Book review Creating Safe, Healthy and Inclusive Schools Publisher: John Hopkins University Press Author: Edited by Christopher C Morphew
ISBN-13:978-1421449784 Price: £ 35.00
Creating Safe, Healthy and Inclusive Schools, edited by Christopher C Morphew, and published by John Hopkins University Press, offers a timely and thoughtful reframing of what, school safety, should mean in contemporary education. Moving beyond narrow, reactive understandings focused on control, compliance or crisis response, this edited anthology of essays argues that schools can only be truly safe when they are inclusive, relational, and grounded in wellbeing and equity. Although the book is written largely from a US perspective, the themes will feel familiar to UK educators, particularly those working with pupils with SEND and SEMH needs. Across the chapters, contributors emphasise that behaviour, mental health, and attainment cannot be understood in isolation from context, relationships, and systems. Safety is quite rightly presented, not only as physical protection, but as, emotional security, trust, belonging, and freedom from discrimination. The book’s strengths lie in its challenge to punitive and exclusionary practices that disproportionately affect children and young people (CYP) with SEND, SEMH needs and intersecting vulnerabilities. The emphasis on trauma-informed approaches, restorative practices and whole school cultures of care align closely with the inclusive principles underpinning the, ‘SEND Code of Practice’. Importantly, the book positions staff wellbeing and family engagement as integral to sustainable inclusion, rather than as optional extras. Ultimately, ‘Creating Safe, Healthy and Inclusive Schools,’ is a challenging yet affirming read, reinforcing a crucial message: school safety is not found in the absence of risk but in the presence of belonging, equity, and connection. Reviewed by: Victoria McIndoe LA inclusion teacher
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