- NEW - WSCP Domestic Abuse Resource
- Professional Curiosity and Challenge Resources - Impact Evaluation
- Don't Get in the Water - it's Not Worth it!
- Why are we so Concerned about Water Safety?
- NEW - 7 Point Briefing Published Concerning a Child with Complex Needs
- Partnership Working Praised in Wakefield's recent SEND Inspection
- Education Updates
- WSCP Website Updates
- Multi-Agency Training Dates
- One Minute Guides
- Keeping Children Safe Online over the Summer Holidays
- Is it Legal to Leave a Child Home Alone
- The Will to Survive Trust
- National Child Mortality Database (NCMD) Updates
- Free/Low Cost Summer Activities
- FREE Child Car Seat Checks
- Child Safety Advice
- NSPCC Updates
- Save the Date - Anti-Bullying Week 2024: Choose Respect
- Useful Links
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1. NEW - WSCP Domestic Abuse Resource
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It is estimated that 1 in 5 children are living in a household where Domestic Abuse is present, and its effects can be both traumatic and profound. WSCP are pleased to announce that we have a new Domestic Abuse resource which is now available in our Knowledge Hub under bite sized learning hub.wakefieldscp.org.uk with advice for anyone who works or volunteers with victims and survivors of Domestic Abuse, including children. This new resource has links to One Minute Guides, further information, campaigns, events and where to find support. Please share this page with your networks. |
2. Professional Curiosity and Challenge Resources - Impact Evaluation
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The resources are aimed at raising awareness and providing guidance about how to be professionally curious and challenging in the district.
To help us assess and evaluate the impact of the Professional Curiosity & Challenge learning offers to date, please can you complete this short survey which should take approximately 5 minutes.
Any feedback you provide will assist us in consideration of any next steps, further promotion and/or development of current resources. The evaluation will close at 5pm on Friday 6th September.
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3. Don't Get in the Water - it's Not Worth it!
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The Wakefield district has a lot of open water sites such as canals, rivers and reservoirs, and on a hot day, it might seem like a great idea to cool down in open water. However, The Canals and Rivers Trust are reminding everyone that swimming in their canals and rivers is prohibited and for good reason! Swimming is prohibited because there are too many risks that you can't see hidden below the surface. These include:
- Depth perception - canals are often shallow - which you can't tell from the surface. If you jump in you could injure yourself. However, don't be fooled some are deeper than they look. If you can't put your feet on the ground, it'll be much harder to get out. Rivers, reservoirs and docks are generally much deeper and colder.
- Hidden dangers under the water - rubbish like shopping trolleys can be lurking below the surface of canals and rivers. If you're in the water you could injure yourself buy cutting yourself on a rusty old bicycle or broken glass.
- Cold temperature - even on a hot day inland waterways will be colder than you think. The sudden exposure to cold water can cause a number of involuntary bodily reactions - this is cold water shock. Click here for more information from the RLSS about what cold water can do to your body.
- Disease - waterborne disease, including Weil's Disease (leptospirosis), are extremely rare but if you are swimming you're more exposed to them. Canal water is untreated water and so may contain pollution, biological or chemical contaminants.
Please watch the short video below which highlight's some of the dangers/risks associated with open water: |
Calling all professionals - please share this important information with any children and young people you work with, and remind them when thinking about getting into open water - its just not worth it, it is much safer to stick to your local swimming pool. There may be a cost to this but lifeguards are present and on hand to help you should you get into difficulty.
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4. Why are we so Concerned about Water Safety?
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If you are a regular reader of the WSCP monthly ebulletin, you will have noticed that over the last few months we have consistently featured an article about water safety in each edition, but have you wondered why this is? This is no coincidence as in the last few years there have been a number of water related deaths in the Wakefield district that could have been avoided. Therefore we want to do all we can to help children and young people stay safe near open water and prevent further fatalities from happening.
- There were 41 child drowning deaths in England in this time frame - this is an increase of 4 deaths from the previous year.
- Drowning rates are higher for children under 5 as well as those aged between 15 and 17 years.
- There were almost twice as many drownings of male children as female children, in line with the characteristics of all drowning deaths in the UK, where 83% were male.
- The highest proportion of child drowning deaths occurred in open water sites such as lakes and rivers.
- In 90% of drowning deaths the child was not being supervised by an adult at the time of their death. 1 in 4 of the children who were not under adult supervision at the time of drowning were accompanied by their peers. All of these children drowned in inland open water.
- The majority of drowning deaths occur during the summer months (June, July and August).
What can be done to help keep children safe around water?
