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1 Introduction: Contextual Safeguarding but not as you know it

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Abstract

In this introductory chapter, we chart stages through which Contextual Safeguarding (CS) has been implemented since 2015. In doing so, we outline the four domains of the CS framework and indicate how the chapters in this edited collection deepen how each is understood. Reflecting on where we began, where we have got to and where we are going, this chapter explains why there is far more to understand about the implications of CS, and how the values underpinning the approach may assist on that learning journey. Viewing the domains of CS through the lens of its values brings us closer to an ethical adoption of the approach and illustrates the paradigm shift required in research, policy and practice for full system implementation to be realised.

Abstract

In this introductory chapter, we chart stages through which Contextual Safeguarding (CS) has been implemented since 2015. In doing so, we outline the four domains of the CS framework and indicate how the chapters in this edited collection deepen how each is understood. Reflecting on where we began, where we have got to and where we are going, this chapter explains why there is far more to understand about the implications of CS, and how the values underpinning the approach may assist on that learning journey. Viewing the domains of CS through the lens of its values brings us closer to an ethical adoption of the approach and illustrates the paradigm shift required in research, policy and practice for full system implementation to be realised.

Chapters in this book

  1. Front Matter i
  2. Contents v
  3. List of figures and tables vii
  4. List of abbreviations viii
  5. Notes on contributors ix
  6. Acknowledgements xiii
  7. Foreword xiv
  8. Introduction: Contextual Safeguarding but not as you know it 1
  9. Domain 1: The target of the system
  10. From peers and parks to patriarchy and poverty: inequalities in young people’s experiences of extra-familial harm and the child protection system 17
  11. Identifying and responding to structural and system drivers of extra-familial harm using a Contextual Safeguarding approach 30
  12. Value-informed approaches to peer mapping and assessment: learning from test sites 44
  13. Domain 2: The legislative basis of the system
  14. Reimagining Community Safety as community safeguarding in response to extra-familial harm 61
  15. Contextual Safeguarding beyond the UK 77
  16. Decolonising practice: ‘doing’ Contextual Safeguarding with an ethics of care 89
  17. Domain 3: The partnerships that characterise the system
  18. “If you want to help us, you need to hear us” 105
  19. Parents as partners: destigmatising the role of parents of children affected by extra-familial harm 121
  20. What can we learn from multi-agency meetings to address extra-familial harm to young people? 132
  21. Domain 4: The outcomes the system produces and measures
  22. Developing outcomes measurements in Contextual Safeguarding: explorations of theory and practice 147
  23. Counting children and chip shops: dilemmas and challenges in evaluating the impact of Contextual Safeguarding 160
  24. Gather round: stories that expand the possibilities of Contextual Safeguarding practice 175
  25. Conclusion: Creating societies where children can know love 188
  26. References 196
  27. Index 216
Contextual Safeguarding
This chapter is in the book Contextual Safeguarding
https://doi.org/10.56687/9781447366454-006

Chapters in this book

  1. Front Matter i
  2. Contents v
  3. List of figures and tables vii
  4. List of abbreviations viii
  5. Notes on contributors ix
  6. Acknowledgements xiii
  7. Foreword xiv
  8. Introduction: Contextual Safeguarding but not as you know it 1
  9. Domain 1: The target of the system
  10. From peers and parks to patriarchy and poverty: inequalities in young people’s experiences of extra-familial harm and the child protection system 17
  11. Identifying and responding to structural and system drivers of extra-familial harm using a Contextual Safeguarding approach 30
  12. Value-informed approaches to peer mapping and assessment: learning from test sites 44
  13. Domain 2: The legislative basis of the system
  14. Reimagining Community Safety as community safeguarding in response to extra-familial harm 61
  15. Contextual Safeguarding beyond the UK 77
  16. Decolonising practice: ‘doing’ Contextual Safeguarding with an ethics of care 89
  17. Domain 3: The partnerships that characterise the system
  18. “If you want to help us, you need to hear us” 105
  19. Parents as partners: destigmatising the role of parents of children affected by extra-familial harm 121
  20. What can we learn from multi-agency meetings to address extra-familial harm to young people? 132
  21. Domain 4: The outcomes the system produces and measures
  22. Developing outcomes measurements in Contextual Safeguarding: explorations of theory and practice 147
  23. Counting children and chip shops: dilemmas and challenges in evaluating the impact of Contextual Safeguarding 160
  24. Gather round: stories that expand the possibilities of Contextual Safeguarding practice 175
  25. Conclusion: Creating societies where children can know love 188
  26. References 196
  27. Index 216
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