Checking adults who work with children – what people can get wrong In recent weeks my inbox had been full of enquiries concerning matters to do with safer recruitment, the single central record and all things to do with disclosure and barring checks. These matters are one area of safeguarding where I consistently encounter a …
“I was groomed when I was 12 by a 16 year old and haven’t told any of my closest friends and it’s been four years and I’ve been repressing it for so long that it doesn’t feel like it should matter anymore but it does and it still affects me every day because I feel …
The focus of this week’s newsletter is Maria Colwell, whose tragic death lead to major changes in child protection in this country. The story of Maria was a watershed moment in child welfare in the UK; she has remained in collective memory and has often been referred to when similar and much more recent cases …
‘In 2016, we planned to go to Somalia to see family. The Head Teacher called me in and she read an agreement and she asked me, “Did they make you do this thing?” [Did you have FGM?] I hate that question. It’s personal. It hurts me a lot. Why do you need to know what’s …
This time of year is the start of work for many new members of staff across the children’s workforce. Along with entrance codes, photocopying keys and how the tea and coffee supplies are organised, there is also the need to ensure that every induction should include training on safeguarding for each new staff member. Induction …
‘…young people were asked about their exposure to gangs and knife crime. A quarter of young people say that they know someone who has carried a knife (26%, 1790 of 6856) or who is in a gang (23%, 1583 of 6798).’ Youth Voice Survey 2018 A couple of weeks ago, I was spending most of …
To introduce as many professionals as we can to our fantastic new training on Managing Disclosure, we are inviting you to take advantage of a SPECIAL EARLY BIRD OFFER! Book your tickets here (deadline 8th March). ‘What questions can you actually ask a child that won’t ‘taint evidence’?’ ‘Can the DSL ask questions too after …
I have been delivering safeguarding training since 2006, and in that time have seen the range of settings I provide support for work extremely hard to satisfy their statutory safeguarding responsibilities, making the welfare of children they work with their paramount concern. Despite the great efforts of a great many professionals though, I see the …
Today I saw on BBC news the smiling photo of a 14 year old school girl taken before she took her own life because, her parents say, of the information she was accessing which ‘glorified’ depression, self-harm and suicide on the social media site ‘Instagram’. A few weeks ago I was just introducing the subject …
‘Children can abuse other children. This is generally referred to as peer on peer abuse and can take many forms. This can include (but is not limited to) bullying (including cyberbullying); sexual violence and sexual harassment; physical abuse such as hitting, kicking, shaking, biting, hair pulling, or otherwise causing physical harm; sexting and initiating/hazing …
As the song goes, Christmas should be ‘the most wonderful time of the year’, but for many children sadly this isn’t the case. For many, Christmas is far from full of wonder and magical memories. For children in care, under special guardianship or who have been adopted, the build-up to and culmination of all things …
‘Child A (2000) was 12 when the risk of sexual exploitation became known. She was associating with a group of older Asian men and possibly taking drugs. She disclosed having had intercourse with 5 adults. Two of the adults received police cautions after admitting to the Police that they had intercourse with Child A. Child …
A few weeks ago I attended a very useful briefing on neglect and a new assessment tool in Bristol available to practitioners that will help them assess the risk of neglect. The session developed my knowledge of the subject and offered a practical method to understand and evaluate the harm that neglect imposes on children …
Bristol as a culturally diverse region Bristol is the tenth largest city in the UK, with a rapidly growing child population. It is often ranked as one of the happiest ,most creative, and most culturally diverse places to live. There are 91 different languages spoken from 180 countries, 45 different religions, and currently 22% of …
What do you think the number one area schools have been questioning me about lately is? You may/may not be surprised to know that it is actually around sharing of safeguarding information, particularly in relation to changes to data protection that GDPR has brought with it. My standard answer is that very little has changed …
Image taken from: Bentley, H. et al (2018) How safe are our children? The most comprehensive overview of child protection in the UK 2018. London: NSPCC. Most people are aware of the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children – the NSPCC – which is the largest charity in the UK specialising in …
The Advanced Safeguarding course I deliver is one of the most popular and well attended sessions I run. We discuss a range of pertinent issues that I have put together from experience as being relevant to the needs of most settings. One issue that invariably comes up in most of my safeguarding training is how …
I am now a fully nationally accredited Safer Recruitment trainer as last year I spent a couple of days in the Midlands being training by the Lucy Faithfull Foundation, who are experts on understanding and combatting sexual abuse. The course was a real eye opener for me personally, even though I have been delivering …
The government has published the ‘for information’ copy of the Keeping Children Safe in Education 2018 that will come into force on 3rd September 2018 for schools and other registered settings and childminders (until then, use Keeping Children Safe in Education (2016)). The headlines for the new statutory guidance include: Emphasis on supporting the needs of children with …
I start off every Safeguarding: Basic Awareness session with a practical exercise on thresholds and then a clear diagrammatic explanation of what exactly they mean in theory and then practice. I do this because it gives participants an overview of the safeguarding children services, and some idea of how they as professionals fit into this …
