Dudley Safeguarding People Partnership are undertaking a monthly thematic learning dissemination, which provides an opportunity for staff and partner organisations in Dudley to be made aware of the key learning from our quality assurance activity and case reviews along with offering information in relation to this learning.
During September the focus has been on Trauma Informed & Person Centred Practice as this has been a recurring theme in our children’s reviews.
DSPP seeks to promote a culture of continuous learning and improvement across the organisations that work together to safeguard and promote the welfare of children and adults, identifying opportunities to draw on what works and promote good practice
Our thematic learning plan is one of the ways we share learning to improve practice.
We would like to share reviews that have links to the theme of Trauma Informed & Person Centred Practice:
Trauma-informed practice is an approach to health and care interventions which is grounded in the understanding that trauma exposure can impact an individual’s neurological, biological, psychological and social development.
The Office for Health Improvement and Disparities provide the following guidance to staff: Guidance: Working definition of trauma-informed practice
The West Midlands Trauma Informed Coalition was developed in 2022. The West Midland’s Combined Authority, alongside partners representing Policing, Fire Service, Probation, Local Authorities, Health, Education and Third sectors embarked on the task of developing a region-wide vision and programme to enable the West Midlands to become trauma-informed.
The coalition has had a number of achievements with agreeing a regional definition, developing a framework to enable a shared understanding across agencies and communities of what it means to become trauma informed and developed an online community to share best practice and knowledge.
A forthcoming key piece of work will be to develop Regional a Trauma Informed Strategy for the West Midlands.
If you are a leader or senior leader working within the Public Sector you can become a member of the West Midlands Trauma Informed Coalition– please register here
Young Minds have a wealth of support and Guidance for understanding a child’s feelings and behaviours, click here for more information.
Please view the DSPP Language Matters Guidance, for use of language when working with children and young people
The fourth edition of the MSP practice toolkit, produced in January 2020, outlines an approach to and effective application of safeguarding, alongside a range of resources and practice based case examples.
The Mental Capacity Act is designed to protect and empower people who may lack the mental capacity to make their own decisions about their care and treatment. It applies to people aged 16 and over.
The Dudley Safeguarding People Partnership is holding our annual conference where we will be covering the theme of Trauma Informed Practice. This theme has been chosen as it has been highlighted in a number of our Children’s and Adults Case Reviews.
We will have a number of guest speakers relating to the theme along with opportunities to reflect on Dudley Case Reviews and share ideas on how Dudley can better be a Trauma Informed Safeguarding Partnership:
This training will equip practitioners:
The Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse are facilitating this one-day training course to support professionals to improve their understanding of child sexual abuse within the family environment, and help to better identify signs and indicators and respond effectively to protect children.
To raise awareness of the different types of abuse regarding adults with care and support needs can experience, who abuses, where abuse can take place and to offer support and guidance for making Safeguarding Adult Referrals, including providing a greater understanding of what is required in a Safeguarding Referral.
This Multi-Agency training course will increase practitioner’s knowledge and confidence in practising ‘respectful uncertainty’ by thinking outside the box’, beyond their usual professional role, and considering individual’s and families’ circumstances holistically. It will also be an opportunity to explore how as professionals differences of opinion, concerns and issues that arise for practitioners at work and are resolved as effectively and swiftly as possible.
By the end of the session, delegates will have:
Considering Dudley’s practice around Neglect and what that means for their role
This is a one-day course that aims to develop practitioner skills, offers ideas to enhance practice and introduce practical ways of working with children and young people who are at risk of exploitation.
This level 1 package has been designed for multi-agency staff and volunteers who have contact with children and young people who July have safeguarding needs. It is important that everyone is able to recognise concerns around safeguarding and how to raise a concern so that appropriate actions can be taken.
To raise awareness of the different types of abuse adults with care and support needs can experience, who abuses, where abuse can take place and how to report concerns.
This course is linked to the ‘DSPP Support Level Guidance and Framework’ which provides the model of integrated working and gives practical guidance on making decisions across service thresholds for practitioners working in Dudley.
This training has been designed to support your understanding of Mental Capacity Act and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguarding.
The knowledge that you will get from this course will help you understand the how to help people who may lack mental capacity and the implications of Deprivation of Liberty. It will help you to ensure that you are safeguarding their rights.
