Click here - Updated County Lines Guidance
Criminal exploitation of children and vulnerable adults is a geographically widespread form of harm that is a typical feature of county lines activity. It is a harm which is relatively little known about or recognised by those best placed to spot its potential victims.
This guidance is intended to explain the nature of this harm to enable practitioners to recognise its signs and respond appropriately so that potential victims get the support and help they need.
The Government has launched a new online portal today that will strengthen its support to charities handling safeguarding concerns or allegations.
Click here for the portal, based on Gov.uk, offers a step by step guide to help charities correctly manage their concerns, identify the right people to contact if needed and access helpful resources and advice.
Following a combined £1.2 million DCMS and National Lottery Community Fund investment the portal will be promoted by six organisations across England. They have been appointed to champion the importance of good safeguarding and locally available sources of advice and support.
A great website for children in the care system, or young people leaving it, is IMO - write, speak, share.
IMO was created by the Children's Commissioner for England in collaboration with an advisory network of teens with care experience.
IMO is a voice for teenagers in care and for care leavers. It is somewhere to share stories, experiences , achievements and advice, and find loads of great free stuff!
The site also shares opportunities for care leavers, like jobs and apprenticeships!
The site is really useful resources and it could be used in mentoring sessions to look some of the issues.
Click here : https://imohub.org.uk/
The Black Country Sexual Abuse Forum has been re-established by NHS Wolverhampton Clinical Commissioning Group and First Person Plural (FPP). It is a multi-agency network for statutory and voluntary sector agencies and survivors.
Who can attend?
Membership is open to representatives from statutory sector health, social care, education and voluntary sector organisations; to individual workers and practitioners of all disciplines, adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse, service users and carers.
Why attend?
The Forum aims to facilitate mutual support, learning and the sharing of information related to supporting, caring for and advocating on behalf of survivors of non-recent and recent child sexual abuse and related issues.
The Forum offers opportunities to network with others and coordinate resources across agencies raise knowledge and awareness on issues relating to sexual abuse explore ways of delivering services to survivors of sexual abuse and to share good practice discuss new ideas, interventions and approaches.
Thursday 30 Jan 2020, 11am – 1pm (Launch & session on adult survivors of child sexual abuse) – link to book your place: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/blackcountry-sexual-abuse-forum-tickets86803316055
Research and resources
Child protection and safeguarding information, advice and research
Search our directory for our latest research, child protection statistics, leaflets, practical guidance, briefings and evaluations that share what we've learned from our services for children and families.
https://learning.nspcc.org.uk/research-resources/?topic=4577&sort=recent
NSPCC Learning - sign up to monthly update using link below
People are often surprised to find that private tutors are not required to have an Enhanced DBS check to work with children and young people, even in 1:1 situations. The tutoring industry is largely unregulated and given that 27% of 11 - 16 year olds have had private tuition in the last 12-months (41% in London)*, this is of concern.
The Tutors' Association (TTA) President, Tim Morris, is a vocal advocate for regulation in this area and shares his thoughts in a useful article in a recent edition of FE News that can be found here: https://www.fenews.co.uk/fevoices/39394-tackling-the-issue-of-safeguarding-in-private-tuition
For further information regarding Private Tutors contact Paul Cooper LADO 01902 556061 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ( non secure email).
With two months to go until Safer Internet Day, we are delighted to announce that we have launched the Safer Internet Day Educational resources as well as the theme!
This year our educational resources are focusing on the theme of identity online and whether young people are #freetobe themselves online. The free resources explore how young people manage their identity online and are tailored for 3-7s, 7-11s, 11-14s, 14-18s and parents and carers, along with guidance for educators.
To accompany the resources, there is also a range of short films for 5-11s, 11-14s, parents and carers, as well as a campaign film outlining the theme of the Day.
UK Safer Internet Centre Childnet.
The National Council For Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) have created a number of 'KnowHow pages' which outline simple steps that voluntary organisations in England can take to ensure that they are run in a way that actively prevents staff, volunteers and everyone they come into contact with from suffering harm, harassment, bullying, abuse and neglect.
