This paper describes an empirical research study designed to explore the lived experience of mainstream secondary school for young people with a diagnosis of Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Within the existing research base, the voices of these young people have often been missing or overshadowed. This research sought to privilege the voice of young people; acknowledging them as experts in their own lives and as competent contributors to the research process. A creative approach to data collection was adopted, seeking to empower these young people to tell their stories through the provision of research tools that would facilitate their engagement with the process. The young people were tasked with taking photographs of aspects of school life that were important to them, these subsequently forming the central focus of discussions.Six young people from two mainstream secondary schools participated in the study. Data was analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, this methodology being chosen to allow for the representation of different realities, whilst also searching for shared themes. The themes that emerged for the group were: sanctuary, anxiety and young people as active agents. The potential to incorporate the tools used in this project to facilitate person-centred planning is highlighted.

How did formal kinship care emerge as a significant form of placement for children in care? A comparative study of the experience in Ireland and Scotland Highlights  Formal kinship care (FKC) has emerged as a critical part of many care systems.  FKC is often 'first option' for children who can no longer live with parents.  One in four children in care in Ireland and one in three in Scotland lives in FKC.  Priority for FKC reflects a belief in the value of the child belonging to a wider family.  FKC emerged as a pragmatic response to families' need identified by social workers.  Limited availability of residential care and foster care led to the increasing use of FKC.  Policy and legal measures gradually consolidated FKC in Scotland and Ireland.

The relationship between children's human rights to protection and to what is commonly referred to as ‘participation’ has received significant attention, with many scholars critiquing the purported tension between the two approaches and demonstrating how child participation should be a core feature of child protection. Less attention has been paid to the converse and, we argue, essential precursor of participatory protection practice – the significance of the child's right to be protected from harm as a means to ensuring successful child participation. Drawing on the example of the multidisciplinary Barnahus model, this article explores the multifaceted relationship between participation and protection, suggesting that there needs to be greater acknowledgement of the role of collective child participation in delivering the conditions where individual children who have witnessed or experienced violence feel and are safe to express themselves.

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