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Safeguarding Consultant – A ‘normal’ week You won’t be hugely shocked to read that a week in the life of a Safeguarding Consultant with ECP, means no day is ever the same. What my week would have looked like this time last year, is now totally different this year. We as a company, and myself as a consultant, have had to be innovative, flexible and take each week at a time.   Preparation I am sure you have heard the old saying “Fail to prepare is preparing to fail”. Well, so is the case with being a Safeguarding Consultant. We have a lot of different portfolio areas, which means that you need to ensure you are ready to deliver the correct material, at the appropriate level for the relevant audiences. So, before I finish a week, I look ahead to assess the week coming. I review material, look up directions to schools, read client websites and generally make sure I am ready to rock for every session coming up.   Monday We are ECP virtual today, which means I’m in our lovely offic

What are we missing with ‘missing children’?  According to the UK Missing Persons Bureau, an estimated 112,853 children are reported missing every year, many of whom will go missing regularly; much to the concern of parents, carers and professionals. But are we doing enough to listen to the child involved and effectively safeguard them by reducing the risk of future missing episodes? Statutory guidance published by the Department for Education states that upon their return, Local Authorities should offer all missing children an independent return interview (RHI). Best practice states that the return interview should be with professionals who are not directly known or working with the child, but each Local Authority will interpret that support differently; meaning that return interviews are generally completed by a commissioned service, a social worker, a teacher or youth worker. Although it is the child’s decision as to whether they wish to engage in an independent return interview, th

Child Safeguarding Practice Reviews (SPRs) formerly called Serious Case Reviews (SCRs) We are all responsible for Safeguarding! – The sad case of Victoria Climbie Many of you will have heard of the shocking case of Victoria Climbie.   Victoria’s life was short and tragic. She was abused and murdered by her great-aunt and her great-aunt's boyfriend. Her death prompted a public inquiry and the largest review of child protection arrangements in the United Kingdom. Victoria was born in the Ivory Coast. At the age of 7 she arrived in Paris to live with her great-aunt Marie-Thérèse Kouao. The pair travelled to England in April 1999 where they met Carl Manning who became Marie-Thérèse Kouao’s boyfriend. It is not exactly known when the abuse started but it is widely thought that it worsened when Victoria and her great aunt went to live in the boyfriend’s flat in Haringey, North London. Throughout the abuse, Victoria was burnt with cigarettes, tied up for periods of longer

Working with children and young people is one of the most rewarding jobs I have ever had. It isn’t always easy (if ever) but if you enjoy making a difference it is definitely a job worth seeking. Over the years I have worked with many different ages and abilities in a vast array of different settings. Examples of these include leading sessions at a playscheme, running PE lessons at primary/secondary school, facilitating and engaging young people at youth groups and organising play activities for almost 200 children in The Gambia. All of the above may seem extremely different but at the centre of all of these activities there remains a child/ young person who is there because they want to be. It is really important to remember that all children are different. All of them have different backgrounds and live in differing situations. All of them have different emotional needs and to some young people you may be their only constant activity /face they see each week. With this comes

‘We care about case recording.’ We care. Whether it be education, social work, health, youth work or any other role that supports young people or adults at risk, we enter into these professions because we care. We care about the people we are working with; we care about families, we care about doing everything in our power to ensure that they are safe, supported and achieve the best possible outcomes. None of us are robots, I doubt there is a single professional who has not at some point thought about the people we are working with, outside of working hours. Whilst important that we ensure we have coping strategies and boundaries in place to support ourselves; both in and outside of work, we cannot ever just switch our caring side on and off when it suits… If you take time to reflect on a particularly challenging situation you have dealt with, appointment you have attended or disclosure you have managed, which has resulted in a positive outcome; we probably think about w