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The importance of early school experiences in the personal and social development of young refugees and asylum‐seekers has been documented by researchers and enshrined in practice guidelines. The capacity of schools to implement these guidelines is, however, limited, in terms of the availability of appropriate knowledge and skills, financial resources and long‐term planning. In this article we draw upon case studies of six school or education‐based services funded by the Children's Fund. We explore the various ways in which these have enhanced the ability of schools to address multiple and interrelated family‐ and community‐level factors impacting on the educational attendance and achievement of this group. In conclusion, we consider the challenges to scale up and sustain these services.

Research demonstrates the important role of refugees and asylum seekers' social networks in providing both the practical and emotional support necessary to mitigate social exclusion and promote integration within receiving societies. Based on research conducted by the National Evaluation of the Children's Fund, we highlight the barriers to network building for refugee and asylum seeking children and families, and the ways in which Children's Fund strategies and practices are tackling these. Using the 'Indicators of Integration Framework' developed by Ager and Strang (2004), we describe the activity of Children's Fund services in relation to the concepts social bonds, social links and social bridges. Such attempts to reduce social exclusion are seen to have limited effectiveness when framed by a government policy context favouring the development of social bridges at the expense of social links and bonds.

Recent years have witnessed a significant growth of interest in the consequences of political violence and displacement for the young. However, when speaking of "children" commentators have often taken the situation of those in early and middle childhood as representative of all young people under eighteen years of age. As a consequence, the specific situation of adolescents negotiating the processes of transition towards social adulthood amidst conditions of violence and displacement is commonly overlooked. Years of Conflict provides a much-needed corrective. Drawing upon perspectives from anthropology, psychology, and media studies as well as the insights of those involved in programmatic interventions, it describes and analyses the experiences of older children facing the challenges of daily life in settings of conflict, post-conflict and refuge. Several authors also reflect upon methodological issues in pursuing research with young people in such settings. The accounts span the globe, taking in Liberia, Afghanistan, South Africa, Peru, Jordan, UK/Western Europe, Eastern Africa, Iran, USA, and Colombia. This book will be invaluable to those seeking a fuller understanding of conflict and displacement and its effects upon adolescents. It will also be welcomed by practitioners concerned to develop more effective ways of providing support to this group