ABOUT BOOK

Child safeguarding has come to the forefront of public debate in the UK in ~the aftermath of a series of highly publicised incidents of child sexual ~exploitation and abuse. These have exposed the inadequacies and failings ~of inter-organisational relations between police and key partners. While ~the discourse of policing partnerships is now accepted wisdom, progress ~has been distinctly hesitant. This paper contributes to understanding both ~the challenges and opportunities presented through working across ~organisational boundaries in the context of safeguarding children. It draws ~on a study of relations within one of the largest Safeguarding Children ~partnerships in England, developing insights from Etienne Wenger ~regarding the potential of ‘communities of practice’ that innovate on the ~basis of everyday learning through ‘boundary work’. We demonstrate how ~such networked approaches expose the differential power relations and ~sites of conflict between organisations but also provide possibilities to ~challenge introspective cultures and foster organisational learning. We ~argue that crucial in cultivating effective ‘communities of practice’ are: ~shared commitment and purpose; relations of trust; balanced exchange of ~information and resources; mutual respect for difference; and an open and ~mature dialogue over possible conflicts. Boundary crossing can open ~opportunities to foster increased reflexivity among policing professionals, ~prompting critical self-reflection on values, ongoing reassessment of ~assumptions and questioning of terminology. Yet, there is an inherent ~tension in that the learning and innovative potential afforded by emergent ~‘communities of practice’ derives from the coexistence and interplay ~between both the depth of knowledge within practices and active ~boundaries across practices.