Early Years DSL Network
18th May 2017
Update from Previous DSL
Network
Signs of Safety Training
26th June 2017
12th July 2017
Certificates
DSL Contacts
National Updates
National Updates
• Children’s Stability index
http://www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/sites/default/files/publications/
Children%27s%20Commissioner%27s%20Stability%20Index%20Phase
%20One%20Technical%20Report%201.3.pdf
• Online Safety
https://www.saferinternet.org.uk/blog/5things-teens-want-parents-know
• Holiday hunger
http://www.frankfield.com/upload/docs/Hungry%20Holidays.pdf
National Updates
• Mobile device use
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-39666863
• Preventing child sexual abuse
http://www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/sites/default/files/publications/Pr
eventing%20CSA%20The%20Role%20of%20Schools%20CCO%20April
%202017%201.2.pdf
National Updates
• Indecent Images of Children: guidance for
young people
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/indecent-images-ofchildren-guidance-for-young-people/indecent-images-ofchildren-guidance-for-young-people
• Children missing from the setting/education
https://www.ncb.org.uk/sites/default/files/field/attachment/CME%20the%20fi
nal%20report%20.pdf
National Updates
Domestic Homicide Review – what is
this
Key Learning
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/575
232/HO-Domestic-Homicide-Review-Analysis-161206.pdf
https://avaproject.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Alcohol-Concern-AVAguidance-on-DA-and-change-resistant-drinkers.pdf
Local Updates
Local Updates
• Fostering recruitment
• Fake News (Blue Whale)
• Challenges from the Ofsted
inspection
• Safe Families for Children
• Young carers
Early Help At The Front Door
Samantha Danyluk – Service Manager
&
Susie Wilkinson – Early Support Specialist
Our Aim
To instil resilience and empower hard to
reach families, by promoting Early
Intervention to reduce there crisis
experiences
To offer “The right support at the right time”
Children & Families Direct
“The Front Door”
First point of contact of concerns
Multi Intervention Team
Screen information / referrals
Generate outcomes for families
Role of Level 3 & Level 2 Family
Support Workers
To use analytical skills to identify appropriate support through an holistic
assessment
To support parents, carers and young people in overcoming barriers
To identify risk and seek advice and guidance from relevant supervisor
within a timely manner
Gather information through agency checks
Identification of Priority Families and promotion of multi agency working
Promote Early Help at every opportunity
Role of Early Help
Early Support Specialist
CFDirect & Children's Centre - Coach, Mentor, Supervise and lead the
team into identifying Early Help within there screening
Referrals: Co-ordinate and manage electronic emails
Duty Teams: Analyse Children's Assessments, tailor 1-1 support and
conduct audits to identify an appropriate support pathway.
DART: Promote joint working and smooth referral into Early Help
What's going Well
Early Help referrals have increased
Every family has a voice and they are being heard
All referrals are being explored and supported
appropriately
Families have the information to change their lives
Professionals have a greater understanding of what
we do
“The Right Support at the Right Time”
Learning from Reviews
NCSCB
•
NCSCB brings together local partners to develop
safeguarding policies and procedures, and to provide
scrutiny to ensure local arrangements are co-ordinated
and effective
•
NCSCB is made up of a number of partners including
Social Care, Nottinghamshire Police, Health Services,
Fire and Rescue, Voluntary Sector Organisations,
CAFCASS, Probation Services…and many more
•
Local Safeguarding Children Boards (LSCB) are
responsible for conducting serious case reviews,
and disseminating learning from reviews
Learning and Improvement
• All Local Safeguarding Children Boards are required to
conduct Serious Case Reviews in accordance with
Working Together 2015.
• Serious Case Reviews must be undertaken for every
case where abuse or neglect is known or suspected and
either a child dies or is seriously harmed, and there are
concerns about how organisations or professionals
worked together to safeguard the child.
• The purpose of a Serious Case Review is to identify
lessons to be learned to improve safeguarding practice
and for the learning to be disseminated to the workforce
Serious Case Review Child J
The learning from this SCR has identified some
specific areas of practice that we hope to
strengthen in Nottingham City
• Confirmatory bias
• Assessing potential non-accidental injury
• Child-centred disciplinary approaches
• Early trauma
• Child-focussed practice
• Self-harm in young children
• Working Effectively with Children with Continence Issues
Confirmatory bias
The tendency for people to selectively search for
and interpret information that supports or confirms
already held beliefs and theories
Confirmatory Bias
As practitioners how can we avoid
confirmatory bias?
Confirmatory bias
• Remain focussed on the child
• Notice if you reject evidence or question the reliability of sources
• Play ‘Devil’s Advocate’, look for alternative explanations and test
out your hypotheses
• Be mindful to interpret information with equal scrutiny regardless of
source family presentation, situation, class etc
• Use self-reflection and reflective supervision to critically reflect on
your practice and consider the range of factors that might influence
or affect your decision-making. This can be through formal,
informal, group and peer opportunities for reflection.
• Use the ‘Turn it on its head’ method - apply a new set of
circumstances and see if the professional response would be
different. For example, imagine the gender of the child or parent is
different.
Professional disagreement / split
Potential Non-Accidental Injury
How do children sustain injuries?
• Accidental - need to consider whether the
accident happened due to lack of supervision
• Abuse – physical abuse inflicted on a child
• Self-harm – need to consider underpinning
factors linked to this and how best to offer the
right support
Potential Non-Accidental Injury
When assessing if the injuries to children are nonaccidental, consider the following:
• the nature of the injury
• the explanations provided by the child
• the explanations provided by the parent and
any other person involved
• any contradictions or discrepancies in the story
• family history and known risk factors
• history of other injuries.
