"Education is for improving the lives of others.”
Welcome to Quest News Issue 70
We have 13 hours of off-the-job training for apprentices in care and education to read and learn.
Events of the week
January 25 Burns Night 2023
Burns Night honours the iconic Scottish poet Robert Burns, who wrote the New Year’s Eve anthem Auld Lang Syne. Many Scots host a Burns supper on January 25, the poet’s birthday, although they can be held throughout the year. Some of the suppers can be grand affairs; others less formal. The events will often feature a bagpiper or traditional Scottish music, and the Scottish pudding, Haggis, is served.
Approx. 60 mins
25th Jan to 5th Feb Vasant Panchami (Hindu)
January 23 - January 29 Cervical Cancer Prevention Week 2023
Videos
Videos of the week – Undercover: Sexual Harassment -The Truth
Ellie Flynn goes undercover, exposing the harsh reality of sexual harassment against women and girls in Britain today, from 'dick pics' to being flashed, groped, spiked and raped.
Approx 60 mins
Safeguarding and ED & I
WakeUpWednesday guide: What Parents and Carers Need to Know about Twitter
For more than a decade, Twitter has rarely strayed far from the headlines. Since its takeover by tech tycoon Elon Musk last autumn, however, the social media giant has been receiving even more news coverage; some of the subsequent changes to the platform – such as introducing ‘view counts’ and the option to ‘buy’ verified account status – have caused particular concern.
Keen to feel connected to their heroes of sport and showbiz by following their accounts, children are allowed onto Twitter from the age of 13 (while many even younger ones use it unofficially) and are often significantly influenced by what they see there. This week’s #WakeUpWednesday guide tells trusted adults what they need to know about the current incarnation of Twitter.
https://bit.ly/3wnQEnj
Approx. 30 mins
'Listen Up, Speak Up'
To start the year the NSPCC has unveiled their new ‘Listen Up, Speak Up’ campaign, aimed at giving adults practical advice, about how to address concerns about a child.
Although a core duty of safeguarding staff, the reporting of concerning signs among children in education is a key part of anyone charged with looking after children and young people. And the disheartening news is that now the world of under-18s is in the midst of a spike in concern flagging. From April 2021 to March 2022 the NSPCC Helpline spoke 8,347 times with adults, compared to 7,338 in the same period for the previous year.
Unavoidably when a child begins to show concerning signs indicative of abuse whilst on the school premises, a reoccurring question of ‘what do I do’ will spring to mind. You may know the child well, or know the family well and it will almost certainly put you in a difficult position. Even for safeguarding staff, it is not uncommon for these feelings to dominate, at least initially. The new NSPCC campaign, is designed for these situations, and I hope you’ll find it useful. If interested please follow the link below:Approx. 40 mins
Approx. 40 mins
Worried Children - How Can We Help
Growing up is no easy task. We can all remember times when we were children, or maybe a little older when everything seemed too much. Whether it’s the demands of the curriculum provoking all too familiar thoughts of ‘I don’t get it’, oncoming exam stress and the accompanying ‘I might ruin my future’ or the unrelenting mounting responsibilities of growing up, children and young people live with lots on their minds. And these worries can impair their performance at school, their ability to socialise properly or their relationship with educational professionals.
In these circumstances it is important to know how to help them out of their blue times, so that they can get the most out of education. Fortunately Save the Children published expert led guidance this week aimed at aiding educational professionals, in their endeavours to understand and uplift their pupils when they’re down. If you would like to find out more, please follow the link below:
Approx. 30 mins
Criminal Child Exploitation - Roundtable Report
The SPACE (Stop & Prevent Adolescent Criminal Exploitation) Organisation was founded in January 2018, to address the rapidly rising phenomenon, now known as County Lines and its close relative Child Criminal Exploitation.
Back in 2021, undertook a series of round table conferences on Child Criminal Exploitation. These conferences were aimed at attempting to answer the big issues in the field, and a report published by SPACE off the back of these consultations, makes for compelling reading. This thirty-two-page document contains sections on schools, the role of the criminal justice system and of the police. If you’re member of your institution’s safeguarding team, the document is well worth a look.
