- SAVE THE DATE: Learning Exchange - Child Exploitation Partnership Event 16th March
- NWG National Child Exploitation Day 18th March - FREE Event & Resources
- WSCP Multi-Agency Neglect: A Shared Responsibility Training
- Safer Sleep Week 2026
- Infant Safety Alert: Baby Sleep Pillows
- Spotlight On...The Slang Dictionary
- #TwoStepsBack - Teach Young Children How to Stay Safe Near Water
- WSCP Website Updates
- Education Updates
- Vaping the Facts - Updated Posters for 2026
- Multi-Agency Training Dates
- NEW - Overcoming Gender Assumptions to Tackle Child Exploitation Training
- LGBTQIA+ Training 2026 - Supporting & Safeguarding Young People
- Online Training for Social Workers: How Babies Learn to Regulate their Emotions & the Impact of Trauma
- Protecting All Vulnerable Babies Better
- Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse - NEW Key Messages from Research on CSE
- Urgent Product Recall: Hobby Craft Giant Box of Craft
- Top Safety Tips for Families this February
- NSPCC Updates
- What Would You Like to Hear About?
- Useful Links
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1. SAVE THE DATE: Learning Exchange - Child Exploitation Partnership Event 16th March
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Child exploitation cannot be tackled by one agency alone. Join WSCP, West Yorkshire Police and key partners across health, community safety and specialist support services for a face‑to‑face learning exchange on Monday 16th March, exploring how and why partnership working is vital in identifying, disrupting and preventing exploitation in Wakefield. Together, we’ll unpack the who, what, where and why of safeguarding children at risk. For more information please see the flyer below. Lunch is provided and spaces are limited Follow the link to book your place now… Learning Exchange Event: Tackling Exploitation in Wakefield - Wakefield Safeguarding Children |
2. NWG National Child Exploitation Day 18th March 2026 - FREE Event & Resources
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NWG Network is proud to champion National Child Exploitation Awareness Day 18th March 2026. This is a call for collective action to unite communities, professionals and partners to protect children, young people and families from abuse through exploitation in all its forms. The theme this year is preventing abuse through exploitation by working in partnership. National Child Exploitation Awareness Day encourages everyone to prioritise prevention through partnership working.
CSE Myth Busting Webinar 18th March 2026 11am - 12pm
On National Child Exploitation Awareness Day, to support this work, NWG are delivering a FREE 1 hour introductory webinar to raise an awareness of Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE). This session is designed to empower individuals with the knowledge and tools needed to recognise and respond to signs of CSE, ultimately helping to make communities safer. This is a valuable opportunity for anyone wanting to learn more about CSE and how to contribute to safeguarding children in their communities through partnership working.
The session will cover:
- Common myths about CSE
- What CSE is
- How children are targeted and groomed for the purposes of CSE
- Signs that might indicate a child is at risk, being groomed or is a victim of CSE
- Where to go if you are worried a child is being groomed
- What is human trafficking
- What is the National Referral Mechanism (NRM)
- Useful resources and videos on the NWG website
The target audience for the webinar is professionals and volunteers supporting children / young people and their families who have been exploited or are at risk of exploitation. The webinar is for those who wish to develop their understanding of Child Exploitation. |
How Can My Service Get Involved?
- Campaign Resources: Free posters, banners and awareness-raising material are available to download from Stop-CE.org to help educate and engage your networks.
- Local Events & Activities: Host awareness events, talks or displays in your workplace, school or community to promote understanding of child exploitation and how to respond. Please don’t forget to take pictures / videos and send to NWG plus tag them in.
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Write to NWG at support@nwgnetwork.org or tag them in your social media and tell them what your organisation is doing to promote #CEADAY26
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3. WSCP Multi-Agency Neglect: A Shared Responsibility Training
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Neglect is the primary driver of statutory safeguarding intervention! AND is the most common form of child abuse… 54% of professionals across health, police, social care and education reported increases in neglect cases, with 90% linking this rise to cost‑of‑living pressures and poverty.Why attend the Neglect Multi-Agency Training?
- Strengthens your ability to identify early indicators of harm.
- Supports better multi‑agency information sharing and decision‑making.
- Helps address the growing complexity of family needs linked to poverty and wider stressors.
- Ensures practitioners are equipped to intervene early and prevent escalation to serious harm.
To book your place on this training please click here and for more information please see the flyer below:
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This years Safer Sleep week by The Lullaby Trust will take place from the 9th - 15th March 2026. This year’s theme is baby necessities – the essential items that a baby needs.