Harsh punishment / chastisement
There is a distinction between discipline and punishment
o Punishment is usually initiated to alleviate adult needs and frustrations,
and is often associated with humiliating the child
o Discipline is aimed at meeting the needs of a child and helping them
meet adult expectations.
•
Practitioners can be diverted from considering abuse by parents/carers who
justify their behaviour by describing this as legitimate punishment
•
Terms such as physical chastisement and harsh punishment can contribute to
this confusion.
•
Discipline should be reasonable, support the child to understand what is
expected of them and appropriate to the age/ development-stage of the child
Self-harm in children under 10
•
Self-harm in primary school age children is uncommon
•
Avoid using the label 'self-harm' in a primary age child and
instead reframe a child's behaviour as the demonstration
of distress and/ or help seeking behaviour
•
Use chronologies and genograms to provide clarity to all
involved of the extent, pattern and severity of concern and
to support referrals to Children’s Social Care
•
Be mindful that children may have been coached to say
they are self-harming
Early Trauma
Research shows that exposure to long term hostile, abusive and
neglectful parenting has significant negative long term consequences
for children, particularly on brain development.
Early Trauma
• Avoid labelling children as 'difficult' or 'naughty'
and recognise that their behaviour may be the
manifestation of early trauma
• Consider all aspects of child development - the
behaviours a child is exhibiting may be a result
of
o their past trauma experiences
o current abuse
o a combination of both
o none of the above
Child Focussed Practice
•
•
•
•
•
Think about what it feels like to be that child - what is their
daily life like?
Speak to the child on their own and record the exact words
that the child used
Do not rely on the parents or carers self-reporting
Use chronologies and genograms to provide clarity to all
involved, about the extent, pattern and severity of concern
and to make the child visible
Be clear with families that changes need to be made for
the child's wellbeing, and avoid using child protection
processes as a threat.
https://youtu.be/ubNF9QNEQLA
Working Effectively with Children
with Continence Issues
• Control over continence is a developmental skill, and like other skills,
children will attain it at different ages.
• Bedwetting (also known as nocturnal enuresis) is common and very few
children will wet the bed on purpose.
• When supporting the child and their family, the emphasis must be on
normalisation, no blame, no shame and strictly no punishments
• Children should not be held responsible for their continence issues rewards for dry nights are therefore unhelpful
• When working with children with continence issues, refer to the NICE
guidelines - www.nice.org.uk/guidance/CG111/chapter/introduction
Electronic Recording of Meetings
and Conversations
• Advances in technology make the recording of meetings
and other conversations (e.g. via smartphones) easily
available to service-users
• The recording may take place overtly or covertly.
• Be mindful that covert recording may be taking place,
and ensure that you do not make statements during
‘private’ conversations which you would not be prepared
to hear produced as evidence in court, a complaint or
some other more public forum.
• The fact that a practitioner hasn’t given consent to the
conversation being recorded does not, of itself, render
the recording unlawful or inadmissible.
Multi Agency Learning Review
Child S
• A multi agency learning review was undertaken after the
death of a 7 year old child as a result of a severe
medical condition.
• Briefing document on this multi-agency review is
available here http://www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk/children-andfamilies/safeguarding-children-board/learning-frompractice/#learning
Key Learning Points
•
Clear and explicit language to be used in relation to risks associated with
complex medical conditions.
•
Effective, two way communication must occur between Children’s Social
Care staff and medical staff when there are concerns about the neglect of a
child’s medical needs.
•
The value of using medical chronologies and medication reviews
where appropriate to support referrals to Social Care.
• Assessments to be very clear about needs arising from medical
conditions, and the risks associated with any failure by the parent to engage
or comply with treatment.
Key Learning Points
•
Practitioners to think differently about the established term ‘did not attend’
and consider it within a framework of; ‘was not brought.’ For practitioners
to consider carefully the impact of not being brought on the child’s
treatment and potential safeguarding risks.
•
The voice of the child and their lived experience needs to be evident in
assessments, inform planning and be present in meetings.
•
Need for greater understanding across the workforce of medical neglect.
This need to be strengthened within the definitions set out in the NCSCB
procedures.
Rethinking ‘Did Not Attend’
Following the multi-agency learning review, the Nottingham City
Safeguarding Children Board, Nottingham City Council and NHS
Nottingham City CCG have jointly commissioned a video
animation.
The aim is to encourage practitioners to identify children as ‘was
not brought’ as opposed to ‘did not attend’ when referring to
them not being presented at medical appointments.
https://youtu.be/dAdNL6d4lpk
Useful links and Resources
Sign up to the NCSCB newsletter here https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/UKNCC/subscriber/new
NCSCB website
www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk/ncscb
Bite-size learning sheets
http://www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk/children-and-families/safeguardingchildren-board/learning-from-practice/#bitesize
NCSCB procedures and practice guidance
www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk/children-and-families/safeguardingchildren/safeguarding-children-procedures-and-practice-guidancedocuments/
Information on learning from practice
www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk/children-and-families/safeguarding-childrenboard/learning-from-practice/
So What ?
Any Other Business
Stay Connected
Next DSL Network –
Monday 9th October 2017 1.30pm - 4.30pm
Nottingham Racecourse.