The Maria ColweU case (1973) called into question the effectiveness, individually or collectively, of intervention by various professionals in the problems of a child "in trouble". Issues were raised concerning the extent of communication between these professionals and the breakdown in co-ordination of approaches by official agencies, including the school. The school stands at a point of central concern for it is within this context that the most regular contact between children and professionals occurs. It is within the classroom that problems often initially become manifest, and it is at this point that the earliest decisions concerning these problems must be taken. In all too many instances teachers employ external means to "solve" problems, which then pass beyond the classroom. Rarely is assistance offered to pupils who are defined as "being in trouble" in a concerted or coherent fashion, and there appears to be a mutual lack of confidence between schools and other external agencies. At the heart of the problem of disco-ordination lies the question of information and the communication of information. By the use of a single case study this article examines possible points of break-down, or conflict, which may occur in the co-ordination of services and the implications of a lack of communication in the school situation for both the teacher, and the pupil defined as "being in trouble", In particular, the relative contribution of health, welfare, education and police agencies to the child's situation is discussed.Pupils, defined by school staff as "being in trouble", become the focus of concern within the school. These pupils provide the catalyst for interaction between school personnel, the school and external agencies and for interaction between different external agencies. Yet despite the presence of, and intervention by, a number of skilled professional people assistance for pupils "in trouble" is rarely offered in a concerted or coherent fashion. The central concern of this paper is to show that there are a number of points at which breakdown, or conflict, may occur in the co-ordination of the school and community's response to such pupils and their problems, and that despite intervention problems, far from being solved, can be exacerbated. In particular, this paper is concerned with the implications that the failure of intervention, and the lack of a
