Domestic Abuse and the Impact on Children & Young People 24/25

Target Group 

This training is targeted at:

• Professionals in direct contact with children who undertake or contribute to risk assessments and multi-agency meetings including social workers, family support workers, health professionals, schools, police and others who work with children at risk of abuse, neglect and exploitation who work for the London Borough of Sutton. 

Competency level: 

• Group Level 2 (regular contact with children, young people and/or parent/carer) or Level 3 (predominantly working with children) or above (including strategic leads), and NHS Inter-Collegiate Standards 2 and above for health professionals.

Please note: participants are expected to have completed the Domestic Abuse awareness course or already have an understanding about what domestic abuse is and its prevalence before attending this session.

Aims

The aims of this session are:

• To understand the dynamics of domestic abuse and how it is different for children and young people;
• To understand the impact on emotional wellbeing and capacity to form healthy relationships;
• To recognise and respond to coercive control and violence in young people’s relationships;
• To consider the key risk factors for actual or likely significant harm and what to consider in the multi-agency safety planning process;
• To use trauma informed responses and approaches to engage young people with diverse needs and backgrounds, including those with special education needs and disabilities, asylum seeking refugees and specific BAME considerations.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course, participants will have : 

• An increased knowledge, understanding and confidence to identify and respond to children and young people in the context of concerns about coercive control and abuse;
• An ability to recognise the risk factors that are specific for intimate relationships in young people’s relationships, and how to engage them in safety planning when there is risk of likely or actual significant harm;  
• An improved awareness of trauma informed responses and how professionals can best support children and young people that have been affected by domestic abuse in the family environment; 
• An increased knowledge around children and young people’s resilience and coping strategies, and support programmes available locally or elsewhere.