the day-to-day preventative action that schools can take to be inclusive…

Describes the features of families using traditional nursery schools and community nurseries providing integrated education, health, and social services in the Strathclyde region of Scotland. Illustrates how community nursery provision is helping vulnerable families cope better with their children than traditional nursery schools, reflecting…