Bradford e-learning partnership extends child protection training provision
The Virtual College's Safeguarding Children e-Academy has helped Bradford Safeguarding Children Board deliver child protection training to more than 3,000 people.
Bradford Safeguarding Children Board (BSCB), which has successfully delivered online child protection training to over 3,000 people in the Bradford District children’s workforce over the past two years, has expanded its provision with the introduction of new e-learning courses delivered via the internet.
Working in partnership with the Safeguarding Children e-Academy, a standalone division of online training pioneer Virtual College, BSCB has, in its multi-agency lead role, to date rolled out ‘Basic Awareness in Child Abuse and Neglect’ training across the Bradford Metropolitan Council area.
Now, the board has launched five new modules - free to workers in member organisations. They are:
· Safeguarding Children from Abuse by Sexual Exploitation.
· Hidden Harm – Parental Drug and Alcohol Misuse.
· Runaways.
· An Introduction to Safeguarding Children.
· Basic Awareness of Child Abuse and Neglect – Young People
The launch event at St Peter’s House in Forster Square, Bradford, provided an opportunity for the BSCB training team to promote new learning opportunities to its partner agencies.
It was attended by representatives from Bradford District Care Trust, Bradford and Airedale Community Health, housing organisations, Children’s Social Care, training providers, West Yorkshire Police, Connexions Bradford , Barnardos, The Children Society and a number of voluntary organisations
Jo Coombs, NHS Bradford and Airedale Director of Nursing and vice-chair of BSCB, emphasised the commitment the board has to providing quality training through different innovative methods.
Abbey Dacres, manager of the Safeguarding Children e-Academy, highlighted the development of the e-academy following an initial approach from Bradford Safeguarding Children Board to assist with developing an online Basic Awareness in Child Abuse and Neglect course.
The e-Academy was established in 2006 with 14 founder members working together as an advisory board. Membership has now grown to a total of 52 Safeguarding Children Boards nationwide.
Julie Evans, BSCB Interagency Training coordinator, emphasised the need to reach a wider children’s workforce of approximately 25,000 staff and volunteers right across the Bradford district, coupled with the ability to be able to respond to government guidance and initiatives.
She explained: “For example, Safeguarding Children from Abuse by Sexual Exploitation training was originally developed as a face-to-face course, but it would take us 50 years to roll out to all the staff who need it by this method.
“Now, e-learners can complete their basic training in a number of topics online, which means we can develop our taught face-to-face courses to focus on specific issues and sharing and improving best practice.
“Many delegates at the launch event took the opportunity to do a taster session and were very positive about the method of learning and the quality of the materials available to them - one delegate from housing completed a whole programme and told us she was going back to her colleagues to promote the learning opportunities.
“Other experienced practitioners who were not previously sure about e-learning found the method of study really engaging and were converted to this new way of learning. We were really pleased with the interest shown and the opportunity to update our partner agencies with new developments.”
BSCB is made up of statutory and voluntary sector agencies that work together to protect children and young people from abuse and neglect, and to promote their welfare. Together, they are making a real difference in the quest to create a safer, more secure future for the region’s children and young people.
BSCB manager Paul Hill remains convinced that equipping all involved in the children’s workforce with online child protection training is the way forward, providing them with vital new skills to help ensure that the region’s children and young people are looked after properly, kept safe and protected from harm.
He said: “To date, we have delivered the Basic Awareness of Child Abuse and Neglect module to over 2,500 people, which represents one of the highest completion rates of all Safeguarding Children e-Academy members nationwide.
“All in the Bradford children’s workforce have a statutory obligation to undertake child protection training, yet with traditional face-to-face training, we could only hope to reach a maximum of 500 people annually.
“Faced with ever-growing waiting lists, we identified an urgent need to improve the quality and consistency of our training provision and deliver it in a way that would be accessible to all.
“e-learning was recognised as the way forward. It has helped us to reach many more people and introduce more varied topics than we could ever hoped to have done through face-to-face learning, for which there continues to be a need.
“We are convinced that, together, we are making a real difference to the welfare and safety of children and young people right across the Bradford metropolitan area.
“To us, every child matters and we want to make sure that Bradford continues to be rated by the government as delivering good Safeguarding Children services, is an area where most children feel safe, and a place where most agencies work together successfully in partnership.
“There is no doubt that e-learning makes an important contribution to this – duly noted when OFSTED carried out its joint area review of Bradford last year.
“We believe the work we are doing can be held aloft as a shining example of best practice worthy of interest to all other Safeguarding Children Boards across the country.”
Abby Dacres explained: “Child protection is all about looking after the children we know are in need. Safeguarding encompasses opportunities for early intervention and often the people who are best placed to spot the early signs of concern in a child's life are not frontline social care workers, but those who work with children and their families in a more general capacity, such as teaching assistants, health centre workers, or the Police.
“These people need to be equipped with appropriate child protection training, so they area aware of what to do if they suspect abuse or note that a family is struggling to cope. Having the confidence to know when and how to act comes from being well informed.
“e-learning can help train everyone who comes into contact with children across any number of different geographical locations and job descriptions quickly and simply. Our prime focus is to use online solutions to help enhance the traditional approach to education and training – to embed e-learning as best practice in the children’s workforce and help create a safer, more future for our children and young people.”
The SCeA website is http://www.safeguardingchildrenea.co.uk/