Transforming Communities Together have arranged some free online Modern Slavery awareness training sessions: Monday 1st June 2020 – 13:00pm to 14:30pm Thursday 11th June 2020 – 19:00pm to 20:30pm Monday 15th June 2020 – 19:00pm to 20:30pm Thursday 25th June – 13:00pm to 14:30pm Booking is via https://tctogether.org.uk/events

SCIE is hosting a series of webinars covering the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA), helping you to understand protecting and restoring power to individuals who may lack capacity to make certain decisions. Each week SCIE explore specific aspects of the MCA For more information visit SCIE  Please note actual webinar sessions are all full, however ...

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Mental Health Awareness Week

Wolverhampton Safeguarding Together is supporting the city’s participation in Mental Health Awareness Week (organised by the Mental Health Foundation) which is taking place this week until Sunday 24 May. This year's theme is kindness and the positive impact all acts of kindness can have on people's mental health and wellbeing – particularly during lockdown.

Kindess includes

Being kind to others: someone there to listen when you’ve needed to talk, volunteering to help those who need support

Being kind to yourself: taking time to do something for yourself to help your wellbeing e.g. taking some ‘me time’ to do something you enjoy.

The NSPCC have added seven case reviews to the collection this month featuring a number of issues including self-harm, child criminal exploitation, domestic abuse and home education. To view these new case reviews click here

Wolverhampton Domestic Violence Forum have developed some shortened versions (1 hour) of their fantastic training programme in order to help and support families and professionals in the current situation. These sessions are being delivered using Microsoft Teams and Skype. Being aware of domestic abuse and being able to respond safely to victims is...

Safeguarding adults training webinar series Safeguarding is everyone's business and it is now more important than ever that those entering or returning to practice as well as those already in frontline roles understand the basics. The Department of Health and Social Care has asked SCIE to develop a series of webinars to support you and your team to...

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What to look out for...

Below are some examples of safeguarding concerns to look out for to best protect vulnerable adults, children and families during the Covid-19 outbreak.

Always THINK FAMILY! Whether your safeguarding concern be for a child or an adult – who else is in the household that could be affected?

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• Increased stress levels in the household due to self-isolation and those at risk not being able to flee or leave
• Children not seeing trusted adults regularly
• Living with perpetrators who may have more control over a family
• Children of separated parents not being able to move between households

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• Financial abuse from people you don't know offering to do the shopping for you
• Vulnerability to loan sharks because of reduction or loss of income
• Overcharging for goods and services or selling things at a premium
• Zero-hour contracts or reduced or no work and the take up of loan sharks
• An increase in potential scammers targeting those self-isolating

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• People being targeted for support by people they don't know who don't belong to an organised group

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• Individuals not going out for essentials for fear of catching the virus.

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• A carer needing to self-isolate or even becoming ill that could lead to unintended abuse because of stress and reduced access to support and respite

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• A decision not to provide care to someone due to real or perceived Covoid-19 symptoms
• Lack of access to safe places and resources such as school and free school meals
• Increased risk of poverty to a household

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• Lack of knowledge and clarity of the virus risks, symptoms and actions to be taken
• Access to handwashing facilities

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• An increase in episodes of mental health or relapses of parents due to reduced direct support
• Isolation from friends and support network
• Anxiety about friends and family’s health
• Uncertainty about the pandemic

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• Increased vulnerability due to being out of school and usually ‘safe’ routines.

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Click the link below to download a copy of our WST Covid-19 Safeguarding Poster to display within your agency

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Below is a list of useful resources for safeguarding children and adults in Wolverhampton which we will be adding on over the coming weeks.

