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Understanding Sexual Harm Conference
Monday 15 January,9:30 AM - 4:30 PM
Course outline:
This conference brings together expert speakers with specialist knowledge and experience who work across the continuum of harmful sexual behaviour in children and adults who sexually harm others including children.
It aims to inform and support colleagues managing cases of harmful sexual behaviour, allegations and low-level concerns which involve elements of sexual harm.
This conference will help broaden their knowledge and experience of this area of safeguarding work, apply appropriate risk assessment strategies and plans, identify sources of support, and develop appropriate responses.
Sacpa will facilitate questions directly from members to our experts throughout the day and encourage delegates to come prepared with questions for our panels.
Unable to attend? A post conference recording will be available for purchase.
Training topics will include:
- Setting the scene: exploring the contexts of sexual harm
- Beyond everyone’s invited: practice perspectives
- Sexual harm and transitional safeguarding
- Adults who sexually harm: organisational impact
- What happens when things get legal
- What does robust risk assessment, mitigation and management look like.
Learning outcomes:
- explore sexual harm in a range of contexts and be updated about trends across contexts and groups of individuals involved and affected
- have up to date knowledge about a range of best practice implementation; post Everyone’s Invited
- increase confidence of risk assessment and risk management strategies.
- Delegates are invited to consider the implementation of transitional safeguarding strategies as affected individuals move from one context to another and from childhood into the world of adult safeguarding
- Delegates increase their knowledge and understanding of what we know about adults who sexually harm and consider the impacts on organisations, their response and management.
Audience: All those involved in safeguarding and working with children and adults who sexually harm
Platform: Zoom (online) – conference
Cost:
- SACPA Member Rate: £215
- SACPA Additional Full Member Fee: £110
- Non-member Rate: £490*
Programme:
09:30 – 10:15
Setting the scene: exploring the contexts of sexual harm
Our growing knowledge and understanding of contextual approaches to safeguarding supports our understandings of this key area of safeguarding practice.
In this session, our expert speaker sets the scene by focussing on the contexts of sexual harm, and specific areas of developing concern.
- Claire Dan, Director, SACPA and Safeguarding Director, BSA Group
10:15 – 10:30
Break
10:30 – 11:30
Beyond everyone’s invited: practice perspectives
We are still feeling the ripples from Everyone’s Invited, and rightly so. In this session, practitioners share their practice perspectives and responses to the challenge of sexual harm.
- Dale Wilkins, Senior Director, BSA Group
- Laura Nott, Schools Project Manager, The Lucy Faithful Foundation
- Emma Rothwell, Assistant Head: Inclusion, Equality & Diversity, The Perse School
11:30 – 11:45
Break
11:45 – 12:30
Sexual harm and transitional safeguarding
As children transition from one school to another, go abroad for their education and volunteering, or progress into the workplace or university, these transitions may be key turning points, and key points of vulnerability.
Our expert speaker explores what we know about transitional safeguarding, specifically in the context of sexual harm.
- Claire Dan, Director, SACPA and Safeguarding Director, BSA Group
- Nikki Holmes, Safer Together, Contextual Safeguarding and Exploitation
12:30 – 13:30
Lunch
13:30 – 14:30
Adults who sexually harm: organisational impact
Safer recruitment processes are designed to deter and detect unsuitable persons from being appointed to positions of trust. It is recognised that ongoing vigilance is equally as important. Our expert speakers share their perspectives on the impact of adults who sexually harm on their sector and organisations within their sector. What lessons were learned, and how has that influenced current practice.
- Claire Dan, Director, SACPA and Safeguarding Director, BSA Group
- Dale Wilkins, Senior Director, BSA Group
- Colin Perkins ,Chichester Diocese (DW) policy developer National Safeguarding Team – CofE Diocese Safeguarding Advisor, Diocese of Chichester
14:30 – 14:45
Break
14:45 – 15:30
What happens when things get legal
Effective safeguarding systems, incident analysis and management of sexually harmful behaviour is critical. However, whether dealing with cases of misconduct in persons in positions of trust, or harmful sexual behaviour between children, the risks of regulatory and legal measures resulting from unsatisfactory management are present.
In this session, our expert speakers enlighten you with examples from case work and case law to support you in avoiding unnecessary risk and welfare impacts for children, beneficiaries, and employees.
- Claire Dan, Director, SACPA and Safeguarding Director, BSA Group
- Maria Strauss, Farrer & Co
15:30 – 15:45
Break
15:45 – 16:30
What does robust risk assessment, mitigation and management look like?
Increasingly, organisations work more closely with other agencies in their analysis and response to sexual harm. Regulatory compliance features alongside the risk management and mitigation perspectives of partners and specialist services.
In this session, our speakers discuss the frameworks and practice principles they use and look for to effectively manage and respond to risk and vulnerability in this area of safeguarding practice.
- Claire Dan, Director, SACPA and Safeguarding Director, BSA Group
- Carol Carson, Director of The AIM Project
Speakers:
Claire Dan, Director of Safeguarding and Director, Sacpa
Claire is Director of Safeguarding and Director, Sacpa and leads on the provision of safeguarding advice and support to members and the development and delivery of CPD and safeguarding consultancy services. Claire is a safeguarding specialist and leader with a background in education welfare, youth justice, and early help contexts which have involved a strong focus on diverse and collaborative partnerships, professional development and supervision of front-line safeguarding colleagues, and leading multi-disciplinary teams and projects. Between 2006 and 2013 Claire was involved with Luton Safeguarding Children Board as a lead multi-agency safeguarding trainer, developing and delivering single and multi-agency safeguarding training, and since 2013 has delivered pieces of bespoke consultancy work, and providing a range of safeguarding consultancy on a freelance basis.
