Parent Participation Officers
Two parents have been recruited and attended the first Child Protection Conference Development Board meeting- Colin and Jo. Their input was greatly received and will make an impactful difference to the steering of the group and the long-term changes to child protection conferences. They fed back that they felt valued by all attendees and felt empowered by being part of the group.
Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel
A letter from the CSPR Panel is available to view on the KBSP website.
The letter includes links to an analysis of safeguarding partners’ yearly reports with the What Works Centre for Children’s Social Care, and a commissioned report on Local Child Safeguarding Practice Reviews and Rapid Reviews undertaken by the University of East Anglia and Birmingham University.
The Domestic Abuse Act
The Domestic Abuse Bill passed both Houses of Parliament and was signed into law on 29 April 2021. It is an opportunity to deliver a step change in the response to domestic abuse. The purpose is to:
More information can be found in the following fact sheet:
https://homeofficemedia.blog.gov.uk/2021/04/29/domesticabuseactfactsheet/
In Bristol we are beginning to put into place some of the measures which will enable us to comply with the requirements of the DA Act. These include the formation of an additional KBSP Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence Delivery group, a thorough needs assessment and the development of a new domestic abuse strategy.
We are also delighted that this legislation brings with it funding to enable us to provide further support for victims of domestic abuse living in safe accommodation.
Recruitment
Both Nextlink and Victim Support have secured funding for recruitment, including IDVAs (Independent Domestic Violence Advisors) and ISVAs (Independent Sexual Violence Advisors). These will be advertised very soon. Please contact either Jayne Whittlestone from Nextlink or Frances Keel from Victim Support with regards to these posts.
Home Fire Safety Visits
Avon Fire and Rescue Service offer advice and guidance on how to reduce the risk of fire within your home. Through targeted prevention work they provide further support to the most vulnerable members of our community, i.e. those who may be more at risk of having a fire in their home and therefore most need the service. In these cases, they Avon Fire and Rescue carry out a Home Fire Safety Visit.
This is a free, pre-arranged visit to your home to carry out a fire safety assessment and provide you with advice on how to stay safe from fire, including:
If it is found that you need smoke alarms fitting in your home or that existing faulty alarms need replacing, they will do this free of charge during the visit. There may also be other help they can offer specific to your circumstances, such as additional fire safety equipment or referring you (with consent) to an organisation or agency that may be able to offer you further support.
To find out more, please visit their webpage http://www.avonfire.co.uk/
Police managers in various roles have been attending cultural intelligence training to develop their ability to function and relate effectively in culturally diverse situations and contexts. The training covers the underlying theory behind cultural intelligence and inclusive leadership and encourages participants to;
The training has been delivered to managers at the rank of Inspector and above and those in equivalent police staff posts.
Purple Flag
The Association of Town Centre Managers (ATCM) has reaccredited Bristol with its Purple Flag standard.
The Purple Flag is awarded to areas that are assessed against core themes, which lead to a well-managed and safe night-time economy. Although lockdown has had a big impact on this sector, the ATCM commented on how well the partnership working in Bristol had been in using the Purple Flag core themes to help recovery. The core assessment themes are;
Safeguarding Adults Week - 15-21 November 2021
The KBSP Business Unit is collaborating with other Safeguarding Partnerships across the Avon and Somerset area to develop a programme for the annual Stop Adult Abuse Week (SAAW).
The week is a time for organisations across the Partnership to come together to raise awareness of important safeguarding issues. The focus for the week will be promoting adult safeguarding by ‘Creating Safer Cultures’.
Each day, we will focus on a specific topic to facilitate conversations and promote the future safeguarding of adults. Creating safer cultures is all about how organisations and individuals can take steps to minimise harm, ensuring the correct policies and procedures are in place so that safeguarding concerns that are raised, recognised, and responded to effectively.
The KBSP normally holds SAAW week in June but due to Covid in 2020, decided to move the date to later in the year, which enabled us to organise all last year’s activity online. We will do this again this year and hope to bring you more details for SAAW 2021 in future KBSP newsletters.
Training and Development
Training and Development Officer Recruitment
The Business Unit are once again interviewing for the post of Training and Development Officer this week. An update will be shared when this post is formally recruited to.
Level 1 Award in Workers’ Rights and Labour Exploitation
The Level 1 Award in Workers’ Rights and Labour Exploitation has been developed to raise awareness of the basic employment rights provided by UK law. Learners will gain an understanding of the job application process, how to spot bogus job ads and gain the tools to spot signs of exploitation.
This qualification has been designed in conjunction with the Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA), with a flexible approach, allowing it to be delivered through our online platform as support for a classroom setting. The qualification is also available as an exercise book.
The qualification was developed on the back of the successful project at Boston College.
For more info visit: Skills and Education Group Awards website. On the qualification page, you will also be able to download the qualification guide which lists the learning outcomes and assessment criteria.
Participation
Introduction to Advocacy and Mentoring Skills
This qualification has been co-created with the Community Learning Team. It is primarily for people who have experienced multiple disadvantage to get their foot in the door for peer advocacy. Some learners from the first cohort of the piolet group presented at a planning meeting this week. They provided great feedback and were really positive about the qualification, as well as providing brilliant steer around how to improve it.
A large number of representatives from agencies across the city met to discuss contributing to the qualification including contributing short courses, opportunities for further training and involvement in research.
The qualification is non-accredited currently. It is funded by WECA and is free to all over the age of 19. If you would like more information or would like to sign anyone onto the course, please contact Jenny Wills or Lucy Fieldhouse.
Please return your old BCC laptops as these are being loaned to learners to access the qualification.
