In this issue: 

• Education through to Adulthood
• Safeguarding
• Sports and Activities
• Families and Communities
• Prevention and Disruption
• Training
• Network Activity

Education through to Adulthood

The NWG continue to focus on the issue of exploitation and the transition into adult hood which continues to be raised as an issue across the country.  We have now collated case studies from areas who have been proactive on this issue. The purpose of the case studies is to share developing practice and key learning to help others who are looking to develop improvement in this area.  Some of these case studies are available on the website.

We have recently launched the Exploitation and Transitional Safeguarding electronic network. This network will share learning and practice from across the country and problem solve as issues are raised.

We continue to be invited to present and support adult services partnership to examine the issue of exploitation and transitional safeguarding. These meetings have received very positive feedback and there are a number booked in for the coming weeks.

Visits continue to be made to areas across the country, to learn, share and further develop practice to improve areas response to exploitation. Steve Baguley and Kay Wallace along with Nick Marsh from the Centre of Expertise for Sexual Abuse facilitated an Adolescent Safeguarding workshop with managers from across the partnership in Liverpool. This was to support of their ambitious adolescent safeguarding strategy. We look forward to undertaking further work with them.

Work continues around supporting and safeguarding 16 to 18 year olds at Colleges. Over 40 College safeguarding leads have already participated and given their views and perspectives on the issues that have been raised. A summary report will be published at the end of March. The 16 to 18 and transition training continues to be developed and delivered. The last session in January was fully booked and apologies sent to those who e-mailed who could not get on. A new date has been set for the training and it will be held on March 24th. It was good to see so many people from across the UK attending the training especially the representatives from Belfast. We received positive feedback for the event.

(Steve Baguley NWG)

Safeguarding

We attended a project to feedback the findings from a review and to present the report which had been written for them. We attended their team meeting to provide a short overview to the staff team of the key messages from the review/report and agreed that we would return to support them with the implementation of some of the recommendations, namely the development of some bespoke training.

I have continued to be involved in the development of the ‘Safe to Play’ project alongside Kev. I attended ‘Safe in Sport’ meetings in two areas to present the ‘Safe to Play’ resource and also discuss the other Sport resources and services offered by the NWG. The presentation was welcomed by the representatives at the meeting, resulting in positive engagement and a willingness to be involved in the project and promote/distribute the resources across their region. This is an ongoing partnership with continued engagement.

I hosted another Policy forum. A tabled agenda item was staff safety and wellbeing, which took up most of the meeting as colleagues were really interested in the subject. There is an appetite for the forum to develop a survey to be circulated to the workforce to ascertain:

• If and what Strategies/polices are in place to respond to staff safety/welfare
• Impact of working in CCE
• Clinical supervision – quality assurance/take up etc.

The responses to this survey (which we hope can also be promoted at our conference) will hopefully inform a statement from the Policy forum to commissioners with considerations/recommendations re staff safety/welfare. This would be followed by a networking event which will  inform the development of a resource/toolkit/guidance document for orgs. I am hoping that we will be able to continue engagement with those that have already responded to the original network request, as a sounding board.

A further two Return Home Interview events took place in January following the success of the original event in September, these events were well attended, and the feedback has been positive.

The workshop session with the Home Office Violence and Vulnerability Unit, which I arranged took place and colleagues found this useful.

(Bina Radcliffe NWG)

Sports and Activities

The new online course for sports coaches was launched on January 6^th by our partners Educare, this course is aimed at coaches who have limited access to training. The course explores how exploitation can occur in sport and features a unique new video to help embed learning and understanding. The course costs £5 with the fees being used to administer the course and maintain it.  A media strategy was developed in order to publicise the course and the course was featured in the Mail On-Line publication and other regional news outlets.

