ZEngaging and Assessing Partners of Child Sex Abusers

TARGET GROUPS

This training is targeted to practitioners that are in direct contact with children and have a role to contribute to contribute to assessments and care planning, and/or are in a safeguarding lead role or involved in LADO processes.

Group Level 2 (regular contact with children, young people and/or parent/carer) or Level 3 (predominately working with children) or above (including strategic leads) as set out in the Safeguarding Competency framework in London Safeguarding Child Procedures. Inter-Collegiate Standards 2 and above for health professionals.

Please note: This course is for practitioners who have already attended the child sexual abuse awareness course, or already have prior knowledge and experience at the practitioner level.

AIM

This aim of this course is to equip practitioners with the knowledge, skills and confidence to engage with non-offending partners to assess their capacity to keep a child safe within the context of suspected or actual significant harm under the category of child sexual abuse in pan-London child protection procedures.  The course will include a mix of knowledge based content, videos and skills based inter-active exercises.

The training is provided by Lucy Faithfull, a child protection charity dedicated solely to preventing child sexual abuse to ensure children are as safe as they can be. They have extensive experience of working with entire families who have been affected by sexual abuse, including young people with inappropriate sexual behaviours (male and female); victims of abuse and other family members. They also run the confidential Stop it Now! Helpline.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

By attending this course, participants will have:

• Improved their knowledge and understanding about the different patterns and styles of male sexual offending against children, including those who abuse online and via the internet
• Examined the models currently used to understand sexually abusive behaviour
• Improved their knowledge and understanding about the attitudes, beliefs and impact on the child and young people they abuse
• Examined the patterns and behaviour of the abuser’s relationship with the parent or carer and other relationships within the family and the wider community.
• Developed an understanding about a parent’s or carer’s responses to the abuse and its aftermath, in this context
• Developed strategies and techniques to engage a non-offending partners in assessment and care planning
• Developed knowledge, skills and the confidence to assess a parent’s or carer’s capacity to keep children safe from sexual abuse.