Years ago I worked as the Bristol City Council Lead Trainer for the Common Assessment Framework (CAF). I, together with a large team of co-trainers, were tasked with delivering training in CAF and a range of other brand new safeguarding initiatives to thousands of professionals across Bristol. CAFs were designed help families get the support they needed at …
A couple of weeks ago I delivered my course on Effective Supervision. To be honest, despite having delivered this session dozens of times in the past to project managers and social workers at Bristol City Council, it’s been many years since I’ve actually been called to deliver it, as there hasn’t been much demand. This …
As I enter a school I see a really lovely colourful display entitled ‘Fundamental British Values’. There are the headings – Democracy, Rule of Law, Individual Liberty and Mutual Respect and Tolerance for different faiths and beliefs – and posters and quotes from children about what these ideas mean to them in real life. Interestingly, …
My Safeguarding: Basic Awareness training courses now all set out a list of interesting and important Serious Case Reviews (SCRs) that I advise participants to read and to which I make copious reference to during the training. All SCRs can teach us a tremendous amount about good and poor practice. Ultimately a SCR can teach …
Results from a recent survey (Adoption UK, published November 2017) suggest that adopted children are 20 TIMES more likely to be permanently excluded than their peers. These figures are clearly a huge cause for concern. But what is going on for many of these children at school that’s leading schools to exclude them? The crux of …
Schools and other settings tell me a lot of their work around safeguarding is taken up with dealing with allegations made by children about other children. Recent headlines have informed us that peer abuse is rising. Last year it was reported that almost 30,000 reports of children being sexually assaulted by another child have been …
On 14 December 2017, the Department for Education released two safeguarding guidance documents. One was the consultation for the new revised version of the statutory guidance ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’ for September 2018, the other is non statutory guidance entitled ‘Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment between children in schools and colleges’ (or what can …
I often repeat the phrase during training that ‘People who seek to sexually abuse children will seek work which means they have increased access to children.’ Part of creating a culture of vigilance means ensuring that all the pre-employment and ongoing checks we carry out on staff and volunteers are carried out as a matter …
This week I am hearing continually on the news about the steep rise in numbers of people living in poverty in the UK – high rates of extreme poverty which are affecting millions of families with children right now. While I do talk about this on my training, often any reference to the relationship to …
My very experienced social worker colleagues have told me that changes to national laws and guidance in relation to safeguarding used to be expected every 10-15 years. Nowadays, as I like to share on my safeguarding training, the pace of change has vastly increased and major reviews of legislation and/or key guidance now occur with …
A few years ago Serious Case Reviews (SCRs) were generally long, rambling documents that seemed to be designed to sit on the shelves of strategy leaders and left to gather dust. In recent years, there has been a change of heart and now every member of the children’s workforce is encouraged to have a wide …
In 2000 in London, an eight-year-old girl from the Ivory Coast, Victoria Climbié, was tortured and murdered by her guardians. During the abuse, Climbié was burnt with cigarettes and scalded with boiling water, tied up for days, and hit with bike chains, hammers and wires. Up to her death, the police, the Social Services Department of four local authorities, the NHS, …
Many settings have been able to take a break for a few weeks over the summer, while others have worked throughout August. However you have spent the last few weeks, September always seems to offer the opportunity to review and refresh practice in many respects. In terms of safeguarding, that may mean delivering refresher training …
I am spending much of my time at the moment reviewing, updating and writing a number of related safeguarding policies for a school in Bristol. What makes it a bit easier is the fact that I have done it on many occasions for a range of different settings – but then again, each setting is …
Two weeks ago I was booked to deliver some training on the Prevent Duty. When I turned on the radio first thing on that morning, I realised it was going to be no ordinary day. I learned that the night before a suicide bomber had killed 22 people at a music concert in Manchester. Many of …
It is Foster Care Fortnight to help raise awareness of fostering and of children in foster care. I frequently deliver Safeguarding: Basic Awareness training for foster carers and have immense respect for their wisdom, humour and resilience. Children in Care are extremely vulnerable as most have faced abuse, trauma and/or neglect and the support they …
My Safeguarding: Basic Awareness training is an opportunity to learn about and discuss a range different types of abuse with the aim of ensuring participants are better prepared to spot potential risks to children. One of the most challenging types of abuse in terms of understanding and awareness is Fabricated and Induced Illness Syndrome. Fabricated and …
I am frequently asked exactly what safeguarding training is needed for staff who work with children in registered settings. Unfortunately this important information is not collated in one key document – instead it must be derived from a series of national and local guidance documents. Another issue I am often asked about is the matter …
Some early years settings have recently made me aware of the new Early Years Foundation Stage 2017 – including some changes affecting safeguarding guidance. The EYFS sets standards for the learning, development and care of children from birth to 5 years old. All Ofsted-registered early years providers in England must follow the EYFS, including: schools, …