- Increase awareness and dissemination of water safety advice within the home, especially during hot spells like we're having now or summer months. This should include the dangers for young children in baths, hot tubs, paddling and swimming pools and other water in the home. Click here for RLSS UK guidance on how to ensure your home and garden are safe.
- Ensuring appropriate supervision at all times for children and young people when in, or around water, is vital, including when on holiday aboard. Click here for a CAPT factsheet practioners can download and share with parents when talking through the need for supervision.
- It is very important that children are taught to be water competent, to be familiar with water safety and to identify risk. This will ensure they can float if they find themselves in open water and reduces the chance of panic. The Float to Live campaign is recognised as a good example of this.
For further useful water safety resources please visit the WSCP Water Safety webpage.
To read the full NCMD report about child drownings in England please click on the button below:
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5. NEW - 7 Point Briefing Published Concerning a Child with Complex Health Needs
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WSCP has published a 7 Point Briefing on a Learning Circle it undertook concerning a child with complex health needs.
Please feel free the share this briefing across your staff teams and networks, and if you think appropriate discuss in any team meetings and training.
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6. Partnership Working Praised in Wakefield's recent SEND Inspection
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Wakefield Council are delighted to announce the Local Area Partnership SEND Inspection Report has been published, with Wakefield services for children and young people with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND) having been awarded the highest possible rating by independent inspectors.
Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission (CQC) jointly assessed the district’s arrangements for education, health and social care services and recognise that our partnership working ‘lead to positive experiences and outcomes’.
Inspectors praised leaders for being ambitious for children and young people to achieve their potential, and that children and young people in the district are typically achieving strong outcomes.
It was acknowledged that young people and families were actively listened to, the Parent Carer Forum members felt they were ‘equal partners’ and involved in decision-making.
The strong partnership between health, education and social care was also recognised.
Vicky Schofield, Corporate Director for Children and Young People at Wakefield Council said: “Partnership working is the key to providing joined up services and support that make a real difference to young people and families. We are proud of the dedicated staff who work across education, health and social care, to provide an excellent overall service.
“We are not complacent, and our ethos is to continually make improvements and we act on the feedback to gives young people the best opportunities to reach their potential.”
As always, we are incredibly proud of our close partnership working and thank everyone for their time and readiness to support this work. Find the full Local Area Partnership SEND Inspection Report online here |
Bullying
The National Children’s Bureau has published a blog post for schools and youth organisations on distinguishing between banter and bullying. The blog discusses: recognising when banter is appropriate; empowering young people to set personal boundaries; and implementing a school-wide approach. Read the blog: "But Miss, it was only banter..." How to do we equip children with the skills to understand when banter has gone too far?
See also on NSPCC Learning: Protecting children from bullying and cyberbullying
Child Mental Health
The Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health (ACAMH) has published a blog post on the mental health consequences of school anxiety and emotional based school avoidance (EBSA) in children. The blog discusses potential causes of school anxiety and EBSA and looks at the influence on: anxiety and depression; social isolation and loneliness; and low self-esteem and self-efficacy.
Read the blog: What are the mental health impacts of schools anxiety and emotional based school avoidance (EBSA)?
See also on NSPCC Learning: Child mental health
Harmful Sexual Behaviour
The Lucy Faithfull Foundation has published a report which summarises key findings from their research project on harmful sexual behaviour (HSB) in schools. This report on the second year of the project outlines interventions and themes. It finds that: designated safeguarding leads need time, training and support to tackle HSB in schools; a knowledge practice gap exists, where students may be able to absorb and reproduce information taught in relationships, sex and health education lessons, without any guarantee of behaviour change; and there is a need to work in effective partnerships with other agencies, parents and carers to tackle HSB.
Read/download the report: Everyone's safer: supporting effective leadership responses to harmful sexual behaviour in schools
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The WSCP Business Unit has recently been busy updating the content on some of our published webpages. Please see the links below for details of what has been updated:
- Understanding Sexual Behaviour - this now contains links to the "Think before you share webpage". See also the new "be THAT mate" video, which is an amazing film made by young people about sexual harassment, cat calling and violence against women and girls.
- Staying safe online - please see the new "Report Remove" information video.
- Recorded presentations - a new webinar has been added to the collection about "Mental Capacity and Deprivations of Liberty" for those aged 16 and over.
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9. Multi-Agency Training Dates
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Multi-Agency Neglect: A Shared Responsibility Training
This course will explore how we identify neglect, what to consider, tools to use and how best to respond to Neglect through robust assessment and information sharing. This training encourages collaboration, professional curiosity, challenge and discussion. It is suitable for anyone who works or volunteers with children and their families.
