Research conducted by accountacy firm Haysmacintyre has shown a stark increase in the number of charities citing safeguarding as a key area of concern in 2019. 28% of charities surveyed said safeguarding was a principle risk - up from 8% the previous year.
The increased concern about safeguarding isn't particularly surprising "given the continued media focus on this area and wider awareness within the sector" according to the annual report.
Charities are clearly becoming more open to discussing safeguarding issues and acknowledging the risks that they pose which is a massive step in the right direction.
That's why Forum Training is delighted to be running the annual Safeguarding Children in Charities Conference - to help charities understand their legal obligations. That's alongside providing practical guidance to ensure that staff and volunteers are safely recruited, aware of their safeguarding responsibilities and fully compliant with your charity’s duty of care obligations.
Understand the key challenges and barriers when it comes to prioritising safeguarding and childwelfare. Learn how to go beyond compliance and develop essential partnerships
Be confident you are meeting your legal responsibilities – including duty of care, regulatory obligations and latest legislative framework and guidance
Learn how to handling incidents, allegations and respond to concerns more effectively – including whistle-blowing, damage limitation, incident investigation and support structures
Enhance your practices when it comes to staffing - from volunteer recruitment and interview checks to compliance and on-going training and development
THE AGENDA
09:00 - 09:25
Networking & coffee break
09:25 - 09:30
Chairperson's introduction
09:30 - 10:15
Prioritising safeguarding and child welfare - developing a culture of safety in your charity
The role of charities in safeguarding children
Key challenges and barriers
Reputational risk and public expectations
Beyond compliance – strengthening your organisational culture
Developing partnerships with other charities and umbrella organisations
10:15 - 11.00
Understanding and meeting your legal responsibilities
Changes to the scope of safeguarding and your duty of care
Charity Commission Guidance – regulatory obligations
The legislative framework – The Children Act 2004 and the Children and Social Work Act 2017
Latest DfE Statutory Guidance – Working Together to Safeguard Children 2018
11.00 - 11:30
Morning coffee break
11.30 - 12.15
Identifying and managing the risks - delivery of services and protecting children from harm
What are the key risks and how are they developing?
Assessing likelihood and potential impact, and putting robust controls in place
Multi-agency arrangements – including working with local safeguarding partners
Monitoring risk and conducting risk assessments
12:15 - 13:00
Safeguarding policies and procedures - putting in place proactive measures and keeping them up to date
What do you need to include in your policy?
Embedding safeguarding into other organisational policies
Are your procedures effective in practice and fit for purpose?
Responding to evolving risks online
Robust data protection and online security practices
13.00- 13:45
Networking lunch
13:45 - 14:30
Handling incidents, allegations and responding to concerns
Setting clear whistle-blowing procedures
Handling abuse allegations – including damage limitation
Conducting thorough incident investigations
Learning from incidents to strengthen policy
Putting in place future support structures for victims and families
By Nat Maher, Founder of Kerning the Gap
By Nat Maher, Design leader and Founder of Kerning the Gap
By Nat Maher, Design leader and Founder of Kerning the Gap
14:30 - 15:15
Safer recruitment and selection of staff and volunteers
Attracting the right candidates
Best interview practice – meeting safeguarding criteria
What is required from a DBS check?
Obtaining and checking references
Post-recruitment – induction and supervision
By Nat Maher, Founder of Kerning the Gap
By Nat Maher, Design leader and Founder of Kerning the Gap
By Nat Maher, Design leader and Founder of Kerning the Gap
15:15 - 15:30
Afternoon break
15:30 - 16.15
Staff and volunteers – awareness, compliance and training
Understanding safeguarding issues and their responsibilities
Ensuring compliance – oversight and accountability
What are appropriate levels of training?
Ongoing training – including around online safety, radicalisation and safeguarding in faith communities
16:15
Close of conference
SPEAKERS
Liz is a specialist safeguarding consultant with 15 years’ experience in social care across children and adults services in local government and the voluntary sector. She also acts as a Specialist Adviser to the CQC and has acted as Safeguarding Lead on a number of inspections.
Liz has led safeguarding reviews at a number of organisations including the Alzheimer’s Society, The City of London and a group of early years childcare providers. In this work she has examined organisational safeguarding policies and procedures, safer recruitment practices, training provision and materials, response to incidents, organisational culture and governance arrangements, made recommendations and helped organisations to formulate improvement plans.
Liz has also worked with housing associations, CCGs and NHS Trusts to examine quality assurance processes and organisations’ investigation of, response to and learning from serious incidents. Liz has frontline experience of working in child protection and safeguarding adults and a strong academic background with a Master’s degree in Social Work, from Royal Holloway, and a Master’s degree in Social and Political Sciences from the University of Cambridge.
