" All of our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them"
Events this week:
March 1st- March 31st- Walk Over Cancer 2024
March 1st- March 31st- Marie Curie Great Daffodil Appeal 2024
March 1st- March 31st- Brain Tumour Awareness Month 2024
March 1st- March 31st- Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month 2024
March 8th- March 14th- Healthcare Science Week 2024
March 11th- March 17th- International Parental Mental Health Week 2024
March 15th- Comic Relief/ Red Nose Day 2024
March 16th- Young Carers Action Day 2024
Legislation/Regulation of the week
Tougher Laws to protect children from sexual abuse
Children will be better protected from sexual predators under plans being brought forward by the Home Secretary. There will be a legal requirement for anyone in regulated activity relating to children in England, including teachers or healthcare professionals, to report it if they know a child is being sexually abused. Those who fail to report child sexual abuse they are aware of, falling short of their legal duties, face being barred from working with young people.
(Reading this can be counted towards your 20% off the Job learning – Approx. 40 mins)
Please remember to review this in your policy/legislation review workbook)
Videos of the week
Is University really worth it?
Comedian and former teacher Geoff Norcott has a tough decision to make - start a university fund for his son to follow in his footsteps and attend university or buy himself a new car. To determine which option is better value, Geoff investigates the country’s higher education system. Along the way, he meets students at war with their institutions, graduates suing their universities and starving students, and explores university alternatives. With student satisfaction at an all-time low, are Britain's universities still the world-beating institutions they once were? Lecturers are striking, online learning is the new normal and grades are being inflated. Has the system become too focused on profit and not enough on the student?
(Watching this can be counted towards your 20% off the Job learning – Approx. 60 mins)
Event of the week/month
Comic Relief/ Red Nose Day 2024
When you donate to Comic Relief or Sport Relief, you’re supporting vulnerable people and communities in the UK and internationally. Our vision is to create a just world free from poverty and we’re doing this by funding amazing organisations doing amazing things. Supporting brilliant solutions to terrible problems We are working with local organisations in the UK and around the world who’ve proven that their approach to solving peoples’ problems work – and we invest in them as they grow.
(This can be counted towards your 20% off the Job learning – Approx. 30 mins)
Safeguarding & ED & I
Helping families feel supported after a diagnosis of autism
This project focused on developing a new therapy to protect families from the harmful effects of stigma and isolation after an autism diagnosis. Caregivers play a crucial role in an autistic child's life but studies show that many are affected by the stigma of autism. They are often isolated, have low self-esteem and lack social support.
(Reading this can be counted towards your 20% off the Job learning – Approx. 20 mins)
Why language matters: why the term ‘paedophile’ can be problematic and should be used with caution
Since the mid-1970s public awareness of child sexual abuse has increased, receiving considerable media attention. In many ways the publicity around cases has enabled people who experienced child sexual abuse to better understand what has happened to them and has helped them to report abuse in greater numbers. However, as public awareness and media interest in child sexual abuse cases has grown, the word ‘paedophile’ has taken on a life of its own, being used as shorthand to refer to all types of sexual abuse and all people who sexually abuse children.
(Reading this can be counted towards your 20% off the Job learning – Approx. 40 mins)
Attention seeking’ or in need of attention - why what we say matters
As part of NSPCCs commitment to the protection of children and that ‘EVERY CHILDHOOD IS WORTH FIGHTING FOR’, they have many excellent blogs. One blog in particular focus on ‘improving safeguarding and child protection with words’. The blog highlights the difference between children ‘seeking attention’ or being ‘in need of attention’. The article emphasises that the desire for attention is a natural human instinct, particularly crucial during childhood when dependency on others is high. It argues that labelling a child's behaviour as ‘attention-seeking’ may downplay their genuine needs, as some children use their actions to communicate underlying issues. Ignoring or dismissing such behaviour could lead to unmet needs persisting.
(Reading this can be counted towards your 20% off the Job learning – Approx. 30 mins)
Safer Recruitment- Good Practises
When advertising job posts, organisations should:
· Clearly state their commitment to safeguarding and promoting children's welfare.
Mention if the role requires DBS and Barred List Checks.
In job descriptions, person specifications, and role profiles:
· Clearly outline roles and responsibilities related to safeguarding.
For application forms:
· Encourage the use of application forms over CVs, with a simplified version for volunteer positions.
Regarding references:
· Collect references, preferably from the current or last employer when working with children.
(Reading this can be counted towards your 20% off the Job learning – Approx. 30 mins)
Sharing nudes and Semi-Nudes
Children and young adults routinely share photos, videos, and live streams online through various platforms. This can involve the creation and sharing of explicit images, driven by diverse motives and not always linked to criminal intent or coercion. However, sharing such images beyond the intended audience can lead to negative consequences like bullying and exploitation. The act of producing, possessing, and sharing explicit content involving individuals under 18 is illegal, necessitating a complex response. Educational institutions should promptly and assuredly address these issues, providing education, support, and protection to young individuals.
