This long-awaited second edition of our best-selling book has been fully updated by its expert editors, Dr Russell Wate QPM and Nigel Boulton, both former police officers and current specialist consultants in safeguarding. It has been considerably expanded to include new legislation and guidance (including full compliance with Working Together 2018), as well as to tackle contemporary issues that are of much concern to workers in today's safeguarding arena, including: * Lived Experience of Children * Gangs and county lines * Unaccompanied minors * Private fostering * Modern slavery * Edge of care and transitioning * Young carers * GDPR * Safeguarding in non-statutory settings * Harmful cultural practices The book is a vital aid to all those working in the field of child and adult services. It provides a valuable overview of the major and very different areas of public protection practice. It aims to translate the processes, guidelines and language to enable them to have a workable understanding of the varied areas of practice that may impact their own working lives.

This timely collection brings together philosophical, legal and sociological perspectives on the crucial question of who should make decisions about the fate of a child suffering from a serious illness. In particular, the collection looks at whether the current 'best interests' threshold is the appropriate boundary for legal intervention, or whether it would be more appropriate to adopt the 'risk of significant harm' approach proposed in Gard. It explores the roles of parents, doctors and the courts in making decisions on behalf of children, actively drawing on perspectives from the clinic as well as academia and practice. In doing so, it teases out the potential risks of inappropriate state intrusion in parental decision-making, and considers how we might address them.