North Tyneside

Safeguarding Children Board

Multi-Agency Training

Annual Report

1st April 2015 – 31st March 2016

Document Control
Title / North Tyneside SCB Annual Training Report
Document Status / Final
Date / 25th August 2016
Owner / North Tyneside Safeguarding Children Board
Author / Barbara Morris Children’s Workforce Development Lead
Tel: 643 8691
Period covered / 1st April 2015 – 31st March 2016

Contents

Introduction

1. How training needs are Identified and used to inform planning

2. Attendance at training between April 2015 – March 2016

3. Quality, evaluation and impact of the training

4. The contribution towards the programme by partner agencies

6. The progress and achievements for 2015 – 2016 in relation to training

7. The training priorities identified and planned for 2016 – 2017

Appendix 1 Contribution by trainers

Further information and references

North Tyneside Safeguarding Children Board Multi-Agency Training Annual Report 1stApril 2015 – 31stMarch 2016

Introduction

The Local Safeguarding Children Boards Regulations 2006 sets out the functions of the LSCB, under section 14 of the Children Act 2004. In relation to training, these include:

  • Training of persons who work with children or in services affecting the safety and welfare of children;
  • Ensuring that a culture of information sharing is developed and supported as necessary by multi-agency training.
  • Monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of training, including multi-agency training, to safeguard and promote the welfare of children.

This report presents an analysis of how those functions were met by The North Tyneside Safeguarding Children Board (NTSCB) in 2015 – 2016, by presenting an analysis of:

  1. How training needs are identified and planned
  2. The attendance at training
  3. The quality, evaluation and impact of the training provided
  4. The contribution made towards the programme by partner agencies
  5. The progress and achievements of the North Tyneside Local Safeguarding Children Board (NTSCB) in relation to training
  6. The training priorities and plans identified for 2016 – 2017

1. How training needs are Identified and used to inform planning

Training needs and priorities were identified using the following sources, and were used to inform the multi-agency training programme in 2015-2016

  • Working Together to Safeguard Children (2015).
  • Learning from local and national case reviews and serious case reviews
  • NTSCB Business Plan and priorities
  • Single agency training needs analysis

The NTSCB identified the following priorities, which informed the planning of the training programme for 2015-2016

  1. Improving our scrutiny, accountability, challenge and communication to develop theeffectiveness of the Board.
  2. Preventing harm and the protection of vulnerable groups
  3. The views of children and young people are contributing to learning and best practice
  4. Learning and Improvement positively influences multi agency practice

Statutory guidance, Working Together to Safeguard Children (2015), states that training should cover how to identify and respond early to the needs of all vulnerable children. The guidance recommends that training ensures that professionals should, in particular, be alert to the potential need for early help for a child who;

  • is disabled and has specific additional needs;
  • has special educational needs;
  • is a young carer;
  • is showing signs of engaging in anti-social or criminal behaviour;
  • is in a family circumstance presenting challenges for the child, such as substance abuse, adult mental health, domestic violence; and/or
  • is showing early signs of abuse and/or neglect.

These themes and priorities for training were integrated into the multi-agency training programme across a range of different courses and events.

2. Attendance at training between April 2015 – March 2016

In total 1,523learners accessed LSCB safeguarding children training, made up of;

  • 1,100 learners at face-to-face multi-agency training
  • 341completers of e-learning
  • 82attendees at the Safeguarding Vulnerable Adolescents Conference

The charts on the following pages show the detail of attendance by course and by agency.

Analysis of attendance

Research has shown that multi-agency training in particular is useful and valued by professionals in developing a shared understanding of child protection and decision making(Carpenter et al 2009). The analysis of NTSCB training attendance shows that there is an appropriate balance of learners from different agencies, which helps to maximise opportunities for learning, sharing good practice and working together effectively.

Child protection (full day), and Child Protection Refresher (half day) courses continue to be the best attended. This may be because they are considered mandatory training for most agencies. Completion of E-learning in Safeguarding Children has also increased, predominately with sport and leisure services, which may be due to their increased awareness of child sexual exploitation and links to child protection.

