Publisher's description: Important reforms are taking place in children's services in the UK, with a move towards greater integration. In England, Scotland and Sweden, early childhood education and care, child care for older children, and schools are now the responsibility of national education departments. This book is the first to examine, cross-nationally, this major shift in policy. A new deal for children?: - raises important questions - about which policies work best, which welfare states are most effective and the future role of schools; - examines why and how the three countries have integrated national departmental responsibility for these major children's services and explores the very different consequences; - through cross-national comparison, it offers new perspectives on the integration of children's services and the different ways in which it can be taken forward; - addresses changing understandings of the child and childhood in each country; - provides an understanding of current and possible future changes, including choices to be made about policy, provision and the workforce.