Children

Update from the Safeguarding in Education Team (SET)

This academic year has been a very challenging one for educational staff and children in many ways. The SET team has been so impressed with the continued dedication of the education workforce in delivering so much support to the families they are working with. SET will be working over the summer break to ensure that there are resources ready to support safeguarding in schools, in time for the new academic year. Sign up to the mailing list to receive links to these resources as soon as they are available.

Keeping Children Safe in Education Document

The new version of Keeping Children Safe in Education 2021 has been released ready for 1st September.  The Safeguarding in Education Team has produced a short video to explain the updates which can be found on their new website. The website is continually updated and to access it please click here.  The full document can also be accessed here.  

Review into Sexual Abuse in Schools

In response to the testimonies on ‘Everyone’s Invited’, Ofsted has conducted a review into sexual abuse in schools and colleges. The review highlights the need for stronger multi agency working and for agencies to proactively engage with education settings around this issue

Please click here to read the governmental review.

Additionally, there is updated guidance for education settings on how they should be responding to sexual violence and harassment, this outlines the role of education and other agencies.

Summer Activities for Children Eligible for Free School Meals

Entertaining children over the summer holidays can be difficult and finding things to do can be a struggle. For families on a limited budget finding things to do can be that much harder. That is why, over the summer, Bristol City Council has decided to use some of its Holiday Activity and Food (HAF) funding to work with We the Curious and SS Great Britain to put together an exciting offer for families whose children are in receipt of free school meals. Both organisations have put together a free family ticket that includes a healthy and nutritious meal for all children that attend. Spaces are limited and allocated on a first come first serve basis and only open to children eligible for free school meals and their families. If you have any questions regarding this offer please contact Thomas Jarvis at Thomas.jarvis@bristol.gov.uk  

Adults

Stop Adult Abuse Week

Stop Adult Abuse Week will take place from Monday 15^th November to Friday 19th November with a theme of Creating Safer Cultures. The KBSP is working collaboratively with North Somerset, South Gloucestershire and Bath & North East Somerset adult safeguarding to provide a series of online workshops. These will be free to access for any practitioner working with adults across the Avon & Somerset area.  The booking process will open soon but you can save the dates for these 1-hour webinars now.

• Monday 15th at 12.30pm - Emotional Health and Wellbeing
• Tuesday 16th at 12.30pm – Trauma informed Practice
• Wednesday 17th at 12.30pm – Gambling Awareness
• Thursday 18th at 12.30pm - Exploitation of Adults
• Friday 19th at 12.30pm – Safer Cultures

For further details on Stop Adult Abuse Week 2021, please contact Olwen.kelly@bristol.gov.uk

Communities

Safer Streets Two, Three and Four

Safer Communities now have permission to spend the £400k funding to deliver Safer Streets 2 and are recruiting a project manager to deliver this work. Safer Streets 2 targets issues in Portland Square and Brunswick Square and will deliver measures to prevent crime in those areas.

Bristol City Council has been identified as the secondary bidder for the Avon and Somerset PCC areas for the Safer Streets 3 fund. This aims to deliver measures to make the streets safer for women. Safer Communities has now submitted the bid for £499k to deliver a package of measures including; traditional community safety measures (e.g. CCTV, Street Lighting), Community Conferences and training. Training aims to affect change away from harmful behaviors and attitudes towards women. Safer Communities will be informed if their bid has been successful over the coming weeks. Watch this space!

Safer Communities has been notified of a forthcoming funding opportunity for targeting violence against women and girls in the night-time economy. The team is in the early stages of thinking and consulting with partners and the Night Economy Advisor about what a package of measures might look like.

Modern Slavery

The team is continuing to work towards taking Bristol City Council’s Modern Slavery Transparency Statement through the decision-making pathway to Cabinet. If adopted, this statement will go towards ensuring that Bristol City Council addresses all modern slavery risks in its business and supply chains. It will also improve partnership working in relation to supporting victims (through, for example, training people in spotting signs and understanding what to do about it) as well as working with perpetrators.

Prevent

William Shawcross was appointed as the new Independent Reviewer of Prevent on 26 January 2021 and visited Bristol virtually for three days at the end of May 2021. He will consider the UK’s strategy for protecting people vulnerable from being drawn into terrorism and will make recommendations for the future. The final report, including any recommendations for the review made by William Shawcross, will be submitted to the Home Secretary by 30 September 2021. The report and government response will be formalised in Parliament by 31 December 2021. It then remains to be seen what impact this will have on Prevent and how Bristol will deliver against it.

Consultation for the Police and Crime Plan

The newly elected Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Mark Shelford is asking for local people, communities, partners, stakeholders and businesses to tell him what policing issues matter most to them by completing a Police and Crime Survey. The survey includes a number of questions focusing on draft Police and Crime Plan priorities and objectives, which cover a range of police topics including anti-social behaviour, burglary, hate crime, rural crime and domestic abuse. The PCC wants to ensure he’s listening to communities concerns and thoughts and would like as many people as possible to share their views on these draft objectives.

