“…It is important to note that the DSLs in the boarding schools were unconvinced by prevalent claims that the boarding school experience caused psychological harm to some children (Sullivan et al, 2021; Turner, 2019). They were particularly resistant to the accusation that boarding school environments constitute a form of child abuse, sometimes referred to as ‘normalised parental neglect’ or ‘privileged abandonment’ (Duffell & Basset, 2016; Schaverien, 2004; Schaverien, 2015), and that for some pupils boarding schools increase psychological distress (Sullivan et al, 2021; Turner, 2019). Conversely, they suggested that where children were exposed to abuse and neglect in their home environment or had emotionally absent parents, boarding school can be a place of safety and stability, and indeed may protect such children from neglectful parental behaviours.…”