Joined-up teaching

In the UK, interprofessional working is becoming a cornerstone of social care practice. This article outlines how the authors, both academics in a university’s health and social care department, are developing the teaching of interprofessional skills as an integral component of effective child protection education. This has become particularly pertinent in light of the recent legislative and policy shifts highlighted within the Laming Report (2003) and Every Child Matters (DfES, 2003). The proposed interprofessional children’s teams will provide new challenges to all professions who hold child protection responsibilities. For students who exhibit high levels of anxiety about working in this area of practice, we have implemented an innovative and responsive educational programme to facilitate the development of knowledge and skills of interprofessional working within the field of child protection. By providing skills training in a professional setting, we aim to enable students to gain interprofessional knowledge through experience with practice