Child protection continues to be a pressing social problem. Robust and relevant research is essential in order to ensure that the scale and nature of child maltreatment are understood and that preventative and protective measures are effective. This paper reports selected results from a mapping review of research conducted in the UK and published between January 2010 and December 2014. The purpose of the review was twofold: to develop a typology of child protection research; and to use this typology to describe the features and patterns of empirical research undertaken recently in the UK in order to inform a future research agenda. The paper reports the maltreatment types, substantive topics and research designs used within empirical research published in academic journals. It identifies a number of challenges for the field including the need for conceptual clarity regarding types of abuse, greater methodological diversity and a shift of focus from response to prevention of child maltreatment. The importance of a national strategic agenda is also emphasised.

Andressa Gadda has worked as a researcher in the field of child care and protection for over 10 years. Most recently she was a Research Fellow at the Centre for Child Wellbeing and Protection (CCWP) at the University of Stirling. She is currently the Head of Policy and Research at the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry (SCAI). Juliet Harris is the Director of Together (Scottish Alliance for Children's Rights) and leads the organisation in promoting and monitoring the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) across Scotland. This includes working with Together's membership of over 380 children's organisations and professionals to produce an annual State of Children's Rights report, as well as liaising with government and parliamentarians to further children's rights in legislation, policy and practice. Juliet's previous experience includes six years tackling the destitution and poverty of refugees and asylum seekers, alongside a number of roles with charities working in the field of health and homelessness.

The process of gaining research access in the social sciences is becoming increasingly difficult. Changes in legislation and an increasingly managerialist and risk-averse approach to service provision have contributed to organizations adopting a protectionist stance when it comes to granting research access. The student researcher’s experience of negotiating this research access landscape has been neglected. This article explores the findings from three case studies of gaining research access to social service organizations for the purpose of undertaking PhD research. It outlines the reflexive approach which was adopted, through peer support and discussion groups, in order to develop the ideas presented. The article utilizes emerging evidence, policy and identity theory to contextualize and develop understanding around the difficulties experienced in these three case studies. In particular the article highlights how issues of identity impact on the research access process. The article suggests strategies for gaining research access which could be adopted by student researchers, supervisors and universities. The article also recommends that issues to do with research governance and research access be considered in plans aimed at developing social work research capacity.

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) is the most ratified international human rights treaty. Yet problems continue about ensuring that children's rights are recognised and supported in their daily lives. To this end, informal and formal efforts have been made for greater incorporation of the UNCRC into national law and policies. This special journal issue learns from these latest efforts, for the benefit of all human rights advocates in policy, practice and academia. The editorial outlines the contributions from eight articles, which were written by young people, practitioners who are directly influencing policy and practice, and academics from across the UK, Canada and Ireland with both national and international expertise. Written from different disciplines (including law, public policy and education), the special journal issue aims to enhance the critical evidence and strategic approach to implementing human rights in practice.

In this article, we consider different perspectives on who is best able to provide relevant and helpful expertise in public law cases where the long-term care of children is under consideration. Opinions vary and sometimes conflict on the respective importance of legal, child development, and lay understandings. These opinions relate to views on rights, appropriate procedures, decision-making processes, and the effects of decisions on children. Firstly, we summarise literature relevant to the knowledge and skills of three key groups of decisionmakers within the Scottish child care system: legal professionals, child care professionals and lay decision-makers, and outline literature about guardians ad litem and their counterparts. We then discuss issues of expertise emerging from a study exploring the reasons for, and impact of, the appointment of safeguarders (who, in Scotland, perform a similar role to guardians). We conclude that there may be an increasing tendency for disagreement and a lack of clarity about who has the most relevant and helpful expertise to hearings; this may have negative effects for children.