Seven minute briefings are based on a technique borrowed from the FBI. It is based on research, which suggests that seven minutes is an ideal time span to concentrate and learn. Learning for seven minutes is manageable in most services, and learning is more memorable as it is simple and not clouded by other issues and pressures.
As part of the Thematic Learning from reviews we have promoted our Safer7 briefings which are directly linked to the findings of our reviews:
Trauma results from an event, series of events, or set of circumstances that is experienced by an individual as harmful or life threatening. While unique to the individual, generally the experience of trauma can cause lasting adverse effects, limiting the ability to function and achieve mental, physical, social, emotional, or spiritual well-being.
The MCA 2005 applies to everyone over 16 years who may lack capacity to make specific decisions about their life. These decisions can range from simple, everyday things to more complex life changing matters such as where they live or receiving treatment.
The MCA protects the rights of individuals by creating a framework for decision making where someone may lack the mental capacity to make the decision for themselves.
Executive function is an umbrella term used to describe a set of mental skills that are controlled by the frontal lobes of the brain. When executive function is impaired, it can inhibit appropriate decision-making and reduce a person’s problem-solving abilities.
Professionals assessing capacity in this patient group are faced with a number of obstacles that make determination of capacity more challenging. This can have significant implications because failing to carry out a sufficiently thorough capacity assessment in these situations can expose a vulnerable person to substantial risk.
Professional curiosity is having the capacity and communication skill to explore and understand what is happening with a child, adult with care and support needs or their family. It is about enquiring deeper and using proactive questioning and challenge. It is about understanding one’s own responsibility and knowing when to act, rather than making assumptions, or taking things at face value.
Sharing information is crucial to safeguarding children and adults – poor information sharing is repeatedly highlighted as an issue in CSPRs and SARs.
The most important consideration is whether sharing information is likely to safeguard and protect the child or adult with care and support needs.
Disguised compliance involves parents and carers appearing to co-operate with professionals to allay concerns and stop professional engagement (Reder et al, 1993).
This can mean that social workers and other practitioners may be unaware of what is happening in a child’s or adult’s life and the risks they face may be unknown to authorities.
Neglect is the ongoing failure to meet a child’s basic needs. Neglect takes many forms. Neglected children July be left hungry or dirty, without adequate clothing, shelter, supervision, medical or health care. They July be put in danger or not protected from physical or emotional harm. They July not get the love, care, and attention they need from their parents or carers.
Anybody can be exploited regardless of age, gender or background. The victim may have been exploited even if the activity appears consensual due to his /her specific situation. Exploitation does not always involve physical contact, it can also occur through the use of technology, e.g. as the result of a grooming process which takes place during conversations in chat rooms, or through the use of social media.
Child Sexual Abuse involves forcing or enticing a young person or child to take part in sexual activities. It includes contact and non-contact abuse.
The abusive sexual activity may involve trickery, coercion, threats and/or aggression. Child Sexual Abuse can happen anywhere and may be online or in person.
Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are highly stressful, and potentially traumatic, events or situations that occur during childhood and/or adolescence. It can be a single event, or prolonged threats to, and breaches of, the young person’s safety, security, trust or bodily integrity. These experiences directly affect the young person and their environment, and require significant social, emotional, neurobiological, psychological or behavioural adaptation.
https://www.youngminds.org.uk/media/ojpon1ut/addressing-adversity-infographic-poster.pdf
Please view this helpful video which illustrates the impact of ACEs on children:
These checklists act as a quick, easy tool to identify where you/ your teams are currently working, what you’re doing well, how you can improve and where you want to be.
*Please note Anti-Pathologisation is the gold standard and the hardest to achieve, organisations should come to this one last. Begin by completing the vicarious trauma temperature check
DSPP have produced a good practice leaflet on promoting person-centred adult safeguarding practice in Dudley and can be accessed via our website
The Making Safeguarding Personal videos were developed by Research in Practice for the safeguarding adults workstream of the Care and Health Improvement Partnership in 2022. They are tools for practitioners, trainers and anyone else to be used to promote a person centred, outcome focused and strength based approach to safeguarding adults.
The MSP case studies from October 2019 illustrate outcome focused practice in safeguarding adults in line with the MSP approach. They are from nine council areas who put forward case studies, with local areas welcome to put forward further case studies.
As part of the Dudley Self Neglect Case review a number of resources to assist practitioners were developed:
