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ABSTRACT
Since the 1970s there has been a steady growth in the use of preschool home visiting schemes by a diversity of statutory and voluntary agencies, working with families (commonly mothers and their children) who are either themselves labelled disadvantaged or live in areas which have been termed ones of multiple disadvantage. The schemes appear to have followed individual patterns. However, it will be argued that there are two themes common to them all: ‘education for prevention’ and ‘participation’. This paper seeks to critically examine these themes in the light of their concentration upon working‐class mothers, and to consider, through a case study of one such scheme, the perspectives of the mothers receiving the services.