Domestic Abuse training is well attended, which is essential in helping practitioners to understand the significance of the impact on children of living in such circumstances. However, other elements of the ‘toxic trio’; parental mental health and drug and alcohol misuse are not so well attended. It is recommended that these courses are promoted more widely in the future.

There was ageneral drop in attendance at face-to-face events across the programme in 2015 – 2016, possibly due to; a reduction in the workforce; the existing workforce already completing one-off courses and;the increase in the take up of e-learning.

It would appear that the most popular methods of learning are short briefings, conferences and espresso events (short informative sessions with space for reflective discussion). Feedback shows this to be an efficient use of practitioners’ time, and that they are more likely to be released from the workplace. It is recommended that these methods are maximised in the future along with other forms of continuing professional development, for example shadowing or e-learning. These complimentary forms of learning will be reflected in the training strategy.

Below is a comparison of attendance, non-attendance and e-learning over the past five years. This shows a fairly static number of attendees over time. Dips in attendance can most often be attributed to periods of change in services, when training needs are not always clear, or other training takes priority over LSCB such as induction into new service areas, or other organisational priorities.. Rises in e-learning tends to happen when new e-learning packages are introduced and/or made mandatory. The non-attendance charges introduced in 2011 took a little while to embed, but the benefits were seen by the beginning of 2013.

Comparison of attendance, non-attendanceand e-learning over five years.

Face to face attendance / E-learning / Non-attendance / % of Non-attendance
2011-2012 / 1370 / 908 / 186 / 14%
2012-2013 / 1051 / 315 / 105 / 10%
2013–2014 / 1309 / 185 / 66 / 5%
2014-2015 / 1355 / 210 / 108 / 8%
2015-2016 / 1182 / 341 / 86 / 7%

Attendance by course 1st April 2015 to 31st March 2016

Course Title / Number of courses / Failed to attend / Attended
CP Multi Agency / 10 / 9 / 216
Child Protection Introduction / 4 / 3 / 34
CP Refresher / 10 / 12 / 220
Child Protection Conferences and Core Groups / 1 / 0 / 14
Court Skills / 0 / 0 / 0
Designated Person / 3 / 5 / 19
Domestic Abuse / 4 / 6 / 71
Childhood Neglect / 2 / 4 / 38
Fabricated and Induced Illness / 2 / 2 / 27
Parental drug and alcohol misuse / 2 / 3 / 36
Safeguarding Disabled Children / 1 / 3 / 9
Impact of Parental Mental Health / 1 / 3 / 21
Child Sexual Exploitation Briefing / 4 / 10 / 152
MAPPA / 0 / 0 / 0
Child Sexual Abuse / 0 / 0 / 0
Hidden Sentence / 2 / 0 / 19
Early Help Assessment / 7 / 9 / 76
Learning from Reviews 'Espresso Events' / 3 / 11 / 148
Safeguarding Conference Event / 1 / 6 / 82
Cumulative total / 57 / 86 / 1182
Total by quarter
Quarter 1 / 16 / 18 / 321
Quarter 2 / 15 / 14 / 217
Quarter 3 / 15 / 17 / 289
Quarter 4 / 11 / 37 / 355
E-learning
Quarter 1 / 44
Quarter 2 / 65
Quarter 3 / 102
Quarter 4 / 130
Total e-learning / 341

Summary of attendance at face to face training by agency

April 2015 – March 2016

Agency / Total
CYPL / 482
Schools / 176
NTC Other / 153
GP / 44
Health / 125
Voluntary / 74
Probation / 6
Police / 6
Private / 116
Total / 1182

Figure 1: Percentage of attendance by agency at multi-agency face-to-face training

NOTE: Work is underway to update the new Learning Management System (Learning Pool) to identify separately Care Commissioning Group (CCG), Newcastle Tyne and Wear (NTW) and Northumbria Healthcare Trust (NHCT) staff within the category of ‘Health’. The same task is underway to identify National Probation Service (NPS) and Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRC) so that recording can be more accurate and fit for purpose by these partner agencies.

