“Charity groups have been handed more than £500,000 to develop a suite of digital tools to promote safeguarding in the voluntary sector.
The National Lottery Community Fund has handed £570,000 to the Safer Social Sector Partnership, which is coordinated by the NCVO and comprises 13 charities and third sector organisations, including NSPCC and the National Association for Voluntary and Community Action (NAVCA).”
Read the article online at Charity Digital News to find out more:
For the past 8 years I have been delivering training sessions on ‘Safeguarding Children’ and ‘Harmful Practices’ to BAMER community, faith groups and supplementary schools in Camden. These sessions are delivered as part of the Community Partnership Project, funded by Camden Council’s Children Safeguarding Board. The project has been running since 2007 to address issues of child safeguarding amongst Camden BAMER communities.
In this time I have met a variety of people, mainly older women, attending these sessions in groups, many of whom are initially wary of Social Services and the Police and their role in protecting children in the community. But recently a young couple with their baby attended my session. It was the first time I have ever seen a young couple attend one of my sessions.
They were part of a group of local BAMER parents who organised the training for themselves and had asked a local Primary School for a space to deliver it. I was pleased to acknowledge that all efforts to hold the session and invite me to facilitate had come through word-of-mouth. But, conversely, I have come to learn that messages passed through word-of-mouth can have far more catastrophic consequences when myth and stereotyping is passed unchallenged between communities, including the myth that Social Services is only good to remove children from their families.
This young couple were new to the country and along their journey to the UK had acquired a firm mistrust of Social Services. In their view, the power of Social Services to take away children from BAMER families correlated to punishing parents because of their ‘alien culture’ in upbringing BAMER kids in the UK.
Despite their preconceptions, this couple were actively engaged in the session. In all my experience of delivering sensitive sessions of this sort the couple genuinely raised more questions than any other participant has or would dare to ask about ‘Harmful Practices’ such as FGM, Honour Based Violence and radicalization vis a vis the law of the land.
During the session there was a specific exercise I conducted with the group on why Social Services or the Met Police may intervene behind family walls. I drew a job advert for the post of a ‘good parent’ and asked the group to look out for all required skills and qualifications for any successful ‘parent’ job applicant.
The couple then probed this further with the group and after more discussion the group acknowledged that sometimes parents may in fact lack the required skills of being good parents and that some parents who believe themselves to be devoted and caring parents can find this difficult to swallow. This led to the recognition that sometimes parents may call for further support on how to be a good parent. By comparing the good parenting qualities with inadequate or inexistent parenting skills the group agreed that intervention by the local authorities was sometimes necessary where parental skill was lacking.
They recognised that Social Services or the Met Police may intervene in certain situations because of a concern around the lack of parental skills that would usually manifest in children being abused or neglected.
This in itself helped demystify why the Local Authority is invested with the role of taking care of children, which sometimes would require the removal of children from families. The perception that all kids, including their own were subject to British law made clear that no matter the ethnicity, culture or creed, children are equally protected from ‘harm’ within family walls or outside.
What stood out about this session, even with the firm held views of the couple at the outset, was the willingness and eagerness of the young couple to open up and learn about UK laws on child safeguarding and to use this to challenge and dispel the myths and mistrust of the roles of statutory child service providers that are passed unabated between community members.
It made me realise how vital young people are in tackling generational and cultural attitudes towards child safeguarding issues and in particular of harmful practices, and in spreading these messages further within communities through word-of-mouth.
Sessions like this are one of the many reasons why the Community Partnership Project is such an important bridge between communities and statutory bodies in helping organisations work better together (particularly statutory bodies, local community organisations and faith communities), and in supporting communities to be aware and responsive to child protection issues and procedures and building knowledge in areas of violence to children that affect particular communities e.g. honour violence; forced marriage, abuses linked to belief and female genital mutilation.