The Lullaby Trust will be reminding families to keep it simple to keep it safe, and will cover:
- The products a baby needs and which can (and should) be left on the shelf.
- What to look for in a product, or on the label, to know if it fits within safer sleep.
- What to dress a baby in for sleep in different temperatures
This year's resources include:
- Product guide – helps sort the science from the marketing when it comes to choosing baby products.
- Airways card - explains how sleeping positions can affect a baby’s ability to breathe.
You can find more downloadable resources here or visit The Lullaby Trust's shop to order hard copies. If your workplace can help promote the week on social media, The Lullaby Trust's Toolkit contains suggested content or you can share their posts |
5. Infant Safety Alert: Baby Sleep Pillows
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The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) recently issued a product safety alert concerning baby sleep pillows, please see images above for examples of what these products look like. These soft pillows and cushions are often marketed for baby sleep or as somewhere for a baby to be left unsupervised. But this can cause suffocation or overheating, and the baby might even die. The safest place for your baby to sleep is on a clear, firm, flat surface. You can read OPSS' recommendations in full on the gov.uk website, but in particular they have advised that these pillows should not be used for babies under 12 months old, should not be placed in cribs or cots, and that businesses should not market pillows for use in this age bracket. The National Child Mortality Database (NCMD) hope that this advice could make a real difference in avoiding the sad cases where these products have caused harm. Calling all professionals: Please share this advice and information with any families that you work with who have babies under 12 months old. The safety alert itself also has a useful list of alternative names for sleep pillows that families may know these products by. |
6. Spotlight On ... The Slang Dictionary
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Have you seen The Children’s Society resource which was developed for parents, carers and professionals to better understand the language young people may be using and support them to safeguard young people. Take a look at the link to find out more… The-Slang-Dictionary.pdf |
7. #TwoStepsBack - Teach Young Children How to Stay Safe Near Water
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The Canal & Rivers Trust want everyone to grow up enjoying our inland waterways, but it’s equally important that everyone knows how to enjoy them safely Helping toddlers and pre-school children to stay SAFEWe know how excited children get by the water but standing too close to the edge can be dangerous. The Trust teach young children their SAFE message, to Stay Away From the Edge. It's never too early to start talking to your children about staying safe near water.Talk to your kids when you're out and about near water, whether you're walking or cycling, out on a trip to feed the ducks or look at the boats. Repeating safety messages regularly will help young children remember what to do. Download water safety activities from the Explorers website to help your little ones continue learning about safety when they're at home. Sing the songThe Canal & Rivers Trust have created a simple and annoyingly catchy song to help you talk to your children about staying safe near water. Hold hands, take two steps backHold hands, take two steps backHold hands, take two steps backLet's stay safe together, Quack Quack!Listen to children's presenter Maddie Moate sing it in the film below! |
The WSCP Business Unit have been busy updating the content on some of our published webpages. Please see the links below for the sections that have been updated this month:
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Keeping Children Safe in Education 2026
KCSIE draft and consultation questions can be found here: Keeping children safe in education: 2026 proposed revisions - Department for Education - Citizen Space Closes on 22nd April. If you, as a DSL in an Education setting, have a view on this document this is your opportunity to feedback.
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Senior Mental Health Lead Conference 2026
Please see the flyer below for details of the above conference which takes on Thursday 23rd April 9.30am - 4.30pm. To book a place on this conference please click here |
Reminder: DSL Opinion Form
WSCP are interested in general themes, repeated issues or areas of good safeguarding practice which DSL's experience within Wakefield. This may then be raised at multi agency strategic level meetings. NB this is not the forum for individual case specifics - please raise these individual case details with the appropriate managers in accordance with the professional disagreement procedure. 2.7 Resolving Multi Agency Professional Disagreements and Escalation (proceduresonline.com) These opinion forms are your voice as education settings at the WSCP so if you have anything to share please do complete and submit these forms which are sent out 6 times a year.
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Reminder: DSL Forums & Network Meetings Open to All!
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10. Vaping the Facts - Updated Posters for 2026
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We are sharing with you updated youth vaping resources developed by Smokefree Sheffield in collaboration with ASH, which have been adapted with Wakefield branding for local use.
The aim of these resources is to provide clear, evidence-based information on youth vaping, support informed decision making, and enable trusted conversations with and among young people.
The resources have been updated in line with the ban on disposable vapes and the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, which will be moving into the report stage later this month. They also incorporate insights gathered from young people across the country.
The resources include:
We kindly ask that you share these resources widely across your networks.