The table below shows attendance by agency and by course for 2015 to 2016.

Key to courses above

CPMA / child protection multi-agency / PMH / parental mental health impact on children
CPI / child protection introduction / SExB / sexual exploitation briefing
CRP / child protection refresher / MAP / Multi-agency public protection arrangements
CSK / court skills / HS / hidden sentence
DP / designated person / CSA / child sexual abuse
DA / domestic abuse / LRF / Learning from Reviews 'Espresso events'
FII / fabricated and induced illness / EHA / Early Help Assessment
PDA / parental drug and alcohol misuse / NPS / New psychoactive substances (Legal Highs)
CN / Childhood Neglect / CON / Conference event
SDC / safeguarding disabled children

Training for school based staff

The Training and Development Officer for Schools, with some support from the Children’s Workforce Development Team, delivered child protection training to2,286 school staffin 2015-2016 through their Service Level Agreements. In addition 86 Designated Persons in school received training in their roles and responsibilities and 12 school Governors received safeguarding training for Governors A separate report on training for school staff is available from

3. Quality, evaluation and impact of the training

The quality and effectivenessof the training is monitored through:

  • Evaluation sheets completed immediately following training
  • Follow up electronic ‘SNAP’ surveys requesting the perceived impact of training on practice, completed by the learner and their manager
  • Observations of the trainer’s practice monitored against agreed standards

In order to evaluate the effectiveness of multi-agency training, the Kirkpatrick 4 levels of evaluation is used as a framework, as outlined below.

Level 1
Reaction / To what degree participants react favourably to the learning event?
Level 2
Learning / To what degree participants acquire the intended knowledge, skills, and attitudes based on their participation in the learning event?
Level 3
Behaviour / To what degree participants apply what they learned during training when they are back on the job?
Level 4
Results / To what degree targeted outcomes occur, as a result of the learning event(s) and subsequent reinforcement?

Kirkpatrick (2009) Four Levels of Evaluation

Level 1 ‘reactions’ are captured using the evaluation sheets immediately following training. These are considered by the trainers and dip sampled by the Children’s Workforce Development Lead. They are used to inform future planning and to shape the delivery of training. The vast majority show positive results, with learners being satisfied that the training met their expectations and was of high quality.

Level 2 (learning) and 3 (behaviour) are measured using electronic SNAP surveys, which are sent to learners who attended training, and their managers, 4 weeks following the training event. However, the return of these surveys continues to be very poor. A sample of the comments captured from SNAP surveys is shown below. It is recommended that a more robust mechanism be developed for capturing the longer term impact of training in the future, including maximising the potential of the councils new Learning Management System.

Sample of SNAP survey responses when asked how they have put their learning into practice following training

  • Ensured all safeguarding information is up to date

  • During assessments on Children and Young Peoples mental health needs

  • I have held care team meetings involving professionals from different services and information provided gave a better understanding of the needs of the child.

  • Liaising with other agencies working with particular families in order to gather more detailed information and to avoid duplication

  • now know that the contact team is now called front door and not first call and I have relevant contact details

  • We work with vulnerable adults with substance issues we need to embed EHA as an option for those with children in their care

  • used issues seen in sick party to inform yp's

  • I have an increased awareness of the issues discussed on the course, which I have been conscious of during my day to day practice. The subject is also very topical in the media at the moment which has helped me to continue reflecting on what I have learned.

  • Greater awareness when working in problem areas, applying knowledge gained to enhance assessment of situations

  • to support a year 9 student in school

  • I have a greater understanding of the dangers of what our most vulnerable young people are exposed to when they go missing; the video particularly confirmed this. I have also shared this knowledge in specific situations with schools.

  • shared information with colleagues / informed discussions

  • Informed my decision making re individual cases where CSE is a risk factor.

  • printed off and shared with other GPs 'thresholds' document- now in Practice's child safeguarding folder. Completed introductory e-learning on FGM.

