Conferences & Webinars
Exploitation Assessment and Pathway Guidance
Exploitation is not a new concern; children and adults have been exploited in many forms for years. Professionals now have a much better understanding of what exploitation is and how it is a form of abuse. As our understanding of exploitation grows, so too does our ability to identify those most at risk within our communities, those who wish to exploit them and the disruption techniques we can use against this. In a broader sense, exploitation has, over the last few years, been categorised as sexual exploitation or criminal exploitation, predominantly of children. However, we recognise that exploitation is not an issue that stops impacting victims at the age of 18. As we grow our collective understanding, we can see that adults are also victims of exploitation.
The Exploitation Assessment should be completed as soon as you have concerns around exploitation. Timely information sharing is especially important. It allows multi-agency professionals to offer victims and families support as soon as is appropriate. It also allows agencies to collectively look at disrupting exploitation activity.
Watch the video below on how to complete the All-age Exploitation Assessment.
The assessment and further information can be found here:
For a Child or Young Person: https://walsallsp.co.uk/children/professionals/professionals-working-with-children/exploitation/
For an Adult: https://walsallsp.co.uk/adults/professionals-working-with-adults/all-age-exploitation-guidance/
Exploitation is one of the Partnerships Key Priorities in Walsall.
Walsall Safeguarding Partnership co-ordinated an Exploitation Awareness Fortnight (7 – 18 March 2022). This is a Local campaign coinciding with County Lines Awareness Week & National Exploitation Awareness Day on 18 March 2022.
The campaign aims to raise awareness of exploitation, how to spot signs of abuse, and to direct people to support resources and systems.
VRU : Overview of the Violence Reduction Unit (VRU)
The VRU will cover the public health approach, VRU offers in Walsall, training options available, VRU background and structure.
Hot Potato Session 1
The session will cover:
- A safe place for professionals to speak about current or past work with other professionals, Helping each other out with tips and tricks! Reflecting on practice.
- A safe place to celebrate and share good practice. (Street teams; St Giles; XPRT etc.)
- A safe place to look at trends around violence and exploitation that are Walsall specific.
Exploitation – A Walsall Perspective
Local issues, locations, and Gangs. Understand what is happening in Walsall
Street Teams, Hope Project
A brief talk on the above project, what ages we work with, what support we offer, criteria for the project and how to refer.
Changing Lives, IRIS Project
The aim of the session is for others to gain more knowledge of the work we do and how we support women who are sex working or have been/at risk of being sexually exploited.
Hot Potato Session 2
The session will cover:
- A safe place for professionals to speak about current or past work with other professionals, Helping each other out with tips and tricks! Reflecting on practice.
- A safe place to celebrate and share good practice. (Street teams; St Giles; XPRT etc.)
- A safe place to look at trends around violence and exploitation that are Walsall specific.
Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC) – For Adults
Understanding of what SARC is, what they do and how people can access the service.
Exploitation Assessment and Missing Pathway
Exploitation Hub – Looking at referrals, process and decision making.
St Giles – County lines & Serious Youth Violence
Aiming to help raise awareness of County Lines and Serious Youth Violence, through lived experience.
On 29th June 2020 Walsall Safeguarding Partnership held a Webinar on Exploitation.
The aim of the 2 hour webinar was to:
Provide a current overview of the issues around Exploitation both nationally and locally in light of Covid-19.
Provide an overview of offer of support that is available across different organisations and how to access these.
Have a live question and answer session.
Our guests for the webinar were from:
Helen Matthews and Andy Thompson – Street Teams
Imran Suddle and Jade Brown – Exploitation and Missing Team
Jamie Hobday and Lisa Mullen – West Midlands Police
Christine Jones – Walsall Health Care Trust
Michael Collyer – Walsall For All
Nicola Smith and Emma Harper – Adult Safeguarding
The webinar is aimed at all leaders and practitioners across organisations working with adults, children and their families.
The following recording is from the Walsall Event held 16 June 2002
Local and National Learning from the National Review of the deaths of Arthur Lapinjo-Hughes and Star Hobson.
Meet Belinda Crowshaw, the Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) for Walsall. Belinda will provide you with an overview of the role of the LADO, an understanding of the managing allegations process for staff working with children, legal context, threshold, referrals, clarify key roles and responsibilities and learning from serious case reviews.
