Workshops for designated nurses safeguarding children

Course overview

Since the Victoria Climbe inquiry The Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust has offered workshops for named and designated health care staff. We are now offering CPD workshops for designated child protection and safeguarding nurses.

The work of child protection is stressful and emotionally demanding and the emotionally painful dynamics engendered by child protection work can make decision making very complex and difficult. Numerous inquiries have pointed out the need for staff support for professionals engaged in this work.

Course outline

These workshops are intended to develop the skills and understanding of the named and designated professionals working in the complex and demanding field of child protection.

The task of the workshops is to offer a reflective space for designated professionals. Often taking time to think and share clinical and system dilemmas with colleagues is seen to be a luxury but all of the reports and Serious Case Reviews demonstrate that thinking is an absolute precondition of effective work in the challenging world of child protection.

Aims

1. To provide an opportunity to explore the roles and tasks of the designated professional in their settings

2. To examine how they will take up these roles and tasks within their workplace

3. To examine how their supervisory and management responsibilities for child protection work will be discharged within their setting

4. To discuss case management and the dilemmas faced by designated professionals

The Workshop for Designated Nurses will provide an opportunity to discuss and explore the task and role of the Designated Nurse as laid out in the ‘Safeguarding Children and Young people: roles and competences for health care staff Intercollegiate Document’ of March 2014 - that is at all times and in relation to the roles and responsibilities works as a member of the safeguarding/child protection team across the health community.

Lead and support all activities necessary to ensure that organisations within the health community meet their responsibilities to safeguard and protect children and young people
Advise and support all named professionals across the health community
Be responsible to and accountable within the managerial framework of the employing

The key areas for exploration in the Workshop is to look at how the designated nurse takes up the role in relation to:

Inter-agency responsibilities
Leadership and advisory role
Clinical role
Co-ordination and communication
Governance: policies and procedures
Monitoring serious case reviews/case management reviews/significant case reviews
Supervision
Personal development

Objectives

Learning is based on the participant’s own practice as a designated professional and focuses on four inter-related functions of the designated:

Ensuring the implementation of Trust tasks and policies in relation to child protection
Focusing on staff practice in child protection work
Facilitating staff’s professional practice in relation to child protection work
Managing inter-agency relationships and demands

Learning is also based on the struggle to mediate effectively and creatively between these four functions.

Participants will have the opportunity to reflect and work on the issues and feelings engendered by the clinical work entailed in child protection work.

Learning outcomes

The sharing of best practice
The support of colleagues in taking up the role
The provision of a ‘thinking space’ to examine dilemmas in the role and task
Greater understanding of the under the surface dynamics that are inevitably in play in safeguarding work

Structure

These workshops will provide a reflective space in which participants will be able to present their own work and dilemmas as it connects to child protection. The task of the workshops is to work as a problem-solving group for the presenter’s dilemma or issue and from this the participants will be encouraged to test out new ways of working.

Facilitator

Dr David Lawlor, Director, Centre for Social Work Supervision and Consultancy formerly Head of Social Work at the Tavistock & Portman and Named Professional for Child Protection, Organising Tutor of the MA in Child Protection and Professional Partner Research and Consultancy The Tavistock Institute of Human Relations

Course delivery

This course will be delivered remotely using Zoom. This is very easy and safe to use regardless of your level of IT skill.

You will need a device with a microphone and camera together with a suitably fast internet connection. Although mobile devices and tablets can be used, we recommend the use of laptop or desktop PC for the best experience. Some devices provided by employers may have restrictions in place. Please use this test link (https://zoom.us/test) to check your set up before booking.

You will be sent joining instructions including all the necessary login links, passwords and guidance on how to use the relevant functionality about a week before the course start date.

Should you have any concerns about the accessibility of remote delivery please contact us at CPDEvents@tavi-port.ac.uk to discuss how we can best help you.

Dates and times

Dates and times for the next cohort of Workshop for Designated Nurses Safeguarding Children will be posted here in due course. In the meantime, if you would like to be added to the waiting list or have any queries please email us at CPDevents@tavi-port.ac.uk

Library

Included in your course fee, you will receive online membership of the Tavistock’s internationally-renowned library for the duration of your course.
Our friendly and knowledgeable library team will help to support you through your specialist CPD course, whatever your level of professional or academic experience. You will have access to an extensive range of eBooks, online journals, all the relevant key databases and our specialist audio-visual collection, plus reference access to all our print books. Our Information Skills Trainer has made lots of material available on Moodle to help you navigate our comprehensive electronic collections. PCs and photocopiers are also available for your use (charges apply for printing and copying).

Library staff curate various online resources, such as Audio/Video Playlists, and regularly share helpful news and research on Twitter and Facebook. Find out more on the Library website: https://library.tavistockandportman.ac.uk