*Please note: This is NOT Neglect Toolkit training.
Before attending this training, it may be useful to watch the new and updated recorded training, ‘How to’ guide for the WSCP Neglect Toolkit.
To access the Neglect Toolkit pages, please click here. Available course dates & times: - Wednesday 25th September - Tuesday 26th November |
UPDATE: Working Together - A Shared Responsibility
Please note that the advanced face to face training is now on hold and unavailable to book onto. You can still access the basic awareness training here. We will update you as soon as we can and apologies for any inconvenience this may cause. |
NEW - Every Sleep a Safer Sleep Multi-Agency Training
The sudden and unexpected death of an infant (SUDI) is one of the most devastating tragedies that can happen to any family. At least 300 infants still die suddenly and unexpectedly each year in England and Wales. West Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership has seen a sharp increase in the number of infants who have died because of unsafe sleep practices over recent years. As part of the Local Maternity System public health recommendations, it was also recognised that much can be done before, during and after pregnancy to support women and their babies. In 2020, the national Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel published ‘Out of Routine’ a Thematic Report into SUDI. This report identified these deaths occur more frequently in families where there are certain vulnerabilities. In response, we have developed this training to support frontline workers to engage parents with safer sleeping advice. This training is multi disciplinary for all agencies who work with parents and carers of babies aged 0-12 months including pre-birth Available course date and time:- Tuesday 24th September, 13.00pm - 15:30pm To find out more about the above course and to book a place please click here
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NEW - Impact of Parental Mental Illness on Children
This virtual package provided by SWYPFT considers the impact of a variety of parental mental illnesses on children at various ages and stages of development. The session is aimed at any member of staff who works in the Wakefield District and has contact with children or carers of children.
Available course date and time:
-Wednesday 16th October.
Additional dates coming soon!
To find out more about the above course and to book a place please click here
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NEW - Risk and Resilience Framework Training
The training is delivered by Wakefield Public Health and colleagues from across the Wakefield District.
The aim of the training session is to:
- Increase confidence in navigating the Risk and Resilience website
- Explore the support tools, interventions and resources on the website
- Understand how it can support your work
- Share best practice
Available course dates and times:
- Thursday 10th October, 09:30 - 15:30
- Thursday 21st November, 09:30 - 15:30
- Tuesday 4th February, 09:30 - 15:30
- Thursday 10th April, 09:30 - 15:30
To find out more about the above course and to book a place please click here
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Managing Allegations Against Staff Training
This session aims to provide employers and mangers with an introduction to the systems and procedures that are in place for responding to allegations made against people who work with children. This course is delivered by the Wakefield Council Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) and the WSCP Safeguarding Advisor for Education Vicki Maybin. If you are interested in this training please email wscpevents@wakefield.gov.uk
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Ready to Relate/Infants Parents Relationship Cards Training Sessions
The Ready to Relate cards, developed by Bradford District Community NHS Trust, are a visual, interactive tool to help all practitioners assess, discuss and share healthcare information with families and to make National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommended interventions accessible.
The cards aim to improve and enhance the parent‐infant relationship and promote infant attachment and optimal infant development.
These sessions take place face-to-face and are suitable and available for all practitioners. Please note services are limited to 5 places per booking.
Available course dates & times:
- Wednesday 14th August, 09:00am to 4pm
- Wednesday 18th September, 09:00am to 4pm
- Wednesday 23rd October, 09:00am to 4pm
- Wednesday 20th November, 09:00am to 4pm
- Wednesday 18th December, 09:00am to 4pm
- Wednesday 22nd January 2025, 09:00am to 4pm
- Wednesday 19th February 2025, 09:00am to 4pm
- Wednesday 19th March 2025, 09:00am to 4pm
- Wednesday 23rd April 2025, 09:00am to 4pm
- Wednesday 21st May 2025, 09:00am to 4pm
- Wednesday 18th June 2025, 09:00am to 4pm
To find out more about the above course and to book a place please click here
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Young Lives Consortium: safeTALK Suicide Alertness Training
Know what to do if someone is thinking about suicide by following the easy to remember TALK steps- Tell, Ask, Listen and Keep-safe.
Places are free for those that live, work or learn in the Wakefield District.
These practical steps offer immediate help to someone having thoughts of suicide and help you both move forward to connect with more specialised support.
- Identify people thinking of suicide.
- Overcome barriers in talking about suicide.
- Identify reasons we may miss, dismiss or avoid suicide.