Video Coming Soon
See Safer Employment & the LADO pages for further information
If you suspect that a child or young person is being, or is at risk of being significantly harmed as a result of abuse or neglect, you must report this immediately.
To make a child protection referral, please send all information to the MASH using the Multi-Agency Referral Form (MARF)
Watch the video below on how to complete the Multi-Agency Referral Form.
To find the MARF please go to https://go.walsall.gov.uk/walsall-safeguarding-partnership/Report-a-concern/For-a-child
Please send your completed form to MASH@walsall.gov.uk. If you believe a child is in immediate danger call the police on 999
Practice Reflection Learning Event: Injuries in Non-mobile babies and children
Aim:
- To have a clear understanding of medical opinion about injuries and bruising in non-mobile babies and children.
Learning Outcomes:
- To understand medical terminology in relation to unexplained bruising and injuries
- To understand the importance of multi-agency working when exploring injury and bruising in non-mobile babies and children
- To have a better understanding of the ‘West Midlands Regional Procedures’ in relation to bruising in non-mobile babies.
To heighten partners awareness in respect of neglect the See, Hear and Respond to Child Neglect Conference took place in May 2023 – ‘Be part of making a difference’.
The conference provided an opportunity for practitioners, managers, and leaders across the partnership to respond collectively to what children have told us are the three key principles that will help effectively support children who experience neglect at the earliest moment possible:
- Training – The conference provided an overview of neglect nationally and in Walsall, helped practitioners to understands the impact neglect has on children and the role we all can play in preventing neglect and supporting children who experience neglect.
- Seeing and Hearing Children – Through learning from national and local serious case reviews and multi-agency audits we have been able to listen to children’s lived experience and reflect on what could have been done differently to improve outcomes.
- Taking Action – Through a number of workshops, good practice and tools were shared to help practitioners early identification of neglect and supporting children.
Introduction:
Guest Speaker – Bridget Griffin – ‘The Ripples of Neglect’ & learning from Child Safeguarding Practice Reviews:
Learning from Multi Agency Audits:
Workshop 1 – West Midlands Police AWARE APP:
Workshop 2 – Neglect & partnership working:
Workshop 3 – Group Supervision:
Closing:
The aim of this webinar is to:
- Provide an overview of the principles of trauma informed practice and reflect on how you can implement these as part of your practice or organisation
- Provide an overview of offer of support that is available in Walsall to pull on to help you to support children who have experienced trauma
- Provide information on training available that will help you in developing a trauma informed approach as a practitioner or in your organisation
Panel members will include L30 (Restorative Practice provider), Education Psychologist, Heart of England NHS (developer of the evidence based parenting) and Early Help. The webinar is for all leaders and practitioners across organisations working with children and families in Walsall.
West Midlands Police Force Intelligence Bureau (FIB) Multi-Agency Information Sharing Video.
Aims of this Video:
* The effective identification, recording and sharing of information in relation to cases of exploitation is crucial to the successful disruption and prosecution of perpetrators.
* All professionals should continually gather record and share information with the appropriate authorities.
* The gathering of information can enable analysis that forms the basis of strong intelligence and can help inform investigations and disruption activity to keep children, young people and communities safe.
This Form can be found on Walsall Safeguarding Partnership Website:
For a Child or Young Person: https://go.walsall.gov.uk/walsall-safeguarding-partnership/Professionals-Volunteers/Children-Safeguarding/Exploitation
For an Adult : https://go.walsall.gov.uk/walsall-safeguarding-partnership/Professionals-Volunteers/Adults-Safeguarding/All-age-Exploitation
In this Podcast, Kellyanne Perry, Interim Practice Improvement Lead for Walsall Safeguarding Partnership, speaks to Katie Storer-Young, Exploitation and Missing Team Manager, Jade Brown, Exploitation and Missing Coordinator and Jodie Berry, Assistant Team Manager for Turning Point Adolescent Support Hub.
Tune into this episode for more information on:
- What is Child Exploitation?
- What do the Exploitation and missing team do?
- What interventions are available in Walsall to support Children and Young People?
- What to do if you are concerned about a child or Young Person.
In the podcast you will hear making reference to Walsall Safeguarding Partnership Website and Street Teams.
