Child neglect is the most common reason for a child to be placed on the child protection register in Wales. Due to their central position within the community, schools provide opportunities for staff to observe children's interactions with peers and family members, five days a week, over an extended period of time and development. Although literature acknowledges schools as pivotal sites for the identification of child maltreatment, little is known about the manner in which school staff recognise and respond to child neglect in their roles. This paper brings new understanding about the way in which child neglect is identified by school staff in Wales. The mixed method research design comprises two phases: quantitative social work case file analysis, qualitative semi-structured interviews and non-participant observation. This paper presents two key findings from the thirty interviews with staff in mainstream schools undertaken within the second phase of the study. Findings emphasise the presence of differing professional perspectives between school staff and social services: firstly the identification of child neglect within the boundaries of the school, and secondly the interprofessional challenges which exist for school staff when responding to child neglect. Findings have important implications for future policy and practice in the delivery of school-based service provision, and broader messages for the development of effective inter-professional relationships between staff in all universal services and statutory services when supporting and protecting children who are suspected of living with neglect.

The policy and practice of family placement within the UK can be understood as the archetypal separation of a person from their physical environment, yet the intersection of ‘person with place’ - both past and present - has been argued to be crucial for identity formation. Indeed, intersectional analysts have called for alternative frameworks which challenge western models centering on the individual person disconnected from his or her community. An emerging body of work has drawn on Maori social work literature to explore the intersection of ‘person (identity) with place’ through an application to the concept of spirituality within western social work practice models (Zapf, 2005a, b). According to this perspective, people can have deep spiritual connections with the physical environment in which they live, creating a sense of belonging and attachment to that place. Victoria Sharley considers this Maori spiritual analysis in the context of family placement practice in the UK. In so doing, she offers a new way of thinking about the inter-relationship of cultural identity, place and spirituality as it affects the development of children separated from their birth families.

Child neglect is a pervasive and complex public health issue which has significant cultural variance across social ideologies and traditions. This note identifies a gap in the conceptualisation of neglect within Namibia, and recognises an opportunity for development of culturally-relevant knowledge within the context of normative child rearing practice.

This article initiates the conversation on the conceptualisation of child neglect in Namibia, reporting findings from a small study undertaken in 2017. The research is a collaboration between academics at the University of Namibia, Africa, University of Bristol and Cardiff University in the UK. The study is the first of its kind in Namibia, offering original knowledge about what constitutes neglect for children in the local context of child-rearing practice. Qualitative interviews with practitioners in schools and social-care organisations were undertaken in three of the fourteen political regions of Namibia. Interviews ascertained participants’ thoughts and understandings of child neglect at individual and community levels. Teenage pregnancy and substance misuse emerged as central to the conceptualisation of neglect within the local context, with a tension between Western and indigenous child-rearing practices. This article offers rich insights into the social construction of child neglect amongst indigenous communities in Namibia, identifying a need for knowledge gathering into broader aspects of child health and well-being within Namibia’s diverse indigenous peoples. The authors call for future co-produced research, which engages local communities and stakeholders in investigating this issue, to improve the health and well-being of Namibian children in congruence with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

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