WELCOME

  I wonder if I was to ask you what was your best day ever? What would you say? I hope lots of lovely memories would come flooding in; maybe it was a wonderful day, where you did something really fun, on a holiday, maybe at a wedding, the day a child was born or the day you met someone special.   How about if I asked you the opposite? What if I asked you for an example of a really tough day in your life?   The reality for some of the children and families that we work with in any of our respective roles as professionals working with children, is that one of their toughest periods in their lives; let alone days, all started on the day that we had to make a referral to children services.   Maybe you were concerned because a child had told you something, or maybe your own observations of a child, had made you feel worried. Maybe you know a family are in crisis and need some support, or worried that if action isn't taken, something could happen. As professionals, we know ou

  Child Sexual Exploitation - Can We Find Hope? I want to tell you about a little girl I used to know. She was a beautiful little girl, had a little baby face and she appeared to be a confident and care free child. To this day, I can still see a lovely, cheeky smile. She had a Mum and Dad who loved her, a sister and two brothers who cared deeply for her. She had friends at school, a lovely home and looking from the outside in, she had everything to look forward to as she continued her childhood. This little girl was known to me because she was being sexually exploited.   I worked with her and her family for just over a year and I think we would all agree that it felt like ten at the time. Day in and day out I was working closely with her family; we were chasing her around the city, trying to find where she was and who she may be with. We would find her in a car with grown adult men, in houses where children should never have been, abandoned time and time again by those that had tri

  Psychological safety in teams   I recall when starting my role as a manager of a new team, we sat in a team meeting and I asked my team the following question, ‘ Tell me about a mistake that you made at work this week.’ For a team that was difficult to keep quiet on most occasions, there was an unusual silence, followed by nervous laughter. ‘Are you serious? ’ one of them asked me - ‘ Is this a trick question? ’   You see the thing is, it wasn't a trick question it was actually a genuine one. I figured that we don't have time to make all the mistakes ourselves and therefore, what an opportunity to learn from others mistakes; in the same way that they can learn from ours. But the main reason I wanted to ask the question was to send a clear message to my team - this is a team where not only are you going to make mistakes, but crucially its ok to make mistakes - because we are human and the danger comes in not recognising that.   I have been in teams where it di

I qualified in social work ten years ago and started a journey in child protection that I never could have imagined! I wonder what I would have done, had I known, what I was getting myself into, what would I have done? A couple of months ago, I hit the dreaded, ‘ burnout’ and for the first time had to take a few weeks out to breathe, have some quiet and re-evaluate. After some sleep and rest, I knew instantly what I needed to do. I am not sharing this for any other reason, than with the aim of hoping to encourage someone else who feels at that stage to make the changes. My notice has gone in and I am working out my notice with clarity and confidence in my decision; yet also with a heavy heart; both full and empty in equal measure. Let me tell you what 10 years in this job has shown me… This job has showed me the absolute worst in people, and took me to the depths of hell at times. This job showed me the worst of humanity. It showed me cruelty, abuse and depravity I didn't know ex