Elizabeth Anderson
Independent Safeguarding Consultant
Wade has a 28 year Social Work career which has primarily been in the field of Safeguarding. He has held national strategic safeguarding posts in a number national charities.
Wade Tidbury
Safeguarding Professional
Ann Marie is safeguarding practitioner and has been a qualified social worker since 1996. She has worked for various local authorities on the front line, in management, Local Safeguarding Children Board Trainer, LADO, Safeguarding advisor to schools, school improvement advisor, Designated Safeguarding Lead trainer and Designated Safeguarding Lead coordinator. She held half termly meetings with the DSL’s and shared updates, local themes and support at these meetings.
She is well known amongst her peers and is very passionate about keeping children safe and sharing her knowledge about child abuse and violence against women. Ann Marie has specialised in safeguarding from 1992 and specialised within education and childcare settings since being a school-based social worker in 1999. She went on to manage social workers in schools for a Local Authority.
In 2003 she managed a Child Protection Team for a Local Authority and supported 75 local schools with child protection advice, training and consultancy. In 2010, she became an independent social worker and provides associate consultancy and training to various organisations including NSPCC, Local Authorities, , ISI Consultancy, Early Years Teams, Youth Justice Teams, Boarding School Association, The Key for Leaders, Optimus Education, Council of International Schools, AEGIS, IAPS, Insurance companies, Charities, Faith organisations, Premier League, Multi Academy Trusts and more. She writes articles and contributes regularly to Head Teachers Update, SEN Magazine and Nursery World. Ann Marie frequently delivers workshops and keynotes at National & International conferences. She raises the awareness of child abuse and promotes child protection internationally and over the last few years delivers training and keynotes in Dubai, Singapore, Jamaica, Japan and Armenia.She was’ Highly Commended’ and received an award at the Win Trade Awards 2019 for ‘Woman in the Public Sector’ and nominated in 2018 & 2019 in the NSPCC Child Protection Trainer of the Year.
Ann Marie Christian
International Safeguarding Consultant, Trainer, Author & Speaker
Lydia Bennett has worked within statutory local government for over 11 years as a safeguarding and child protection Social Worker, manager and Group Manager and currently as Head of Service at London Borough of Bromley.
She has gained a wealth of experience across all areas of risk and has also managed several cases where allegations have been made against staff who work with children.Her experience in local government has involved a focus on developing policy, strengthening capacity and learning and improving the quality of the environment in which children have access to. Her recent successes include joining local government following a poor OFSTED inspection where she was quickly able to grasp the key challenges and risk areas that required immediate development and formulate strategies to address these.
This resulted in a 'Good' outcome following a subsequent OFSTED inspection; the quality of decision making was recognised as a key strength and inspectors were confident that “no risk was being missed”.
Lydia Bennett
Head of Service: Referral & Assessment, Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub and Emergency Duty Team
Christina is an experienced Head of Safeguarding and subject matter expert within safeguarding children and adults who has held senior strategic roles within large, complex organisations serving vast demographic populations.
A strong leader, Christina has delivered and embedded robust safeguarding systems, processes and procedures through the provision of sound expertise, knowledge and direction. She has positively driven transformational change, dynamism, pace and passion, whilst motivating, innovating and empowering the wider workforce, public and society to make sure every contact counts, striving for excellence in safeguarding.
Christina Rogers
Head of Safeguarding
Fiona commenced her career in Health as a Health Care Assistant working in hospitals in North Devon, specialising in acute Geriatrics.Fiona gained extensive practical nursing experience delivering care to adults in need of care and support in the community with dementia, physical disabilities and long term illness, this experience was invaluable in recognising the importance of providing dignity in care.Fiona moved on health and joined the Devon and Cornwall Police where she became Detective.
Her ability to investigate serious and complex Adult and Child Safeguarding were quickly recognised when she worked on specialist teams. Fiona later in service qualified as a trainer, developing a variety of training courses including Sexual Offences Liaison Officer and Achieving Best Evidence Courses to the police and other Agencies.
From a National Perspective on behalf of the home office, Fiona developed an E- Learning Package called First Response to Rape. This package was used across the country by police forces in England and also training Safeguarding Agencies in Estonia. Since retiring from the police Fiona became one of the founder company directors for SAFE, and her own company Safe-guarding.co writing and delivering an extensive range of training to public and private organisations.
Fiona Lee
Safeguarding Trainer and Consultant
Who should attend?
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Safeguarding Children for Charities Conference is produced by Forum Business Media Ltd.Registration no: 4425871 | Registered office: Forum Business Media Ltd, 4th Floor, 3 Shortlands, Hammersmith Road, London, W6 8DAVAT no: 799092370