Abstract Children working on the street are the most vulnerable and are at greater risk of exploitation. Therefore, building the strong ties between the school, family and community of the child can protect the child from various risks and thus can provide opportunities for healthy development. Schooling is instrumental in promoting sense of trust, responsbility towards community and moral values of children, however, in this domain, much of the research was done with youth, not with adolescents. The present study examined sense of trust, responsibility towards community and moral values of school going as well non-school going children (between 13 and 16 years of age) who were living with their parents in slums and spending most of their time working on the streets of Chandigarh city, India. Results revealed that school has emerged as an agency promoting a child’s sense of belongingness (F = 4.15, p