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11. Multi-Agency Training Dates
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This course is designed to increase the participants knowledge and understanding of Working Together 2023 to Safeguard Children and other key legislation, including the West Yorkshire inter-agency procedures and local guidance. It is delivered by the WSCP Business Unit. Audience:
This full day course is aimed at multi-agency practitioners from health, education, police, social care, early help and the voluntary sector who work with children and families and who need to refer to, and work with other agencies to safeguard children. Attendees must complete the WSCP Safeguarding Children Basic Awareness course or an equivalent level of learning in safeguarding children. Booking Information:
Please click here for more information Available course dates and times:
- Thursday 26th March 2026, 9:15am – 4:30pm - FULL- Thursday 21st May 2026, 9:15am – 4:30pm - FULL- Wednesday 1st July 2026, 9:15am – 4:30pm - Wednesday 30th September 2026, 9:15am – 4:30pm - Thursday 26th November 2026, 9:15am – 4:30pm - Wednesday 20th January 2027, 9:15am – 4:30pm March & May dates are now fully booked. If you have booked on and cannot attend please inform wscpevents as soon as possible so we can reallocate your space. To find next dates available dates click here
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NEW DATES: 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
Audience:This training is open to anyone who is working with children and young people (and their families) within the Wakefield District. This multi- agency training session is 2 hours and free of charge. Booking information:Please click here for more information Available course dates and times:
- Friday 27th February, 9:30am – 3:30pm, Pontefract Suite, Wakefield One, WF1 2EB
- Thursday 23rd April, 9:30am – 12:30pm, Wakefield Suite, Wakefield One, WF1 2EB
- Friday 3rd July, 9:30am – 3:30pm, Wakefield Suite, Wakefield One, WF1 2EB
- Thursday 15th October – 9:30am – 12:30pm, Wakefield Suite, Wakefield One, WF1 2EB
- Friday 20th November – 9:30am – 3:30pm, Wakefield Suite, Wakefield One, WF1 2EB
Please arrive at 9:15am, to ensure a swift start at 9:30am.
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NEW DATES COMING SOON - Engaging with Men Training
Due to demand, public health have secured funding for 4 more sessions from April to August. Book onto this face to face offer to hear more from the PAIR team, Dads Matter, motivational interviewing and lived experience, case studies and much more from the Rosarie Ryrie Foundation.
Watch this space more details to fellow…awaiting dates
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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 - Full Day Sleep Workshop for Professionals working with Children, Young People & Families - Introduction to Eating Difficulties in Children and Young People - Mental Health and Wellbeing Through Teenage Years - Nature Connectedness for Wellbeing - An Introduction to Trauma & Sleep 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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Relationship Matters: Reducing Parental Conflict Toolkit Training
Relationships affect everyone; they are part of being human and are one of the hardest to navigate around as both a child and an adult. This course is designed to increase the participants knowledge and understanding of what parental conflict is, how to recognise it as well as encouraging participants to develop a range of practical strategies in supporting families to address conflict with the help of Wakefield's relationship toolkit. Audience: This course is aimed at multi-agency practitioners who work or volunteer with children and their families, from health, education, police, social care, early intervention and prevention and the voluntary sector for example. Booking information:Please click here for more information. Available course dates and times:
- Wednesday 11th March 2026, 1.30pm - 3pm - Online via MS Teams - Friday 24th April 2026, 1.30pm - 3pm - Online via MS Teams - Friday 12th June 2026. 1.30pm - 3pm, Online via MS Teams
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Parental Mental Health - Impact of Parental Mental Illness on Children
A virtual package that considers the impact of a variety of parental mental illness on children at various ages and stages of development. Audience: This course is aimed at any member of staff (with limited or no knowledge of parental mental health) who works in the area and has contact with children or carers of children. Please note this training is not useful for midwives/0-19 practitioners or safeguarding leads. Booking information:Please click here for more information. Available course dates and times:
- Wednesday 29th April 2023, 10am - 12pm - Online via MS Teams - Thursday 3rd December 2026, 10am - 12pm - Online via MS Teams
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Managing Allegations Against Staff Training
This session aims to provide employers and managers 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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Wakefield Parent & Infant Relationship Team Training Sessions
The Wakefield Parent and Infant Relationship (PAIR) team invite you to their free, drop-in lunchtime learning sessions.