  • I've filled an EHA with a family

  • Discussed New thresholds for EHA's with my team at our weekly referrals allocation meeting today

  • knowledge used that a child should have had a risk assessment in place

  • being more aware of processes and asking questions at new practice

  • Frequently when considering adoptions, the concept of emotional closeness of birth family is to be considered

  • checking whether absent parent has contact with child when referral may not necessarily indicate there are concerns regarding this.

  • More aware of contact details for support organisations

  • regularly refer back to thresholds during calls to identify what tier concern may be and relate information back to referrers about establishing which tier the concern is at.

The training programme has been successful in achieving its objectives of; raising awareness of abuse and neglect, understanding the importance of prevention and early identification of need, identifying the processes for making referrals and working together and sharing information with others to keep children safe. Practitioners also report feeling more confident about issues such as domestic abuse, parental mental health and substance misuse and their impact on parenting.

Measuring the longer term impact of training continues to be a challenge. Changes in practice can not always be attributed to attending training, and should be seen as only one aspect of improving practice. As Kirkpatrick warn;

“Even providing excellent training does not lead to significant transfer of learning to behaviour and subsequent results without a good deal of deliberate and consistent reinforcement” Sandy Almeida (2009) in

The importance of reflecting on training through supervision and peer discussion can not be over emphasised. It is recommended that evaluating the impact of training should be a priority for the LSCB and should be embedded in the training strategy. The strategy should consider how we encourage supervisors to capture the impact of training on practice and how this information can be shared with the LSCB for monitoring purposes.

Changes to Training Officer post

In April 2015 as part of a Council restructuring, the LSCB Training Officer took up the newly created post of Children’s Workforce Development Lead. An impact report stated that with the support of the wider HR team, it has been possible to maximise the use of resources, integrate and streamline processes and systems and increase capacity from within the team to ensure the continued delivery of the NTSCB training programme. The Children’s Workforce Lead will focus on; the strategic development of a NTSCB training programme which is fit for purpose; quality assurance and measuring the impact of training; monitoring and reporting on the effectiveness of the programme and supporting the trainers to enable them to deliver a high quality programme, and developing effective working relationships between NTSCB.

4. The contribution towards the programme by partner agencies

All LSCB member organisations have an obligation to provide LSCBs with reliable resources that enable the LSCB to be strong and effective (Working Together to Safeguard Children 2015). This includes consideration on how the resources for training, including joint training, should be made available with responsibility equally shared among statutory partners (The Governments response to Munro 2011).

The contribution to the delivery of multi-agency training by partner agenciesis shown below by full days equivalent. A comparison between contribution and attendance by agency can be seen by viewing the charts togetheron the following page.The contribution made by the local authority to the delivery of training, is generally proportionate to the number of places taken up by local authority staff. The training contribution made by individual trainers (by agency) is shown in appendix 1.

Health: The contribution made by health colleagues, which includes Northumbria Healthcare Foundation Trust, Northumberland Tyne and Wear NHS, and the Clinical Commissioning Group, shows collectively a greater contribution is made by their organisations than their take up of places. This highlights the heavy reliance on health colleagues and the invaluable contribution made by their organisations. This is much appreciated by the NTSCB not only to the sustainability of the programme but also to the quality of the delivery by experienced practitioners.

The voluntary sector, including North Tyneside Carers, PROPS, Ocean Youth Trust North and ACORNS, contributed 9% of the delivery of the multi-agency programme in comparison to a take up of 5% of places. The voluntary sector however continues to be offered safeguarding training in partnership with VODA, which ensures the voluntary sector is offered training outside of the NTSCB programme.

Schoolsin the authority pay into a service level agreement, which provides them withsingle agency training from the Training and Development Officer for Schools, as well as access to relevant multi-agency trainingfor the Designated Person. In return the Training Officer for schools, as well asa designated person from one of the high schools, and a Deputy Head Teacher from one of the special schools, contributed to the delivery of the multi-agency programme.

The overall contribution towards the delivery of training from education this year was 9%, which is less than the 15% attendance by schools. However, it is important to ensure access for key staff in schools to multi-agency training, as Munro reported; “Schools are particularly well placed to notice children and young people in need of help and also to notice those where there are more serious concerns about their safety” (Munro review of child protection 2011).