Dale Wilkins, Senior Director, BSA and BSA Group
Dale joined the BSA during Summer 2017 with responsibility for safeguarding and standards, having previously been a course tutor since 1998. In July 2019 he also assumed responsibility for the BSA’s training programme, including both day seminars and accredited training courses. Dale leads on all safeguarding and inspection matters for the BSA, including managing the Commitment to Care Charter and has also developed a process of BSA Accreditation for our international members. He also liaises with ISI, Ofsted and DfE on matters relating to compliance and inspection standards, and compiles the BSA Self-Assessment toolkit, which he first produced in 2002, since which time he has been closely involved in inspection in state and independent boarding.
For 31 years Dale was a boarding practitioner. After boarding positions at Norwich School and Tettenhall College, Dale became a Housemaster at Old Swinford Hospital in 1992, and was promoted to Deputy Head in 2007, and subsequently also DSL. He has also been a multi-agency trainer for the Dudley Safeguarding Children’s Board.
Laura Nott, Schools Project Manager, Lucy Faithfull Foundation
After qualifying and working as a probation officer in the West Midlands, Laura was seconded to a local charity to develop a therapeutic group work programme for young men affected by domestic abuse, helping them to understand healthy relationships. She then set up a training and consultancy business; training teachers, social workers and police officers in protective behaviours, safeguarding and family therapy. After managing several voluntary sector projects and organisations, Laura now leads LFF’s multi-disciplinary Schools team, working alongside researchers from the University of Surrey on a three-year action research project to support schools to respond to and prevent harmful sexual behaviour.
Nikki Holmes, Safer Together, Contextual Safeguarding and Exploitation
Nikki has served as a police officer, been a service manager for a young person’ substance misuse service, is an experienced Children’s Services Inspector for the CQC, and more recently launched her own consultancy Safer Together www.safer-together.co.uk, which is a proud member of the WeProtect Global Alliance.
An expert in safeguarding with expertise and extensive experience of working in the fields of Child Exploitation, County Lines and Modern Slavery, Nikki now provides independent consultancy and training to a range of organisations including the NHS and Local Authorities.
Nikki is also a guest lecturer, a public speaker and an independent author of Child Safeguarding Practice Reviews, Safeguarding Adult Reviews and Domestic Homicide Reviews.
Colin Perkins ,Chichester Diocese (DW) policy developer National Safeguarding Team – CofE Diocese Safeguarding Advisor, Diocese of Chichester
Colin Perkins is the Safeguarding Adviser for the Diocese of Chichester, which is the Church of England in Sussex. He has managed the Church’s response to some of the largest criminal investigations in UK history into non-recent child sexual abuse in religious settings. He gave extensive evidence to the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA), with his team’s work being referred to as ‘best practice’, with particular reference to partnership working with statutory agencies and responding to survivors of abuse during criminal investigations. Prior to his work in the Church of England, Colin worked in Probation with high-risk sexual and violent offenders, and gang members. Colin has a Post-Graduate Certificate in Forensic Behavioural Psychology, and a Masters Degree in Advanced Child Protection
Maria Strauss, Farrer & Co
Maria Strauss is a Partner at the law firm Farrer & Co. She has extensive experience in safeguarding and employment law. She acts for a variety of not for profit and education organisations including independent schools, charities, faith-based organisations and sports clubs. Maria has many years’ experience in handling sensitive and complex cases for clients. She is a specialist in investigations and a trained interviewer. Maria advises on all aspects of employment and equality law and was the lead author of the AGBIS Resource for Governors on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion. Most recently, Maria has advised on a number of complex cases such as bullying cases (including anonymous witnesses), safeguarding investigations into serious allegations with related parental complaints; whistleblowing complaints, ‘clash of rights’ cases, and a range of other cases involving staff, children and parents. Maria is a governor of an independent prep school in London.
Carol Carson, Director of The AIM Project
Carol Carson is the Director of The AIM Project one of the leading UK and international organisations in children and adolescents with harmful sexual behaviours (HSB). She has over 30 years’ experience in safeguarding children and specialising in HSB. Carol has written several books and articles on the subject, including the AIM Assessment model for Children under 12 years old; a children’s story for working with children aged 5 – 8 years old “Johnny and the Sparkles in his Pants”; and AIM Autism and HSB Practice Guide as part of her PhD.
Emma Rothwell, Assistant Head: Inclusion, Equality & Diversity, The Perse School
Emma is currently Assistant Head – Inclusion, Equality & Diversity, a Safeguarding Lead & Chaplain at the Perse School. Her work involves driving strategy for D&I to impact positive change in culture and innovating best practice in safeguarding and managing sexual misconduct. Emma trains staff and speak nationally on D&I and safeguarding. Emma’s previous experience includes Principal and Director of Studies in a large federation. In this role she developed inclusive educational programmes for national use, oversaw significant institutional change and worked on compliance. Emma has over 25 years’ experience of using qualitative and quantitative methods to build inclusive communities across generations in very different contexts, as a leader, teacher-trainer and strategist.
Emma developed fast track for teachers with the DFE and worked as a university lecturer in education at Cambridge University and ARU teaching inclusive pedagogy. Emma is an alumnus of the national Senior Faiths Leadership Program, Cambridge University. Her work in this area has involved many national grassroots initiatives to develop respect between people of faith and no faith.