Approx. 50 mins
Safer Internet Day – 7th February 2023
Safer Internet Day is just around the corner. A time when people involved in safeguarding, or in education more generally can take the opportunity to educate children and young people, on how to use the internet in a safe and secure manner.
To help you engage with your classes on this theme the campaign organisers, have published a series of resources packs aimed at pupils from 3 – 18. If you’re a head-teacher thinking of putting together an assembly centred on the matter, or just wanting to plan a lesson with internet safety as a theme, then these packs are perfect for you. If you’d like to explore the ideas contained within these packs then follow the link and download your free copies:
Approx. 30 mins
Practising social work as part of a public inquiry
Two social workers who worked on the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse discuss how a trauma-informed approach was vital in building victims' and survivors' trust and the confidence of fellow staff
Approx. 30 mins
Health & Safety
Less than one in five care staff vaccinated against flu or boosted against Covid, figures reveal
Data comes with severe pressures on NHS being driven in part by high circulation of respiratory viruse
Approx. 30 mins
Employee who was absent from work due to COVID health and safety workplace concerns was not unfairly dismissed
While the COVID-19 pandemic itself could be circumstances for an employee to believe that he was at risk of serious and imminent danger; such a scenario must also exist in the workplace too. Rodgers v Leeds Laser Cutting Ltd is the first COVID related health and safety dismissal case the Court of Appeal has considered. It upheld a tribunal decision that an employee was not automatically unfairly dismissed when he refused to return to work until after the pandemic had eased. There were no circumstances of danger at the employee's workplace that the employee could have reasonably believed were serious and imminent.
Approx. 30 mins
‘Wellbeing support for staff will be vital to build a resilient business this year’, experts have warned
Iain Laws, CEO of Towergate Health & Protection, believes employers can use wellbeing support to aid staffing issues and meet differing generational requirements.
Approx. 30 mins
Manual Handling: Using risk evaluation tools
NEBOSH Head of Product Development, Matt Powell-Howard, reminds us of the human cost of unsafe manual handling practices and calls for more use of simple risk evaluation tools.
Approx. 30 mins
Top Tips For Better Health And Safety Training
Nick Wilson, director of health and safety services at WorkNest, has more than 20 years of training experience, working with individuals from the top to bottom of organisations. Here he explains the steps you can take to improve the effectiveness of training and increased employee engagement when delivering courses.
Approx. 30 mins
Wider Curriculum
30 min podcast about adult autism diagnosis. BBC SOUNDS
Aged 39, Holly Smale was a successful author - the creator of the bestselling series of children’s books, Geek Girl. One afternoon, while talking to her therapist, Holly breaks down, says she feels broken. And so begins her journey to understand why she’s always felt different to other people.
Approx. 30 mins
The draft Mental Health Bill: parliamentary proposals for change
A joint committee of MPs and peers has assessed the government's plans to reform the Mental Health Act 1983. Lawyer Tim Spencer-Lane summarises its proposals
Approx. 30 mins
Combine social work with scientific methods to boost reliability of age checks, experts advise government
Committee finds social work asylum age checks are 'untested', but says methods testing development of teeth and bones are not precise
Approx. 30 mins
‘Why I quit my placement after three weeks’
A social worker recalls a placement in which he was treated with disrespect by staff, forcing him to leave. He advises students in a similar position to always seek help
Approx. 30 mins
Reinstate hospital social workers to improve discharge outcomes, PSWs urge Barclay
BASW backs Adult Principal Social Worker Network's call for return of social work assessments on wards to support people to return home and improve quality of life
Approx. 30 mins
Risk of ‘poor or potentially illegal’ practice in care home discharge plan, warns ADASS
Director body raises concerns about people making permanent moves into residential care without informed consent, on back of £200m discharge scheme
Approx. 30 mins
Foundation Years vodcast: Top tips to improve the Home Learning Environment
Foundation Years is pleased to share a new vodcast offering some top tips for improving the Home Learning Environment for the early years.
In a changed format to previous Foundation Years vodcasts, Gill Holden, Early Childhood Programme Lead at the National Children’s Bureau (NCB), introduces a collection of insights and experiences from a host of early years practitioners from across the sector.
Approx. 30 mins
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