The Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need and their Families signifies a major achievement in the development of a coherent approach to promoting the welfare of children while safeguarding them from harm. In this article, the aspirations of the Framework are considered, with particular focus on the challenges posed by the Framework, not only to the practice of social workers but also to the status of the social work profession. The area of professional judgement making is discussed, along with the threats to the effective implementation of the Framework. The author concludes that the Framework could bring about not only a better deal for children and families service users, but a new era of professional respect for social workers.

Pellegrini and Smith (1998) have provided a challenging review of the forms and possible functions of play during childhood, and Blatchford's (1998) paper on children's play reports a programme of research about the nature of play at school breaktimes that seems to be the sort of research that Pellegrini and Smith recommend in their conclusion, calling for more descriptive studies of children's play. When considering the nature and possible functioning of play during childhood Pellegrini and Smith explore general definitional issues. They suggest that play theorists such as Piaget and Vygotsky considered that play was the way that children learnt skills necessary for successful functioning in adulthood. Perhaps this is a simple way to express, for example, Vygotsky's (1978) descriptions of play in ‘The Role of Play in Development’ in Mind in society. Vygotsky states that in play a child creates an imaginary situation; that play is the place where a child spontaneously makes use of his ability to separate meaning from an object without knowing he is doing it. The creation of an imaginary situation is the first manifestation of the child's emancipation from situational constraints and the primary paradox of play is that the child operates with an alienated meaning in a real situation. Vygotsky may be describing an important skill for successful functioning in adulthood, but it is also an important function in childhood.

The use of a standardised protocol for the pharmacological (using Selective Serotonin Re-uptake Inhibitors–SSRIs) and psychological treatment of 10 consecutive adolescent patients with Obsessional Compulsive Disorder is reported. The psychological treatment consisted of exposure to the feared stimulus and cognitive behavioural treatment of anxiety associated with this procedure. The results suggest that there are benefits from both pharmacological and psychological treatments. However, both treatments were difficult to implement. For the SSRIs, some patients reported disinhibition of mood swings and behaviour. For those patients who showed benefits from the pharmacological treatments, there appeared to be a decrease in willingness to attempt psychological methods. The psychological methods require considerable time, which may not be available in clinics, and substantial effort by the patients.

This study set out to evaluate the treatment of 52 consecutive referrals to a Child and Family Centre. Mothers of referred children were interviewed before treatment and again 3 to 4 months later. The interview investigated the children's behaviour problems, their mothers' mental health and life quality, their attitudes and expectations of treatment, and their satisfaction with the treatment. Significant improvements were observed in children's behaviour problems, mothers' mental health, and some areas of the mothers' life quality. A significant correlation between the children's behaviour problems and their mothers' mental health was observed.

Looking back, the 1980s was a decade of enlightenment and success in juvenile justice practice in this country; diverting youngsters away from the criminal courts and reducing the severity of response towards those who were prosecuted did not result in crime waves or public demand to stop this lenient treatment of the young. In the 1990s, the whole criminal justice system took a significant turn towards retribution and punishment. The movement may have been aimed initially at certain groups of criminals, particularly the persistent and serious, but swept all in its wake, including children aged 10–14 who were neither. There is little apparent appreciation of the damaging consequences of this trend, not only for individual children but also for the whole concept of childhood. There is now a wide discrepancy between the approach taken by the criminal and civil law towards children which current criminal justice policies indicate is to continue into the foreseeable future.

Difficult management issues, frequently involving many agencies, arise when psychotic adolescents need admission to hospital. We review the recent experience of a community-based adolescent team and identify factors that appeared to inhibit effective management at times when admission was necessary. Suggestions are made about how to develop the flexible arrangements necessary to facilitate appropriate management.