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DSCP Newsletter - March 2025
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Welcome to the latest edition of the DSCP newsletter. We hope you find it useful and informative. Please contact us by email if you have any comments or suggestions for future newsletters (DSCPSecure@durham.gov.uk)
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Latest News from DSCP
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We are coming to the end of the Priority Work for 2023-2025, so we want to take this opportunity to celebrate and thank all the partners, practitioners, parents, carers and children who have contributed to the work and supported the DSCP Business Unit to learn and promote positive practice.
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If you would like to read any of our briefings on the work completed, please visit the website Key Learning page to read more.
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From April 2025 we will have three new priorities to focus on:
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- Priority One: Harm Outside the Home
- Priority Two: Safeguarding through Early Identification and Intervention
- Priority Three: Trauma Informed Practice
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Priorities (2023-2025)
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Priority One: Domestic Abuse
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Shifting the scales: Transforming the criminal justice response to domestic abuse
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The Domestic Abuse Commissioner published Shifting the scales, a report about transforming the response to domestic abuse by the criminal justice system in January. The report finds a sharp decline in numbers from recorded domestic abuse offence to final conviction.
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The report examines examples of poor practice and excellent practice from initial incident and at each stage of the criminal justice system.
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Read the Commissioner’s new report Shifting the scales: Transforming the Criminal justice response to domestic abuse. Full report here, Executive summary here.
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The webinar is aimed at local partners in the statutory response to domestic abuse, specialist domestic abuse services, and regional representatives from criminal justice agencies. We are asking strategic leads, service leads, funders, and decision makers to attend as representatives of their organisations and agencies.
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The webinar will include:
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- an overview of the findings and recommendations from the Commissioner’s report
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- a presentation of best practice work in the region
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- a practice sharing discussion of successes and barriers amongst local partners
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- discussion of local and national next steps
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A full agenda will be circulated in due course.
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We have grouped PCC areas into regions in order to divide the webinars. Please register at the link below for your area’s webinar. If you cannot attend or send another representative to your area’s webinar, please get in touch with padraigin.oflynn@domesticabusecommissioner.independent.gov.uk or your area’s Geographic Lead, and we will try to accommodate your attendance at another webinar.
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Priority Two: Harm Outside The Home
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The Improvement Delivery Group are currently completing work looking at what is the offer from every service within the DSCP when identifying and supporting children and family at risk of Harm Outside the Home at the earliest opportunity.
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Priority Three: First 1,001 Days
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Early Years Personal Education Plan Guidance
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The Early Years SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities), Equalities and Inclusion Team joins Durham Virtual School in providing support to early years providers in meeting the needs of children in care and those previously cared for as well as supporting personal education planning as required.
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This useful guidance document has been collated by Early Years Education colleagues in Durham Virtual School. It has relevant and updated information regarding the PEP process for our 2-, 3- and 4-year-olds and information regarding childcare entitlements and how our carers can access them.
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Priority Four: Mental Health and Wellbeing
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International Day of Happiness (20 March)
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International Day of Happiness is celebrated on the 20th of March every year, bringing a global focus on happiness as a fundamental human goal and aspiration. It’s a day to recognise the importance of happiness in the lives of people around the world and to promote well-being and joy as critical components of global progress. This day encourages reflection on how we can all contribute to happiness in our communities and workplaces, aiming to foster a positive environment where everyone can thrive. The theme for this year is ‘Caring and Sharing’. This year’s theme reminds us that lasting happiness comes from caring for each other, feeling connected and being part of something bigger.
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Here are four simple, positive actions you can take to connect with others and help to build a happier and stronger community.
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Further information and support for stress and mental health can be found at:
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You will recall that In December 2024 newsletter the DSCP provided information around the Child Safeguarding Practice Review report on Child Sexual Abuse within the Family.
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On 26th November 2024, the panel published their national review “I wanted them all to notice” about child sexual abuse within the family environment. This highlights important learning to inform the practice and policies of safeguarding partners, strategic leaders, managers and all those working directly with children, young people and families.
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The DSCP have come together to develop an action plan in response and more information will be shared in 2025.
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To support partners to develop their understanding of Sexual Abuse we want to promote the free training offered by the Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse. Please click on the link attached to see the many webinars available to you. Events | CSA Centre
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International Transgender Day of Visibility (31 March)
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Transgender Day of Visibility (TDoV) takes place every 31 March, celebrating trans and non-binary people and raising awareness of the discrimination faced by the community worldwide. Founded by Rachel Crandall-Crocker, a Michigan-based psychotherapist, it was established in response to the lack of an event to honour trans folk, and to complement its autumn counterpart, the Trans Day of Remembrance (TDoR) that is held each year on 20 November.