The website is very thorough and case studies cover all kinds of organisations from village halls, mobile book buses, house clearance charities and pensioners' clubs.
If you are a third-sector organisation or charity, or if you work with one, this NCVO KnowHow website will help keep your staff and users safe whether they are children or vulnerable adults.
Find out more here: https://knowhow.ncvo.org.uk/safeguarding
There is a range of help and support for voluntary, community and faith organisations working in Wolverhampton from Wolverhampton Voluntary Sector Council click here for more information
With the festive season approaching, people are reminded to be aware of the key warning signs of child sexual exploitation (CSE).
The See Me, Hear Me partnership led by West Midlands Police and councils across the West Midlands, including the City of Wolverhampton Council, is highlighting the signs of this hidden crime in the run up to Christmas, to help people identify concerns and get help.
A child or young person receiving unexplained money or gifts this Christmas could be an indication something is wrong. This, along with other unusual behaviour such as mood swings, skipping school, being secretive and staying out late, are all signs that parents, carers, schools, professionals and young people should not ignore.
Emma Bennett, the City of Wolverhampton Council's Director of Children's Services, said: "We know young people will be getting new things and exchanging gifts during the festive season, but it's important for parents and carers to look out for anything unusual as this could indicate they may be at risk of abuse.
"CSE can affect both girls and boys and being aware of the warning signs - and acting on them early - can help prevent abuse happening or escalating.
The local authority are offering Reducing Parental Conflict training to professionals. Research has found that children exposed to parental conflict experience a decline in their mental health and poorer long-term outcomes. Practitioners or agencies that have contact with parents either directly, or by working with their children, play an important role in identifying and supporting the reduction of parental conflict. The Reducing Parental Conflict Programme supports practitioners and agencies working with families in building awareness and developing the confidence, knowledge and skills to work with parents to reduce conflict and improve outcomes for children.
We are offering free training for individuals who work with children and families around parental conflict. The training consists of 2 modules and we are anticipating this should take the entire day (9-5pm). The training will be in February 2020 and from 9-5pm. The exact date will be confirmed upon registration. Refreshments will be provided but delegates are asked to bring their own lunch. Location and exact date of training will be confirmed upon registration. Please note places are on a first come first served basis.
Individuals will have the opportunity for 'Train the Trainer' if they wish to do so. The two day 'Train the Trainer' course will be held on Monday 17th February 2020 and Tuesday 18th February 2020 from 9-5pm for any individuals who wish to become a trainer in reducing parental conflict.
If you wish to register on either the standard training or train the trainer please contact Shanara Abdin on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
Thank you to everyone who attended the event on the 14/11/19.
Sally Roberts, Chief Nurse, Quality of Director, Wolverhampton CCG
Wolverhampton Safeguarding Executive Group Chair opened the event and spoke about the recent changes and the move from a Safeguarding Board to Wolverhampton Safeguarding Together partnership.
Dawn Williams, Head of Safeguarding provided an overview of key learning and emerging themes from local case reviews, followed by Simon Hill, Independent Safeguarding Consultant shared his reflections on coercive control drawn from Domestic Homicide Reviews.
Simon's contribution set the scene for Ryan Hart, Coco Awareness. Ryan gave a powerful and personal account of the experiences of his family and the impact of coercive control.
You can take part in National Safeguarding Adults Week which runs from 18-24 November 2019.
Download and print your Safeguarding Adults Week Poster!
Click here to visit Ann Craft trust and download resources
Each day of the week will focus on a different safeguarding theme.
To help you prepare for the event, a number of resources have been prepared to support each theme.
Wolverhampton Safeguarding Together have published two Learning Lessons Briefings into the deaths of Adult Z and JIM, neither death met the criteria for a Safeguarding Adult Review (SAR) but it was clear that lessons could be learnt from both deaths.
Click here and scroll down to the Non-statutory reviews section.
Keep up to date with the latest safeguarding news.
© 2020 Wolverhampton Safeguarding Together
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