Educators need to ensure that they are addressing children's education needs in individually sensitive ways, particularly when working with children who are coming to school from diverse living and care situations. Children in alternative care may be living in foster care, in adoptive families, in refugee camps, or in special community settings such as children's villages and orphanages.

The well-being of these children often falls within the social services domain and requires coordination among agency care workers, foster/adoptive parents or guardians, and school representatives. Ultimately, the school is responsible for ensuring and supporting all children in receiving an appropriate education.

Families, carers, social services, and schools should work together to enrich the educational opportunities for children in alternative care so as to contribute to positive educational outcomes. Many of these children have experienced trauma or have had inconsistent caregiving and education experiences.

The goal of this special issue of Childhood Education is to explore alternative family and care environments for children and how education services can offer holistic support that enhances learning and life outcomes for this vulnerable population.

The issue will offer insight into the diverse strategies being implemented to strengthen the quality of education across multiple disciplines for children being raised in alternative care situations, including those with special needs who may require specialized support. We are seeking manuscripts from a holistic perspective.

See more at: http://www.acei.org/alternative-family-manuscripts#sthash.We4Fw8lN.dpuf

The central aim of our event is to highlight the latest developments in research, practice and policy, and to identify how these can be utilised, not only to protect children, but also to enhance their general well-being.

Lying at the heart of all of the presentations will be the child and how the whole array of 'professional' efforts can bring about real and positive change and improvement in their lives and that of their families. These professions include, amongst others, colleagues in education, health, the law, social care and the voluntary sector.

The four full days of Congress 2015 - half a day longer than our previous ones - will include a range of Symposia, Workshops, Free Paper Sessions and Interactive Posters, sharing the ground-breaking work of researchers, practitioners, policy makers and students from across the world.

12-15 April 2015, University of Edinburgh

Book online now at http://www.baspcan.org.uk/congress2015-booking.php

Congress Programme now available at: http://www.baspcan.org.uk/congress2015-programme.php

It's a close run thing between sand tray used for 26% of the session time by boys and 18% by girls and drawing and painting 18% by boys and 28% by girls.

Talking only accounts for 7% of the session time.

(- Research by Play Therapy UK, based on observations of 106,480 sessions)

New career, new skills. You can become registered to work therapeutically with children.

Find out more – attend a 1-day Introductory Course - 10 venues throughout the UK.

See: www.playtherapy.org.uk

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Tel: 01825 761143