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You can show your support in a number of ways, including:
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- Pronouns - Simply adding your pronouns to your signature or social media normalises sharing pronouns so that when a trans person wants to identify theirs, it's not inadvertently drawing attention to themselves.
- Education - As with any diverse group of people it's important that we learn about each other. Check out some of the terms commonly used (or misused) that our trans friends would like you to know in this glossary of Trans language.
- Language - You might feel like you don’t always know the right terminology or the right thing to say, but trans people just want to be treated with respect and dignity – just like anyone else. If you’d like to learn more about what it’s like to be trans, check out this myth-busting Q&A - The truth about trans (stonewall.org.uk)
- Events - Find local events on 31 March 2025 that celebrate or support the trans community, all allies are welcome in these safe spaces. Events can be found on Facebook groups or Eventbrite
- Speaking up - Much like any marginalised community, there is no need to speak over, or for, trans people when they are in the conversation. However it is important that voices with merit speak up when needed; this isn't to say that Trans voices aren't heard, but if a voice holds influence with a person spreading negativity, it should be used to correct these behaviours.
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World Autism Acceptance Month (April 2025)
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Further information including resources and webinars available as well as fundraising opportunities can be found here.
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National Siblings Day (10 April)
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The theme this year is #ItsaSiblingThing #NationalSiblingsDay2025
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Further information including resources for young siblings, adult siblings, parents and carers and professionals can be found here.
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The new refreshed DSCP multi-agency training programme 2025/26 will be launched this month for booking from April 2025 – March 2026. The training representatives from our partner agencies who attend Workforce Learning and Development Group have agreed to carry forward some of the training from last years programme but also provide you with new courses which meet the emerging themes locally and nationally. To browse what is on offer and to book a place, click HERE
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On 25th February 2000, Victoria Climbié was tragically murdered. Her devastating experiences and interactions with the people that were meant to care for her, including services and organisations, led to an inquiry which changed how we all safeguard children.
Lord Laming's report at the time noted several opportunities were missed to save Victoria by the several services she had been in contact with prior to her death, including social services, hospitals and the police.
Laming’s report made 108 recommendations, designed to increase the priority placed on children within government, local authorities and other agencies, enhance joint working and significantly improve the quality of practice by social workers and other agencies.
You can access the full Laming report via the NSPCC's library catalogue: NSPCC library catalogue
In relation to the key theme of information sharing, we have completed a lot of work within around 'How we share information in Durham'. Please remember sharing information could change a child’s life; if you think a child is at risk, you can share information to protect them from harm and to provide the right help at the right time which allows us to safeguard children and provide support at an early stage. It is not necessary to seek consent to share information for the purposes of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of a child provided that there is a lawful basis to process any personal information required.
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Find out more by accessing the DSCP training package which will support you in your role to share information to safeguard children and young people. The course covers:
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- learning from practice in Durham
- information sharing in the context of safeguarding; a strong emphasis on prevention, and;
- sharing within the lawful basis of ‘public task’ rather than consent
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Youth Endowment Fund Survey
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The National Youth Agency is undertaking a survey exploring the vast role of both youth workers and youth clubs in supporting and safeguarding children and young people at risk of or involved in violence in England and Wales.
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Whether you support young people in a youth club, youth ministry or in another setting, they want to hear from you.
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The survey should take no longer than 10 minutes to complete and will explore:
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- The ways in which you and your organisation may be involved in safeguarding children and young people at risk of or involved in violence or crime
- The type of youth provision and activities that you deliver and how these are funded
- Your interactions with the wider safeguarding system
- How your youth club provides effective formal and informal support
- What this support looks like, to children at risk of or involved in violence
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We are always striving to provide training that is the best quality so our workforce in County Durham is as up to date as possible with all things safeguarding children. The Safeguarding Children Level 1 and 2 has been revised in line with changes in information sharing guidance. After a period of down time this is now available to complete on our Me-Learning platform. Login to your existing account or create a new account HERE. (please read charging policy before creating a new account).
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National Guidance and Useful Resources
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Contact us:
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Council Offices, Green Lane, Spennymoor, DL16 6JQ
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