Course outline

The significance of recognising and respecting the ‘position of trust’ relationship dynamic in safeguarding and child protection is vital in understanding and setting professional boundaries, relationships and supporting those accessing your services. Recently making headlines through NSPCC’s Close the Loophole campaign and the government extension to the Sexual Offences Act, protecting those who are over the age of consent for sexual activity but who may be vulnerable to abuse or exploitation by an adult in a position of trust; it is essential that practitioners recognise the importance of the position of trust, and feel confident in identifying possible breaches.

This training session, delivered by Marcus Erooga, independent safeguarding and sexual abuse consultant, will explore what we know, based on research and evidence, about breaches of the position of trust, including key characteristics, grooming behaviours and common modus operandi. Delegates will be encouraged to question difficulties relating to identifying breaches in their settings and discuss how to underpin this process culturally, going beyond policy and box-ticking.

Training topics will include:

• What is a ‘position of trust’ and how does it relate to safeguarding?
• Themes, characteristics and features relating to breaching the position of trust
• Creating a safeguarding culture: adopting a low-level concerns policy and empowering the whole community to support.

Learning outcomes:

• An understanding of the importance of recognise risks associated with ‘position of trust’
• Research-based recommendations to support the development of a proactive safeguarding culture
• Opportunity for best practice discussion and Q&A around recognising risks of abuse.

Audience

• All practitioners working with children, young people or vulnerable individuals, DSL/DSO, DDSL, Safeguarding Manager/Lead, Governors, Trustees.

Cost:

• Member rate: £100
• Non-member rate: £200*

*If you would like to become a member and access discounted rates for Sacpa CPD and events, please click here.

Speaker: Marcus Erooga, independent safeguarding and sexual abuse consultant
Marcus Erooga is an independent safeguarding and sexual abuse Consultant, Researcher and Trainer. From 1999-2018 he was a Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Huddersfield Centre for Applied Childhood, Youth and Family Studies. He spent the majority of his employed career in various positions at the NSPCC, as a practitioner, team manager and Assistant Director for service delivery, as well as service and policy development roles relating to child sexual abuse and sexual offending.

He has authored or edited some 80 publications on child abuse and sex offender-related issues. Most recently this work has focused on organisational safeguarding. In 2016 he co-authored a review of the literature on organisational risk and protective factors for the Australian Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse as well as being Expert Witness in a Royal Commission Case Study. He is an Expert Witness for the IICSA (the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse) Residential Schools inquiry and co-authored the Farrer & CO low-level concerns guidance.

As an independent consultant Marcus regularly trains and presents based on his research and undertakes safeguarding work including audits and reviews for a number of organisations. Marcus is a past Editor in Chief and current Associate Editor of the Journal of Sexual Aggression and a past Chair of NOTA (the National Organisation for the Treatment of Abuse) and is now a NOTA Fellow.