The main aim of the paper is to analyze a specific disjunctive policy and practice space in Scotland to understand its wider implications, including for ‘children’s workforce’ politics and policy-making. In Scotland as in other countries, overarching social and educational policy discourses mandate collaborative and integrative cross-professional action to support children and young people, and the development of a multi-skilled children's workforce with a strong inter-disciplinary focus. Previous analyses of recent and key policy documents suggest that teaching and teacher education have remained relatively impervious to these discourses (cf. Forbes& McCartnet 2011; 2014). The purpose of this contribution is to summarise this perceived disconnect, and to introduce new ideas about the professional preparation needs of teachers as part of the ‘children’s workforce’. Policy in Scotland, a small polity on the periphery of Europe, enjoins not only attention to academic attainment and examination success but also ‘enriched’, forms of teaching for students’ wider achievement in schools and communities (ES 2013). In four main parts, the paper first introduces and summarises previous policy review and analysis using a capitals frame to identify policy-practice discontinuities in the relevant policy space. The same frame is then applied to examine the capitals resources required in the current ‘children’s sector practitioner education’ policy space. Next, the paper identifies and discusses examples of disconnects amongst current discourse on ‘good’ child-centred practice across the sector and current policy statements on practitioner education. These would seem to warrant a concerted cross-sector project better to cohere relations across all levels - policy, practice and professionals’ knowledge and skills - for co-practice. Finally, the paper calls for a (re) turn to university disciplines and re-designed children’s practitioner preparation programmes that are transdisciplinary and transprofessional in nature, and which might serve to foster collaborative practices.

Ball, S. J. (1997) Policy sociology and critical social research: A personal review of recent education policy and policy research. British Educational Research Journal, 23, 257-274. Bourdieu, P. (1986) The forms of capital. In J.G. Richardson (Ed.) Handbook of theory and research for the sociology of education (pp241-258). New York: Greenwood. Education Scotland (2012) Getting it right for every child: Where are we now? A report on the readiness of the education system to fully implement Getting it right for every child. Livingston: Education Scotland. Education Scotland (2013) What is the curriculum for excellence? The purpose of the curriculum. Livingston: Education Scotland. Forbes, J. & McCartney, E. (2011) Educating Scotland’s future together? Inter/professional education for schools and children’s services. Scottish Educational Review, 43, 39-54. Forbes, J. & McCartney, E. (2014) Educating child practitioners: a (re) turn to the university disciplines. Discourse: Studies in the cultural politics of education. Published online first: 7 January 2014. Scottish Government (2011) Teaching Scotland’s Future: Report of a review of teacher education in Scotland. Edinburgh: Scottish Government.