These will focus on key areas of importance, impact, and interest when assessing the Parent infant relationship to help consider babies mental health and the Voice of the child. There will also be a regular chance to drop-in and find out more about PAIR team. Training is available on the following subjects:
- Introduction to the Wakefield Parent and Infant Relationship Team and ”Giving a voice of the Child”
- PAIR team updates to practice and “Working with sick and premature babies”
- Wakefield Parent and Infant Relationship Team and ‘The importance of engaging Fathers’
- The PAIR team updates to practice and ‘The impact of parental ACES on the Parent-Infant relationship’
- “How the Parent-Infant Relationship can be affected by a crying baby and feeding difficulties”
- The Parent and Infant relationship team “Working with behaviour that parents find challenging”
- The Wakefield PAIR team and “The role of Family Peer Support”
Audience:
Any professional working with babies and infants from conception to 2 years.
Booking InformationPlease click here for more information. If you would like to watch the Wakefield Parent & Infant Relationship (PAIR) Team Training Sessions from 2024, please click here to access the recordings. 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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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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12. NEW - Overcoming Gender Assumptions to Tackle Child Exploitation Training
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The Children’s Society #LookCloser programme is offering an online session: Overcoming Gender Assumptions To Tackle Child Exploitation on Thursday 5th March. This session will focus on:
- Exploitation risks for transgender, non-binary and gender diverse young people
- Girl’s experiences of criminal exploitation
- Boy’s experiences of sexual abuse
For more details and to book a place please click here |
13. LGBTQIA+ Training 2026 - Supporting & Safeguarding Young People
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"This training was interactive and engaging!" Secure your place now and click here!
New dates for 2026 include 13th May and 29th September, see flyer below for more details! |
14. Online Training for Social Workers: How Babies Learn to Regulate their Emotions & the Impact of Trauma
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Please see the flyer below for details of FREE online training sessions designed to help practitioners learn about the impact of trauma on infants, and consider their role in helping parents understand what their infant needs in order to feel emotionally safe. To book a place please email sally.smith86@nhs.net |
15. Protecting All Vulnerable Babies Better
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The Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel (Panel) has published its national review into the death of baby Victoria Marten. The review focusses on preventing harm and improving protection for all vulnerable unborn babies and infants.
Key findings and recommendations:
- Earlier and stronger pre-birth safeguarding, including more detailed national guidance on safeguarding vulnerable unborn babies and infants and situations where a pregnancy is concealed or disclosed late.
- The importance of trauma-informed practice to help reach families who do not engage with services, recognising that avoidance of services often reflects grief and mistrust rather than deliberate refusal.
- Better engagement with and support for parents before and after child removal, to help break cycles of harm and reduce repeat risk.
- A preventative ‘Think Family’ approach, bringing together adult and children’s services to provide a holistic view and identify issues that affect the whole family unit.
- Stronger links between children’s social care and offender management services, especially when serious sex offenders are parents or carers.
- Clearer arrangements when families move across geographical boundaries, including the need for formal information transfer processes, shared chronologies and defined safeguarding responsibility.
Click here to read the practitioner briefing and here to read the national review "Protecting all vulnerable babies better".
Webinar: Protecting Vulnerable Babies
The Panel are hosting a webinar on Wednesday 4 March, 10am to 11am to share the findings from their national review into the death of baby Victoria Marten.
Join their Chair, Sir David Holmes CBE, and Panel Member Sally Shearer for an overview of the key findings and recommendations from the review. The webinar will explore what we can learn from this case to strengthen safeguarding practice and better protect vulnerable babies. Click here to register for the webinar. |
16. Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse - NEW Key Messages from Research on CSE
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NEW: Key Messages from Research on Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE)
Children are sexually abused in many different ways, and in different situations or contexts. One form of this abuse is child sexual exploitation. The definition of child sexual exploitation has changed over time and crosses over into other forms of sexual abuse. It is important that all professionals are informed with the latest and best evidence to respond to, prevent and disrupt this form of child sexual abuse. The Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse recently published its key messages from research on child sexual exploitation which brings together the latest relevant research to help professionals respond to the significant number of children and young people who need support right now. Ensure your understanding is up to date with the latest evidence on child sexual exploitation, best practice and how it could impact you in your role today.
Click here to read the key messages
FREE Webinars
The Centre of Expertise have a number of free webinars available throughout 2026, from helping with research, consultation events, to free practice guidance. To find out more about the FREE upcoming webinars please click here.
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17. Urgent Product Recall: Hobby Craft Giant Box of Craft
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Hobbycraft is conducting a recall of the product identified in the image above, following the identification of a potential safety concern. This action is being taken in the interests of customer safety and in line with obligations under the General Product Safety Regulations 2005.
Product number: 6686021000 as highlighted below the barcode in the picture.