- Practice using the 4-step model of suicide alertness.
- Connect people at risk of suicide with further appropriate help.
Available course dates & times:
- Tuesday 10th September, 15:30 - 20:00
- Thursday 26th September, 15:30 - 20:00
To find out more about the above course and to book a place please click here
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Future In Mind Workforce Development Training (CAMHS)
CAMHS are delivering training on the following subjects, with dates available throughout the year:
- An Introduction to Child and Adolescent Mental Health
- Understanding and Working with Anxiety in Children and Young People
- An Introduction to Depression and Low Mood in Children and Young People
- Supporting Children and Young People who have experienced Bereavement or Loss
- The Impact of Sleep on Emotional Wellbeing
- An Introduction to Attachment in Children and Young People
- An introduction to Self Harm
- An Introduction to Suicide and Awareness and Prevention
These sessions will be hosted on Microsoft Teams. For further information including dates and times, and to download a booking form please click here
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YGAM Training - Gaming and Gambling Harms
Ygam’s mission is to ensure that every young person is resilient to, and safeguarded against, gaming and gambling harms. They do this through awareness raising, education and research.
This training equips you with the knowledge and confidence to deliver the programme directly to young people. The workshops are 100% fully funded and on completion all trained staff will gain access to resources to use with the young people you support and City and Guilds certification. The training is aimed at a range of youth-facing professionals, including teachers, youth workers, practitioners, universities, faith leaders and health professionals. Please click here for more information Available course dates and times:These are virtual workshops with various dates available. Please click on the link above for more details.
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WSCP have recently published the following new One Minute Guides (1MG)
In response to some helpful feedback we have had on our One Minute Guides listed on the WSCP website, we have made a minor change. Where One Minute Guide is abbreviated, this will now read as ‘1MG’.
Please note, any existing links you used to access the One Minute Guides will be unaffected by this change.
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11. Keeping Children Safe Online over the Summer Holidays
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With the summer holidays now here, children have more free time. For many, this will be spent online. Parent's do worry about their children are doing online, yet very few know of the real dangers and what to do. Please click here to access an interactive poster published by Skips Safety net, which contains links to lots of information and resources to help parents/carers keep their children safe online over the summer holidays. Apps parents/carers should be aware of
Please click on each of the images below for direct links for more information about each of these apps that parents/carers need to know about. |
12. Is it Legal to Leave a Child Home Alone
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With the school summer holidays now being here, some parents may be considering whether they can leave their child home alone, and wonder if it's legal to do so. A child who isn't old enough or who doesn't feel comfortable should never be left alone. If this is the case, it's best to look into childcare options that might work for your family.
There is no legal age a child can be left home alone, but it's against the law to leave a child alone if it puts them a at risk. Every child matures differently, so it would be almost impossible to have a "one size fits all" law. The NSPCC has published a guide to help parents and carers decide whether their child is ready to either stay at home or go out alone, click here to access this. |
13. The Will to Survive Trust
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The Will to Survive Trust was set up over two years ago by John Scott and fellow Trustees, and is registered with the Charity Commission. The aims of the Trust are twofold: 1. To raise awareness of the needs of survivors of sexual abuse, and to help support their needs, specifically focussing on the Bradford and West Yorkshire area, by the provision of information, advice and signposting to other local support services. 2. Provide financial resources through the provision of small grants to support appropriate services and activities that will help to relieve the beneficiaries’ needs, as part of established treatment and recovery plans, to assist with their journey in life. Over the past year they have been able to give a number of grants to individuals to help meet their needs, following applications from Professionals working with them. They would like to extend awareness of what they offer, to increase the access of people to their Trust. Please look on The Will to Survive website, to see how an application can be made. They would also like to increase their dialogue with Services across West Yorkshire, to help widen their information base on Services, types of support and on issues pertinent to the needs of survivors in West Yorkshire. To contact the Trust please email willtosurvivetrust@gmail.com |
14. National Child Mortality Database (NCMD) Updates
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Thematic Report on the Death of Children with a Learning Disability & Autistic Children
The NCMD recently published their latest thematic report looking at the deaths of children with a learning disability and autistic children. You can access the main report and the easy read version of the report here
A webinar to discuss the findings of this report will be held in September (date to be arranged) so look out for more details about that on their social media platforms X (formerly Twitter), website and newsletter. Child Death Review Toolkit
The NCMD recently launched their "Child Death Review" Toolkit, which is designed for use by key workers to help them involve parents in the child death review process. It is primarily aimed for families after an expected child death: for example, when a child dies in hospital, a hospice or at home with palliative care. To access the toolkit click here
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15. Free/Low Cost Summer Activities
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During the summer holidays parents/carers will be looking for free/low cost summer activities to keep their children entertained during this extended break. Please click on the links below to find out more about activities taking place across the Wakefield district during the simmer months.