(Reading this can be counted towards your 20% off the Job learning – Approx. 40 mins)
Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel's Annual Report - what are the key messages?
Safeguarding children is a vital public service marked by complexity and difficulty, requiring collaboration across various services. Professionals in this field must possess great skill to uncover and sensitively address issues within the private domain of family life and communities. The expectation is for them to approach situations with a balanced perspective, considering both the best and worst possibilities in their efforts to protect children. The annual report (2022-23) from the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel functions as a gauge for the overall well-being of the national safeguarding system. It identifies both strengths and areas needing improvement in multi-agency practices, providing insights into the effectiveness of child safeguarding efforts.
(Reading this can be counted towards your 20% off the Job learning – Approx. 60 mins)
Health & Safety
International Women’s Day: ‘Louder voice’ from women will help everyone at work, watchdog bosses say
Two of the Government’s most senior officials regulating industry believe the ‘louder voice’ from a new generation of women will make everyone at work feel more comfortable
(Reading this can be counted towards your 20% off the Job learning – Approx. 30 mins)
Stress- relieving tips to try every day
Whether it's the pressure of work, family life or a looming deadline, most of us have stress from time to time. There are lots of ways to reduce stress. So, if you're feeling the strain, try some of these simple stress-busters?
(Reading this can be counted towards your 20% off the Job learning – Approx. 30 mins)
Workplace health, safety and welfare: legal requirements
There are a number of legal duties which all businesses must comply with on workplace health, safety and welfare. We have a workplace, health, safety and welfare website which brings together general guidance for all workplaces to follow. This includes the law on workplace safety, which covers a wide range of basic health, safety and welfare issues.
(Reading this can be counted towards your 20% off the Job learning – Approx. 20 mins)
How a damaging work culture can affect mental health
Elitsa Dermendzhiyska talks about how she burned out due to a damaging culture in the start-up world she was working in, along with the power of sharing stories. "It's seen as a badge of honour to not take care of yourself," says Elitsa of the industry she was working in. This culture led her to burn out and she's now campaigning for a more mentally healthy approach to work. Elitsa discusses the importance of looking after ourselves in and out of work and also the power of sharing stories in mental health. She talks about some of the people she's spoken to on her journey to writing a new book.
(Reading this can be counted towards your 20% off the Job learning – Approx. 30 mins)
Wider Curriculum
Four in five apprentices gained social work qualification in first cohort, figures show
Just over four in five of the first cohort of social work apprentices gained their qualification, official data has shown. According to Skills for Care, 82.7% of apprentices qualified as a social worker in 2021-22, with all of those who completed the course successfully passing. The remainder (17.3%) did not finish their training. With the apprenticeship, which takes three years, having been rolled out in 2019, this represents the first full cohort to complete the degree-level programme.
(Reading this can be counted towards your 20% off the Job learning – Approx. 30 mins)
Challenges young people are facing around sexuality and gender identity
This briefing uses insight from Childline counselling sessions and NSPCC Helpline contacts from 2022/23 about sexuality and gender identity. Some young people who are LGBTQ+ will have supportive experiences as they explore their sexuality and gender identity. However, some young people face pressures or challenges.
Key themes include:
· coming out to the family
· conversion practices
· pressures in school
· pressure to choose a label
· young people struggling with guilt and self-acceptance.
(Reading this can be counted towards your 20% off the Job learning – Approx. 40 mins)
Disability pay gap current research
Further analysis of the 2021 Government Census was released by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) In February 2024, focusing on how unemployment rates vary at the intersection of ethnicity and disability. ONS and further Trade Union Centre (TUC) research currently puts the disability pay gap at 14.6% and the disability employment gap at 28% in the UK. Disability Rights UK have helped to produce a summary highlighting how factors for many impact their ability to access and secure employment in the UK
(Reading this can be counted towards your 20% off the Job learning – Approx. 30 mins)
Podcast: the refugee who became social worker of the year
In this episode of the Social Work Community podcast, we speak to Omaid Badar, overall winner at the Social Worker of the Year Awards 2023. Omaid, who was also named children’s social worker of the year, tells his incredible story of coming to England as a teenage refugee. He recalls the night he spent in a police station and what happened the next morning when he met a social worker. He explains why he became a social worker and how his own experiences affect his practice. Omaid speaks about the importance of restorative practice and building relationships with families and young people.
(Reading this can be counted towards your 20% off the Job learning – Approx. 50 mins)
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