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To find out more about the project or if you would like VAC to deliver a session for your community or group, please get in touch with:
Asha-Kin Duale
Community Partnership Advisor, Voluntary Action Camden
Email: aduale@vac.org.uk
Project website: https://vac.org.uk/projects/safeguarding-children/
Alternatively you can download a Word copy of the Annual Report by year:
Asha-Kin Duale | Community Partnership Advisor
Tel: 020 7 284 6575 | Email: aduale@vac.org.uk
Round 6: ‘Protecting children in the community’ training sessions – ( Statistics Round 6)
Statistics are also available for download from previous rounds of this project:
Asha-Kin Duale | Community Partnership Advisor
Tel: 020 7 284 6575 | Email: aduale@vac.org.uk
14th June 2016, by Yvonne
My previous experience of mindfulness was; to put it mildly, uninspiring, and had in fact put me off looking further into the subject. But mindfulness has become the latest ‘go to therapy’ for the NHS to use these days and has an important place in slowing down the fast-paced world we currently exist in.
So, with this in mind I was delighted when Maureen invited me to an introduction to mindfulness workshop with Tri from AuthentiCity. I respect Maureen and trust her judgement so knew that the facilitator would be congruent and respectful and I was not disappointed. Tri is a calm teacher and produced a very tranquil feeling within the room.
Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction is the most studied school of mindfulness and was founded by Dr Jon Kabat-Zinn at the University of Massachusetts Medical Centre.
One of the things that I liked was that Tri concentrated on the simplicity of mindfulness – she didn’t dress it up in fancy packaging or make it mystical in any way -it can be something as natural as waking up in the morning. Tri thinks mindfulness is a simple task; deliberately paying attention in a non-judgemental way, moment to moment.
We were told about the possibility of the thoughts that came up not being positive and that the experience might not be blissful and Tri explained that it’s about learning to sit with the uncomfortable emotions and feelings as they are. And I appreciated Tri’s integrity as so many articles avoid any negative connotations.
In one of our exercises, each of us was given a couple of raisins. Tri asked us to weigh them up in our hands, look at their appearance and asked us questions which led to us examining our raisins in detail. Some of us formed a connection with our raisins and when we were asked to roll it around our mouth and hold it between our teeth, found it quite difficult to do! Personally, I found the sensation of exploring the texture and the anticipation of squishing the raisin exciting, and the result was as if tasting one for the first time.
Mindfulness won’t appeal to everyone and I suspect that not everyone will have a positive outcome, but I think that’s true of each therapy. However, I think that it is safe to say that my experience with Tri was transformational and that I’m a convert to Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction – imagine having the skill to experience any aspect of life in this way, the possibilities are endless.
It’s Men’s Health Week from June 13th – 19th and there are plenty of opportunities to engage with. This year The Men’s Health Forum are promoting stress awareness and offering on-line stress busting tools. https://www.menshealthforum.org.uk/
A few months back I attended an inspiring workshop on Men and Suicide, hosted by the National Spirituality and Mental Health Forum. Two of the key speakers were from the Samaritans and offered some fascinating insights into the male bias in suicide.
One man dies every two hours as a result of suicide in the UK.
One woman dies every six hours as a result of suicide in the UK.
Michael and Martin from the Samaritans came to speak about the new approach which they recommend for talking more effectively to men in crisis. The Samaritans is promoting a new approach to engaging with men. ManTalk seeks to meet the needs of suicidal men by promoting the understanding of gender differences and how they can be considered in empathetic listening.
This approach acknowledges that men are inevitably cast in the role of providers, so events like the loss of a job can hold far more (stressful) significance for a man whose identity is bound up in the role of being the provider. The shame of failing to be a good provider can often be the final straw for someone who is already feeling desperate.
Michael and Martin have found that simple acts of kindness can make a huge difference to whether a man will speak about his worries, being genuinely interested in what has happened to a person and giving them the space to tell their story in their own way in their own time may be a crucial factor in whether a man will open up and share his story.
The small one-man-band counselling service founded by Chad Varah which sarted in 1953 gradually expanded as the demand for the support of the Samaritans took hold and word travelled that there was finally some confidential help for people considering suicide. Suicide and attempted suicide was eventually decriminalised in the UK in 1961, so those surviving an attempted suicide were no longer liable to prosecution.
Suicide prevention was considered to be a more humane approach to those in such emotional pain they were desperate enough to take their own lives. There are now over 200 branches of The Samaritans around the country, many offering face to face as well as the more common telephone support. The telephone service operates 24 hours a day seven days per week 365 days a year and is now available internationally in 40 countries across the globe.