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Children's

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Residents are being warned to watch out for doorstep scammers asking for cash, personal details or bank details in exchange for food parcel deliveries or other goods and services during the Coronavirus outbreak. Here are some useful things to be aware of when avoiding scams:

• Food parcels are free for people who have been identified as vulnerable and no one will be asked to pay for them
• Your bank or the police will NEVER – repeat NEVER – ask for your bank details over the phone.
• Remember, your doctor’s surgery will NEVER call or text you to ask you to verify your NHS number and date of birth.
• If you receive an unexpected call offering help and assistance, DO NOT give any personal details as it might be a scam. Offer to return the call after carrying out checks.
• If you receive an unexpected doorstep call from a stranger offering to do your shopping, DO NOT hand over cash or your bank card. It’s far better to ask someone you know and trust for help.
• If you receive unexpected doorstep callers offering coronavirus home testing kits, decline, close the door and call trading standards. They are likely to be scammers.
• Be cautious and listen to your instincts. Don’t be afraid to hang up, bin it, delete it or shut the door.
• If someone claims to represent a charity, ask them for identification. Be suspicious of requests for money up front.
• If you are online, be aware of fake news and use trusted sources of information such as gov.uk or NHS.uk websites. Make sure you type the address in and DON’T click on links in emails.
• Always protect your financial information, especially from people you don’t know. NEVER give your bank card or PIN to a stranger.
• With any UNEXPECTED communication, trust your instincts. Can you be sure they are who they say they are? If in doubt, always say NO.

Report scams or suspected criminal activity to: Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or if you need advice, call the Citizens Advice Consumer Helpline on 0808 223 11133.

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Children and Families:

Children are at home more often now that schools are closed. Trying to work from home with young children may result in an unintended lack of supervision – an accident waiting to happen. Stay safe at home during lockdown, prevent accidents, protect your family and help the NHS with avoidable injuries.

Vulnerable adults:

There is an obvious concern at the moment that social isolation might lead to an increase in falls and severe health implications amongst older people.

In response to the Coronavirus and in order to keep people safe we are cancelling all multi-agency training until the 31st May 2020. If you are booked to attend any training during this period you will receive an email cancelling your place. All bookings will be reallocated to new dates once WST are in a position to reschedule. WST are keeping the ...

We have been asked to stay home to save lives. For women who are subjected to domestic abuse, social distancing is #justasSCARY. The Haven have created a safety planning toolkit for those at risk of Domestic Abuse during the outbreak.  Their 24 Hour helpline and online chat services are still up and running. The COVID-19 outbreak and all that ...

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Safeguarding REMAINS everyone's duty during the Coronavirus outbreak

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Wolverhampton Safeguarding Together is a multi-agency partnership made up of many organisations all with one aim in mind, to protect the welfare of vulnerable children, adults and families in Wolverhampton.

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Domestic Abuse

Covid-19 will have a serious impact on the lives of women and children.  Womens aid have published three information documents for victims and survivors. To download the information, click the followng links: Covid advice from Womens Aid Economic Abuse and the Coronavirus Outbreak Safety Planning Guide for Victims and Survivors

Childline has created a new webpage with information for children and young people about coronavirus. The page includes information about: what coronavirus is; where children and young people can find help if they are worried; coping if they are staying at home; and what to do if they are feeling unwell. for more information, click here: https://ww...

 Wolverhampton Safeguarding Together have published five new Learning Lessons Briefings.  To read them, please follow the links below. LLB - Child H LLB - Child NLLB - Child KLLB - Adult CLLB - Edith(Adult) 

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National Child Exploitation Awareness Day (sponsored by NWG see https://www.nwgnetwork.org/events/national-child-exploitation-awareness-day-2020) is on 18th March each year.

In Wolverhampton, the Safer Wolverhampton Partnership and Wolverhampton Safeguarding Together partnership have planned a range of joint activities to raise awareness of exploiation among both children and adults.

Please use the resources below to:

• create a display
• get your staff and service users involved in conversations
• spread the message onsocial media and other platforms

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POSTERS

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We are seeking views about proposed changes to Keeping children safe in education (KCSIE) statutory guidance. Why We Are Consulting  We are consulting on a wide variety of proposed changes to KCSIE. The aim is to help schools and colleges to better understand what they are required to do by law and what we strongly advise they should do in ord...