The survey will help shape the PCC’s statutory Police and Crime Plan for the force area. The Plan will include various aspects about policing of the area, how the Chief Constable will be held to account, and how PCC Mark Shelford will use the money to deliver an effective and efficient police service and support other services, such as victim support providers.

To complete the survey, please click here.

Business Unit

Upcoming Webinars

•  Self-Neglect including updated the KBSP guidance

Delivered by Michele Winters 3^rd August 10am-11am

• Mate Crime

Delivered by Michele Winters, Monday 19th July 2021. 10am - 11am.

• Harmful cultural practices & Forced Marriage

Co-delivered by the Sky Project & Police Force lead Larisa Hunt Tuesday 7th September 12.30-2pm

•  Perinatal mental health including info and threshold for the service

Delivered by Leanne Ellaway and Perinatal team Tuesday 28 September 2021 10am-11am

Policy Update

Sharing the right information, at the right time, with the right people, is fundamental to good practice in safeguarding adults. The KBSP has recently updated its Information Sharing Protocol for safeguarding adults. This is aimed at supporting partner organisations to understand their roles and responsibilities and co-operate with one another to share information in accordance with statutory guidance outlined in the Care Act. This guidance does not supersede single agency information sharing arrangements but deals with information sharing in relation to Keeping Bristol Safe Partnership (KBSP) and the work of the Keeping Adults Safe delivery group. The latest version of the Information Sharing Protocol can accessed here.

Practitioners Training

KBSP inter-agency training is for professionals from all agencies in Bristol. It aims to increase participants’ knowledge and skills in the field of child protection and safeguarding, so professionals can provide high quality services and improve outcomes for children, young people and their families and carers. Inter-agency training complements single agency and professional training by focusing on effectively working together to meet the needs of children and families.

Please see below for details of our upcoming sessions.

Working together: Our Shared Responsibility:

This is initial multi-agency training to develop skills and knowledge. It provides delegates with a general understanding of the roles of other agencies in child protection, alongside highlighting the importance of working together to keep children safe.

·        Part One: Wednesday 1st September 2021 – 13:15 - 16:30

           Part Two: Wednesday 8th September 2021 – 13:15 - 16:30 

·        Part One: Thursday 16th September 2021 – 09:00 – 12:15

           Part Two: Thursday 23rd September 2021 – 09:00 – 12:15

·        Part One: Tuesday 5th October 2021 – 09:00 - 12:15

           Part Two: Tuesday 12th October 2021 – 09:00 - 12:15

·        Part One: Tuesday 19th October 2021 – 09:00 – 12:30

           Part Two: Tuesday 26th October 2021 – 09:00 – 12:30

Advanced Child Protection Training for Safeguarding Leads and Specialist Practitioners

This is advanced multi-agency training to further develop knowledge and understanding around; the signs of abuse/ harm, the role of advanced practitioners, the differing roles within child protection and safeguarding (including the role of Police). It also aims to improve delegates confidence in safeguarding and child protection practice and includes the use of multi-agency challenge and escalation.

·        Part One: Tuesday 7th September 2021 – 13:15 - 16:30

           Part Two: Wednesday 8th September 2021 – 13:15 - 16:30

·        Part One: Thursday 16th September 2021 – 09:00 – 12:15

           Part Two: Thursday 23rd September 2021 – 09:00 – 12:15

·        Part One: Tuesday 5th October 2021 – 09:00 - 12:15

           Part Two: Tuesday 12th October 2021 – 09:00 - 12:15

·        Part One: Tuesday 19th October 2021 – 09:00 – 12:30

           Part Two: Tuesday 26th October 2021 – 09:00 – 12:30

Child Protection for Managers

This multi-agency training aims to enhance good practice in leadership through inter-agency discussion and reflection. Delegates will address; the expectations placed on all agencies around the protection of children from harm, learning from statutory reviews, barriers to multi-agency working, understanding the role of the LADO (Local Authority Designated Officer) and the importance of good supervision for practitioners.

• Part One: Wednesday 24th November 2021 - 13:15 - 16:30
• Part Two: Wednesday 1st December 2021 - 13:15 - 16:30

Hello and Welcome

Last month we reported the appointment of our Training and Development Officer within the Business Unit. Natalie Keeley is now in post and we would like to extend a very warm welcome to her, on behalf of all partners. Natalie has already begun work developing a new training programme and is keen to share this with you over the coming weeks.

Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence Survivor and Victim forum

The Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence Survivor and Victim forum will strategically sit within the Multi-agency Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence Delivery Group. This is due to be up and running by September. The forum is currently in its consultation period.

A survey has been created for suggestions of how the forum looks: DVA Survivor and Victim Forum Consultation Survey (surveymonkey.co.uk)

Please find an expression of interest form here.