Understanding Sexual Harm Conference
15th January 2024 @ 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:
Platform: Zoom (online) – conference
Cost:
- Member Rate: £215
- 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
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
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.
- David Smellie, 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.
- TBC
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.