86% of homeless people are men, 95% of prisoners are men, 65% of alcohol deaths are men and 92% of deaths at work are men. In light of these statistics it is perhaps less surprising that 75.6% of suicides in the UK and Republic of Ireland are men. It seems that their gender role as provider puts them in very pressured positions often resulting in relationship breakdown, homelessness, crime and potentially substance misuse.
Without The Samaritans, I wonder what the UK statistics for completed suicides might look like; without a doubt the picture would be a lot bleaker for people desperately teetering on the edge of the terrible decision about suicide.
The Samaritans have been around since 1953, when attempting suicide was still illegal; those who survived their attempt to end it all were prosecuted and imprisoned. Chad Varah started his work singlehandedly trying to ‘be there’ for people in crisis who were considering suicide as the only solution to their problems.
He quickly realised that the demand for his help far outweighed what could be achieved by one man. He recruited volunteers to ‘entertain’ those who were waiting to be seen by him and soon discovered that a cup of tea with a sympathetic listener was often as effective as the words of a trained counsellor. Being ‘listened to’ is the treatment. Chad Varah and subsequent suicide prevention practitioners believe that kindness and love are transformative and recovery is all about human connection.
Evolution seems to have cast men in the role of hunters, providers, protectors and risk takers, so perhaps there is something profoundly different about how men are wired.
Many of the roles that have traditionally been taken by men are very ‘task focused’ and this task focus often overrides emotion and by that token the need for the more complex and reflective ‘emotional intelligence’. Men may be ‘differently emotionally literate’, making them more vulnerable to self-sacrifice and the honour and shame associated with the ‘code of the warrior’.
There has been no proper research on why more men die from suicide, but the differential suicide rates between men and women together with the increasing overall rates in suicide, make it an urgent task to understand the differences in approaches needed to help men who are contemplating suicide.
Men do not talk about their troubles in the same way as women; they are less likely to respond to the usual cues, men seem to need more space and time to develop trust before they will open up about their troubles. The most recent approach advocated by those supporting vulnerable men suggests that ‘honouring men’s identity’ is a good place to start.
The Samaritans can be reached on: 08457 909090 (24 hours a day) or call for Free on 116 123
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Sue Dowd | VAC Community Development Worker (Mental Health)
With my experience being a volunteer previously, I believe it is a great way to use your free time to learn, gain experience, upgrade skills and to meet new people (expanding your network).
Before you start volunteering, it is very important to understand the expectations of the position. Sometimes you may find volunteering is not as useful and productive as you expected it to be and remember it is a volunteer role not a job. Sometimes I have questioned myself. Am I learning anything or is what I’m doing going to help me get anywhere, but I have pushed that aside and looked to the positive side. I have thought about what’s going well and working rather than thinking about what’s not.
Currently, working as a Health Advocate Volunteer Co-ordinator, I recruit volunteers all the time and I would like to mention some essential skills you may need to become a good volunteer:
For more information about Health Advocate Project, click on the link below:
https://vac.org.uk/get-support/consultancy/neighbourhood-projects/community-health-advocates/health-advocates-project/
In March I attended “New Models of Care: Working Together for a Healthy London” an event organised by the London Voluntary Service Council. The title refers to the government’s “Five Year Forward View” of the NHS which argued for a “more engaged relationship with patients, carers and citizens so that we can promote wellbeing and prevent ill-health.” The voluntary and community sector is very much at the core of this and the document specifically referred to Voluntary Action Rotherham’s Social Prescribing Service.
The day began with Jemma Gilbert from the Healthy London Partnership giving an overview of some of the capital’s key health issues. She viewed London as being “obesogenic” with childhood obesity levels being higher than New York City’s. A partial cause of this is the proliferation of cheap chicken takeaway shops which are seen as cool by many young people. In an article in the Guardian Sir Sam Everington, a Tower Hamlets GP, noted that there were 42 chicken shops per secondary school in the borough. Criticisms of youth culture weren’t Gilbert’s only target, us adults are also part of the problem, and not only with levels of drinking and smoking. She referred to the sedentary nature of much office work and called for changes to workplace culture by, for example, having walking meetings.
