T he content of school curriculum has always been the subject of controversy and considerable public attention in countries we have studied. This chapter examines the political dynamics around the construction of official school curriculum-that is, curriculum developed by governments or other sanctioned authorities for standard use in schools across a state, province, or country. The first part of the chapter provides a context for the discussion by describing the scope and nature of political discussion and decision making in government. The chapter then uses a framework based on the work of Young, Levin, and Wallin (2007) to examine the factors and processes that affect curriculum decisions. Examples drawn from the author's experience and the literature are used to illustrate these dynamics. The chapter concludes with an extended example.

General practitioner and senior research fellow.Section of general practice and primary care, University of Glasgow, 1 Horselethill Rd, Glasgow, G12 9LX. email: Abstract:Aim This paper is a report of a study to describe the workload of health visitors and school nurses in relation to children and young people with psychological, emotional or behavioural problems, and to identify perceived challenges, obstacles and sources of satisfaction associated with this aspect of their work. Background There is little published information on the work done by non-specialist community nurses with children and young people who have psychological, emotional and behavioural problems. Method We analysed data from a survey of 1049 Scottish professionals working with children and young people. Data included quantitative responses and free text describing the cases seen by respondents. Responses from a sub-sample of 71 health visitors and 100 school nurses were analysed using a combination of descriptive statistics and analysis of themes emerging from the text. Findings Although community-based nurses saw a relatively small number of children with psychological, emotional or behavioural problems each week, dealing with these problems took up a disproportionate amount of time. The commonest types of problem were self-harm, externalising behaviours and family difficulties. Few respondents had received specific training in child and adolescent mental health but most expressed a wish to receive such training. ConclusionThe work of health visitors and school nurses in caring for children with mental health problems is substantial and important. Development of their public health role should not be at the expense of this important contribution. There is a need for rigorous evaluation of nursing mental health interventions among children and young people. KEYWORDSHealth visitors, school nurses, questionnaire, empirical research report, children, psychological problems, behavioural problems SUMMARY STATEMENT What is already known on this topic• There is some evidence that input by community-based nurses can have a major impact on the mental well-being of children and young people• Policy documents acknowledge the important role of both school nurses and health visitors, who are responsible for providing professional support for children and young people with psychological and behavioural problems.• Detailed information on the precise nature of school nurses' and health visitors' involvement -workload, demands, and satisfaction -is not available. 'What this study adds'• Health visitors and school nurses have substantial, but different, mental health caseloads • Nurses reported that a lack of training and support limited their ability to provide good quality care to children and young people• Self-harm, externalising behaviours and family difficulties were the commonest problems described.

LAC are more likely to have dental treatment needs and less likely to access dental services even when accounting for sociodemographic factors. Greater efforts are required to integrate child social and healthcare for LAC and to develop preventive care pathways on entering and throughout their time in the care system.

Background: Emotional and behavioural disorders in early childhood are related to poorer academic attainment and school engagement, and difficulties already evident at the point of starting school can affect a child's later social and academic development. Successful transfer from pre-school settings to primary education is helped by communication between pre-school staff and primary school teachers. Typically, in Scotland, pre-school establishments prepare individual profiles of children before they start school around the age of five years, highlighting their strengths and development needs, for transfer to primary schools. There is, however, no consistent approach to the identification of potential social, emotional and behavioural problems. In 2010, in one local authority area in Scotland, the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) was introduced for children about to start school as a routine, structured, component of the transition process to help teachers plan support arrangements for classes and individual children. The SDQ assesses emotional, conduct, hyperactivity/ inattention and peer-relationship problems as well as pro-social behaviour. In order to be an effective means of communicating social and emotional functioning, the use of instruments such as the SDQ needs to be practicable. Finding out the views of pre-school education staff with experience of assessing children using the SDQ was, therefore, essential to establish its future utility. Aim: The purpose of this study was to explore the views of pre-school education staff about assessing social and emotional wellbeing of children at school entry using the SDQ. The objectives were to examine the opinions of pre-school workers about completing the SDQ and to elicit their thoughts on the value of doing this and their perceptions of the usefulness of the information collected. Method: Pre-school establishments were approached using a purposive sampling strategy in order to achieve a mix of local authority (n=14) and 'partnership' establishments (n=8) as well as different socio-economic areas. Semi-structured interviews (n=25) were conducted with pre-school head teachers (n=14) and child development officers (n=11) in order to explore the process of completing the SDQ along with perceptions of its value. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed thematically. Results: In general, staff in pre-school establishments viewed the use of the SDQ positively. It was seen as a chance to highlight the social and emotional development of children rather than just their academic or educational ability. Most felt that the SDQ had not identified anything they did not already know about a child. A minority, nevertheless, suggested that a previously unrecognised potential difficulty was brought to light, most commonly emotional problems. Completing the SDQ was felt to be relatively straightforward even though the staff felt under pressure from *Corresponding author. Email: Jane. White@glasgow.ac.uk Educational Research, 2013 Vol. 55, No. 1, 8...