After a year of consultation, the government this week issued a standard definition of Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE). The new statutory definition is: ‘Child sexual exploitation is a form of child sexual abuse. It occurs where an individual or group takes advantage of an imbalance of power to coerce, manipulate or deceive a child or …
In January 2011 a twenty-year-old man called Paul Wilson came to the attention of West Midlands Police as a result of an accusation by a 13-year-old girl of online grooming. Examination of his computer revealed many indecent images, including a serious assault of a toddler which he had recorded on his mobile phone. Wilson was …
Are you aware that Safer Internet Day will take place on Tuesday 7th February 2017? There is still plenty of time to plan what you can do to raise awareness of online safety in your setting in a fun and accessible way. Safer Internet Day usually sees hundreds of organisations across the country get involved …
I have been delivering training on Domestic Violence and Abuse (DVA) for many years. It is a key issue regarding the Safeguarding of children and also in developing good Sexual Health outcomes with young people. My DVA training sessions are usually emotional and deeply affecting for participants, many of whom have been directly affected by …
Latest figures from research, recently published by Queen’s University Belfast, and focused on effectiveness of nurture groups, found that about 60% of all children experience some form of loss, neglect, abuse or separation. Many of these children will not relate to the world in typical ways and they spend their day trying to ‘survive’, rather …
I recently attended a conference entitled: ‘Reshaping Services for Children and Families’ in Bristol. Much of the conference focused on how to best support professionals who were themselves engaged with supporting the most troubled families in our society. The key note speakers talked about ways to promote resilience in staff teams, workforce development and service …
As a Safeguarding trainer I find that one of the most difficult things for people to grasp is the concept of ‘grooming’. Broadly speaking, the process of grooming entails building an emotional connection with a child to gain their trust in order to sexually abuse them. This means the abuser is ensured continued access to …
Last week I facilitated a great discussion on smacking which reminded me of how much confusion exists on this subject. Currently the law in England and Wales stipulates that it is not illegal for a parent (or any person the parent has given their consent to discipline) to hit their child – as long as …
Current statutory guidance defines abuse as: ‘a form of maltreatment of a child. Somebody may abuse or neglect a child by inflicting harm, or by failing to act to prevent harm.’ [my emphasis] – Working Together to Safeguard Children 2015. By this definition then, abusers are not just people who abuse children. Abusers also include …
‘Sexting’ is the exchange of self-generated sexually explicit images, through mobile picture messages or webcams over the internet. Young people may also call it: cybersex sending a nudie, picture or selfie trading nudes dirtie pic for pic. There are many reasons why a young person may want to send a naked or semi-naked picture, video …
This week I was lucky enough to attend the Bristol Safeguarding Children Board Annual Conference. One of the guest speakers was Joanna Nicolas, a Child Protection Consultant & Trainer, who spoke about ‘Disguised Compliance’ and why it is an important concept for everyone who works with children to understand. Disguised Compliance is defined by the …
The Department for Education has published an updated version of the statutory guidance ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’ (2016), which revises and replaces the 2015 guidance. The guidance is currently in draft form but it will come into force on 5 September 2016. It sets out what registered nurseries, schools and colleges in England must …
Last week I delivered Prevent awareness training and facilitated an interesting discussion on fundamental British values. Since 2015 all schools and registered childcare providers must have “due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism”. The Prevent Duty Guidance (2015) says that they should also: ‘build resilience by promoting fundamental British …
Breast Ironing is the process whereby young girls’ breasts are ironed, massaged and/or pounded down through the use of hard or heated objects in order for the breasts to disappear, or delay their development. The United Nations states that Breast Ironing affects around 3.8 million young women worldwide. It is widely spread in West African …
I watched the moving BBC documentary ‘Abused’ last week. It highlighted for me the importance of correctly managing children’s direct disclosure of abuse. The programme followed a group of survivors of sexual abuse, and all had struggled painfully when talking about what had happened to them. Some had kept secrets for years. Some brave enough …
From 1 July 2015 all schools, registered early years childcare providers and registered later years childcare providers are subject to a Duty under section 26 of the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015, to have “due regard to the need to prevent people from being drawn into terrorism”. Since then, the children’s workforce has been racing …
Good, up to date record keeping of concerns and action taken is essential to help identify causes for concern at an early stage. Often it is only when a number of seemingly minor issues are taken as a whole that any general welfare or child protection concern becomes clear. Effective record keeping helps settings monitor …
Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) is a devastating form of child abuse, highlighted in recent years by several headline cases in Rotherham, Telford, Oldham, Derby, Oxford and in Bristol. But up to now, different agencies have been using many different definitions of CSE. The Government has launched a consultation this month seeking views on a new …