Hazard: The product presents a risk to health as the vials of sand included in the set may be contaminated with asbestos. Asbestos is a banned substance because it poses a risk to health even at low levels of exposure. Health effects from asbestos generally occur many years after long-term inhalation of very small fibres. Testing to date indicates that there is Trace Asbestos Detected in some samples tested. What to do:
- Stop using the product immediately.
- If the sand is still in its packaging, place in a heavy-duty plastic bag, double tape it securely, label it clearly and store in a secure location out of the reach of children.
- If the sand has been used, clean-up sites where the product was used using wet cloths to avoid generating dust. Wear gloves and a mask. Double bag the sand, gloves, mask and cloths.
- Keep children and other people away from areas where the sand has been used until the area has been cleaned.
- Return the sand vials from the product to your nearest Hobbycraft store for a full refund.
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18. Top Safety Tips for Families this February
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The Child Accident Prevention Trust (CAPT) have published the following safety tips for families this February. Calling all professionals - where possible please share this important information with any parents/carers that you work with. Fridge MagnetsA four-year-old boy died days after swallowing a small magnet. Sadly, this isn’t an isolated incident. Please avoid small loose magnets if you have small children, click here to learn more. Staying Safe & Warm
With high energy prices, many of us are looking for ways to stay warm for less. But it’s important to keep safety in mind. If you use an electric blanket, electric heater or hot water bottle please make sure you do so safely. Click here for top tips for keeping children safe this winter
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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 extrafamilial harm, domestic abuse, private foster care and professional curiosity. Please click here to read the reviews.
Mental Health
Childline has launched a campaign to help children and young people look after their mental health when using social media. The 'Race to a Milli' campaign video shows TikTok stars compete to achieve one million ‘likes’ whilst tackling issues such as peer pressure, hateful comments and rage bait. The campaign provides talking points for professionals to use with young people in their schools, clubs and organisations. Supporting Childline data shows that between April 2024 and March 2025, 82,882 counselling sessions were delivered to young people about their mental wellbeing.
Read about the campaign: Help young people navigate the mental health challenges of being online.
Read the news story: More than half of all Childline counselling session support children with mental health struggles
Child Sexual Abuse Material
The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) has published a news story about AI tools and online child sexual abuse material. The news story highlights concerns around increasing levels of photo-realistic AI child sexual abuse material. Findings from IWF data show in 2025, the IWF discovered 3,440 AI videos of child sexual abuse compared to only 13 in 2024, 65% of which were categorised as Category A, the most severe classification under UK law. The IWF is calling for the government to hasten plans to outlaw AI apps (and other tools) which digitally remove clothing or ‘nudify’ subjects of photographs.
Read the news story: AI becoming "child sexual abuse machine" to "dangerous" record levels of online abuse, IWF warns
See also on NSPCC Learning: Protecting children from sexual abuse
Online Safety
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) has launched a campaign to help parents talk to their children about harmful online content. The campaign includes practical information for parents on how to start conversations about online safety; parental controls; and where to report issues. This follows new media literacy research involving parents of 8- to 14-year-olds which found: parents think they understand platforms, but not the content; most parents have not seen online safety resources; and conversations about online experiences remain rare.
Read the press release: Is your child influenced by toxic content? New government campaign supports parents to talk about harmful online content
Finding out more about the study: Media Literacy Parent's study
Safeguarding Apprentices & Young Workers
NSPCC Learning has published a blog and guidance on how employers can support and safeguard young people joining the workplace as apprentices. The blog shares insights on what young people have told Childline about apprenticeships. Between April 2024 and March 2025, Childline recorded over 400 counselling sessions that mentioned apprenticeships, with young people sharing concerns about communicating with managers and colleagues; managing the stress of workloads; and navigating the workplace independently. Guidance on NSPCC Learning outlines simple steps to make the workplace a safe and welcoming environment for young people. These include: assigning a safeguarding lead; assessing the risks; reviewing safeguarding policies and procedures; creating codes of conduct; and getting support and training.
Read the blog: What young people tell Childline about apprenticeships
Read the guidance: Safeguarding apprentices and young workers |
20. What Would You Like to Hear About?
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What areas regarding child safeguarding do you want to hear about? WSCP welcome your suggestions for content for the partnership e-bulletin. Therefore, if there are any items you would like to be featured in the next edition or to provide feedback which will help us improve the newsletter going forward please email wscp@wakefield.gov.ukThe e-bulletin is circulated on or around the last working day of each month, therefore any suggestions for content would need to be received at the latest the week prior to circulation. |
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