research in practice

An agency review focusing on strategies to improve the life chances of vulnerable children through inter-agency practice. A multi-agency group of professional and local politicians in a large Midlands city set out to review the life chances of vulnerable children of eleven years and under in one of its poorest areas. The elements of the review described in this article are the systematic review of literature on interviewing techniques; the views of children taking part in focus groups on their schooling and its relevance to their needs and aspirations which took place in three primary schools; and an investigation through interviews with twenty-one vulnerable children of their involvement in decisions concerning their lives.