Dr Raj Karsandas, also from the Healthy London Partnership, talked about how he had become evangelical about social prescribing. However, he also stated that referrals to social activities such as befriending can be forgotten by GP’s who have a limited time to see patients. GP’s and social prescribing practitioners were reliant upon numerous, often out of date, service directories which were “an absolute nightmare”. A number of delegates supported this view and called for collaboration between VCSE organisations in producing better service directories.
Presentations on co-production and commissioning were given by Greenwich Co-ordinated Care, Age UK Sutton and City & Hackney Together. Afternoon workshops looked at social prescribing, funding & commissioning models and integrated care in London.
Matt Scott presented the draft interim report which looked at how VCSE health practitioners could address what was termed a “defining dilemma of our times”:
“Not only do groups have to do more with less, as austerity politics scales back investment in the sector but that with the increase in pressure we become less able to work together, more isolated, less able to exercise our collective voice to articulate collective needs, leading to even less investment and an increasingly marginalised role in health services.”
As well as recommending more collaboration between local VCSE in bidding for health and well-being contracts the report also contained a call for action to VCSE health practitioners to address deficits in support and to co-ordinate a London conference. As the London Mayoral campaign is now in full swing the LVSC’s Big Ask: Manifesto for the Mayor of London was reiterated and pertinent to some of the discussions at the end of the day were that the new mayor should ensure that the VCSE sector is recognised and included in GLA policy and delivery, co-produce a London VCSE strategy and facilitate private sector donations to VCSE groups.
Presentations from the event can be found here.
There are further events for London based VCSE health practitioners and organisations to discuss the way forward for health care in the capital including the Healthy London Partnership’s Transforming Primary Care on April 13th and Health Education England’s AHP’s Moving Forward on April 20th.
I remember it well – the first time I ever ran a workshop for Voluntary Action Camden. The pounding heart, dry mouth, shaking hands. What if I forget what I want to say? What if my mind goes totally blank? What if..?
Several years on and some 50 or so workshops later, talking to a group of people no longer reduces me to a state of terror. It’s just part of my job, something I find rewarding and, dare I say it, even enjoyable.
But on this chilly February afternoon at a community venue near Kings Cross (Our Camden) I’m here to give moral and practical support to Yvonne, one of our volunteer Mental Health Champions.
Yvonne is knowledgeable and passionate about improving mental health awareness. But she’s about to deliver her very first wellbeing workshop and she confesses to feeling more than a tad nervous.
The subject of the session is “Sleep Hygiene – or getting a good night’s sleep.” We know that getting enough quality sleep is crucial for both our physical and mental wellbeing so we’re going to look at some small and simple changes we might make to help us get there.
As the room starts to fill up, Yvonne chats to each new arrival individually, learning names and making everyone feel comfortable. Everyone visibly warms to her engaging personality. Soon we have a lively group, ranging in age from 40ish to mid 80s.
Having established what Sleep Hygiene is not (…no it’s not about cleaning your teeth before bed or washing the sheets) and gently guiding the discussion back on track (sometimes challenging with a lively group) everything goes really well. There’s plenty of laughter too. We end up with an impressive list of ideas, all suggested by the group. Ranging from switching off your mobile phone and winding down before bed…. to going to bed at the same time every night…. to visualising having a warm relaxing bubble bath if you’re not actually able to have one.
So, huge congratulations to Yvonne for conquering those jitters and delivering such a fantastic workshop. We always knew she could do it. Yvonne’s verdict? “I enjoyed presenting the session. I was nervous but I didn’t need to be. The nervous energy I spent meant that I slept really well that night!”
Having trouble sleeping? If you find yourself regularly tossing and turning in the wee small hours, try these tips from the Sleep Council.
Or go to NHS Choices.
If problems persist, make an appointment to see your GP.
Want to know more about this Project? We train our volunteer Mental Health Champions to use a range of simple tools to get people talking about mental health and wellbeing in a way that is accessible and non-threatening. This in turn helps to break down stigma and taboos. We can offer short sessions to BME community groups on Sleep Hygiene, the Five Ways to Wellbeing and Stress Awareness. One of our volunteers can run these in Sylheti for the Bangladeshi community. We also hope to train one of our Somali-speaking volunteers to offer these in Somali in future. Starting with these everyday subjects, we hope to encourage people to talk and think more about looking after their mental health.
Community Development Worker (Mental Health)
Voluntary Action Camden
020 7284 6565