Child Eat Free/Discounted
There are lots of deals with various supermarkets and shops, where children can eat completely free or at a discounted rate. Scan the QR code below to access discounts running across Wakefield. |
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WF Happy Health Holidays
Please see the poster below for details of Happy Healthy Holiday events that are taking place across the summer, which may be of interest to some of the children and young people you work with:
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To find out more and to book onto the above events please click here. |
16. FREE Child Car Seat Checks
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Parents and carers in Wakefield are being urged to take advantage of free child car seat checks at events taking place across the district over the next few months.
The events have been organised by the West Yorkshire Vision Zero Partnership and in partnership with Good Egg Safety CIC.
Having your child's car seat checked takes minutes and presents a unique opportunity for parents and carers to meet with experts and make sure their children are safe when travelling.
Good Egg safety advisors will assess the installation, fit and overall safety of the seats as well as offer guidance and adjustments where needed.
No appointment is necessary, anyone wanting to benefit just needs to attend one of the events which are taking place at:
Friday, 16 August 2024, Xscape, Colorado Way, Castleford WF10 4TA, 10am - 3pm
Thursday, 29 August 2024, Morrisons, Stuart Rd, Pontefract WF8 1BT, 10am - 3pm |
The Child Accident Prevention Trust (CAPT) are reminding parents and carers that whilst the warm summer weather brings lots of opportunities for fun in the sun there are also additional hazards for infants and children. To help identify the hazards CAPT have created a brand-new display pack with colourful posters on the main accidents risks.
Simply download, print and display in your setting to help families stay safe this summer, click here to access them. CAPT have also updated some of their safety pages with the latest top tips to help prevent serious injury this Summer. Please click on the links below for further information and share to spread the word.
Visit the CAPT website for more information about child safety. |
The NSPCC have recently released the following updates which may be of interest to professionals working with children and families, and to share with parents/carers where applicable. Case Reviews
Eight new case reviews have been added to the collection this month featuring issues including professional curiosity, sexual abuse, domestic abuse, and non-accidental head injuries. Click here to take a look. Early Years
NSPCC Learning has published a new page bringing together safeguarding information for people working or volunteering with babies, young children and their families. New and updated content includes: an introduction to safeguarding in the early years; recognising and responding to abuse in the early years; and safeguarding considerations when providing intimate care.
Visit the page: Safeguarding and child protection in the early years
Voice of the child
NSPCC Learning has published a podcast episode looking at the voice of the child and its importance in social work practice. Three consultant social workers from the NSPCC’s Quality and Practice team discuss: what we mean by ‘the voice of the child’ and why it is important; how to effectively capture the voice of the child and what barriers might get in the way of this; and how to make use of the child’s voice in practical work, including in meetings, assessments, interventions and record keeping. Listen to the podcast: Podcast: The voice of the child in social work practice
Listen on YouTube: The voice of the child in social work practice
Child Sexual Abuse
The Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse (CSA Centre) and Barnardo’s SEEN have published a knowledge review on the sexual abuse of African, Asian and Caribbean heritage children in the UK. The report examines existing research and looks at the nature of sexual abuse; the impact of child sexual abuse (CSA); barriers to disclosure and identification; service responses; and intersectionality. The review identifies learning and actions which could be applied to practice and highlights the limitations and gaps in the research base. Read the report: Child sexual abuse of African, Asian and Caribbean heritage children: a knowledge reviewSee also on NSPCC Learning: Safeguarding children who come from Black, Asian and minoritised ethnic communities |
19. Save the Date - Anti-Bullying Week 2024: Choose Respect
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This year's Anti-Bullying Week 2024 will take place from Monday 11th - Friday 15th November, with the theme: ‘Choose Respect’.
From playgrounds to parliament, our homes to our phones, this Anti-Bullying Week let's 'Choose Respect' and bring an end to bullying which negatively impacts millions of young lives. This year, we’ll empower children and young people to not resort to bullying, even when we disagree and remind adults to lead by example, online and offline.
Imagine a world where respect and kindness thrives — it’s not just a dream, it's in the choices we make. Join the Anti-Bullying Alliance this Anti-Bullying Week and commit to 'Choose Respect'. What will you choose? Click here to find out how you can get involved and watch the short campaign video below for more information:
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