The new Safe to Play augmented reality tool has been delivered. The tool provides sports coaches, parents and children with key information about keeping safe in sport. We are launching this tool in 4 key areas across the country. We have met with our partners who will be distributing the augmented reality cards across their regions targeting sport and leisure centres and schools who have sports facilities and rent out their facilities to private providers. The Safe to Play cards have received excellent feedback in our launch areas, with other regions are also asking if they can also be included in the project.

(Kev Murphy NWG)

Family & Communities

In Feb I will follow up in an area with regards to their strategic action plan around families.I am working in partnership with Marie Collins Foundation to progress a resource around harm minimisation approaches around online risks for professionals and families.

I worked alongside the team to pull together some key points to give back to a safeguarding board regarding their training offer and in particularly including families.  The aim is to see if we can then build on this to either bring in NWG training or open the door around the family’s agenda.

Met with a project to develop with families “Mind your Language” for professionals – reframing language used against families whose children are exploited. I had an initial positive meeting with the team and a date booked in to go to a family’s forum. Our team is always keen to promote work with families though blogs, our forums etc.

(Maria Cassidy NWG)

Prevention and Disruption

Myself and Sarah have been involved with Catch 22 developing a return home interview (RHI) course for staff involved in undertaking return home interviews. At present nationally this is a gap, which NWG and Catch 22 aim to fill. Catch 22 have extensive RHI experience and NWG police experience around evidence gathering, corroboration, disclosure requirements and investigative experience, the proposed course should meet the needs of the RHI process.

Presentation given by Kay Wallace and Steve Baguley on Transition and Disruption to a children’s and adult services workshop, with a further meeting held with a newly formed exploitation team, covering disruption opportunities linked directly to the disruption toolkit and transition work.

You can download the disruption toolkit HERE 

You can download the Transition Report HERE

We are able to offer guidance, support and training around Disruption and Transition including how best to use the resources – please do contact us regarding this.

An exploitation panel attended by Kay Wallace brought to life the issues which professionals are dealing with on a day to day basis attempting to keep children and young people safe from exploitation and disrupting perpetrators. They have access to the disruption toolkit and use it, however there were deep seated cultural issues with many of the young people the professionals are supporting. This was a great operational visit, ensuring we are, as an organisation, in touch with the reality of what the professionals we are supporting are dealing with on the Frontline.

A police disruption team visited the NWG to share the work they have been undertaking around disruption. Disruption workshop planned for the East Midlands Region, for April/May 2020. Full days workshop and a follow up meeting is planned for  February 2020.

It is encouraging that from all the visits throughout January child and adult services have provided positive feedback verbally around the toolkit.

In February written requests for feedback on the disruption toolkit will be sent to child and adult services leads, police and 3rd sector agencies asking 4 questions.

(Kay Wallace NWG)

Training

During January I have been updating and developing several CPD accredited training courses.  I have met with Sarah Goff from the Ann Craft Trust to review previous course feedback and discuss the future content of the existing training day for the CPD accredited training ‘The Sexual Exploitation of Children with Learning Disabilities and Difficulties’.

I attended the RHI Missing Event here at NWG with a view to updating our existing ‘Missing and Return Home Interviews’ accredited course. I met with Kay and two practitioners from Catch 22 in Stoke who would like to support the development of this training.

Courses Delivered:

Advanced Child Sexual Exploitation Course

Transitions in Adulthood Course

Experts by Experience Course

Unveiling Sexual Exploitation (guest facilitator Zoe Lodrick)

(Sarah Brown NWG)

Network Activity

Work on the Awareness day has continued included producing a ‘Guide’ (CEADay20) which is downloadable to anyone wishing to get involved in the day and a new ‘Spot the Signs’ poster has been designed, this has been designed for use all year round and not solely for the awareness day.  This type of resource is requested by the network regularly and should prove popular. Hard copies will be available to purchase through our online shop.

A new Facebook group has been launched aimed at discussion around the awareness day

The #CEADay20 Guide has had 301 downloads in the first  9 days of going live

(Cheryl Stevens NWG)