Reflections on the possibilities and challenges offered by a social model of protecting children

This chapter explores the thinking behind the social model of protecting children and its key themes. It interrogates the challenges that this model poses to the current dominant individually focused professionally led child protection project drawing on lessons from the authors' work in the UK. It draws on research and knowledge transfer projects conducted by the authors on poverty-aware practice and domestic abuse to explore key issues in relation to implementation. It asks whether reform is possible within the current system and explores what we can learn from the discussions on abolition evident in countries such as the US. Finally, the themes attached to sense and sensibility are noted as aligning directly with our concerns to bring robust research evidence on structural inequalities, derived from a variety of means including co-production, into active dialogue with everyday professional practices.