Education and social work working collaboratively to support vulnerable families: benefits and tensions

Abstract

This chapter examines two innovative programmes aimed at improving support and provision for vulnerable families, and promoting their well-being and resilience. It focuses on the benefits, tensions and challenges associated with the inter-agency collaboration, which was central to the two programmes and, arguably, all effective support for vulnerable children, young people and families. After a brief discussion of the term “vulnerable” and inter-agency collaboration, we focus on what our research into the programmes told us about how education and social work professionals collaborate both with each other and (less commonly) with the families with whom they work, both of which are relatively unexplored areas.