Course outline

When providing support to others, do you know whether you consider them fully? Do you know what their priorities are, likes and dislikes, interests? Do these resonate with those around them, their family, friends, neighbours or classmates?

Understanding cultural competence and the role it plays in the positive safeguarding for vulnerable children and young people is crucial to delivering successful and genuine interventions that are much more likely to positively impact those you are support.

Training topics will include:

• What do we understand by cultural competence?
• Why it is important when safeguarding children and young people?
• What role cultural competence plays in promoting positive outcomes for vulnerable children and young people.
• What cultural competence is not
• How to work with children and young people who are questioning their sexuality and sexual orientation, supporting positive ethnic identity and working with children and families of faith with the core cultural competence skills.

Learning outcomes:

• Delegates will have an understanding of cultural competence and its importance for effective safeguarding
• Increased confidence in working with individuals across faith, sexual orientation and ethnic identity.

Audience:

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

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: Nicola Sylvester, Safeguarding Policy Manager, Methodist Church
Nicola Sylvester qualified as a social worker through the Step-Up-to Social Work programme after a two-decade career as a secondary school teacher. Despite describing her teaching career as ‘thoroughly rewarding’, she is proud of the professional identity she has developed since changing careers.
Nicola’s time in frontline children and family practice came to an end when she became a senior social work lecturer supporting the learning of new entrants into the profession.

Nicola defines herself as a champion of the rights of children, young people and their families and regard herself as an anti-oppressive practitioner who advocates for children and families in a range of contexts. She is an avid proponent of the role of direct work with children and young people to ascertain their voice to inform assessments of their family lives as well as decisions affecting them. Nicola states proudly, “My main focus is to maintain children within their birth families where it is safe to do so.”

In March 2021, Nicola took up her current post as Safeguarding Policy Manager for the Methodist Church.