Consultancy

Each organisation and the way its safeguarding policy is implemented is unique. We can help you review and update your policy, procedures and protocols so that they reflect your organisation's ethos and the way it runs day-in, day-out.

Professionals from a diverse array of statutory, independent and voluntary sector services approach us to conduct equally varied pieces of Consultancy.

Each piece of consultancy work is carefully discussed and detailed attention is given to providing a highly tailored approach.

Periods of Consultancy may span over a few days to several weeks over extended periods. We work with a range of individuals and organisations across the Statutory and Third Sector including Charity, Voluntary and Independent Services.

We work across the country with both small and larger organisations, for example:

• Many departments across Southwark Children’s Service (from Early Years, Schools, Youth Service & Connexions & Youth Offending Team) – Safeguarding Children Conferences for Designated Persons each term, modular training and consultancy
• Individual bespoke services for Specialist Voluntary Organisations (SHP formerly known as Single Homeless Project, Catch 22, Voluntary Action Lewisham)
• Colleges, Academies and Independent Schools. Whole setting training, training & management mentoring for Designated Persons and Consultation on Policy development

We offer tailored training and consultancy for anyone who works with or comes into contact with Children and Young People including:

• The full spectrum of services to babies and young children, including Childminders, Nurseries and Pre-School groups.
• Youth Services, Youth Offending Teams and Connexions Services.
• Social Work Teams across the full range, from early intervention to referral and assessment services.
• Local Health Centre practitioners, including GP’s, ante natal, health visiting and reproductive health workers.
• Faith-based organisations, including the services they fund and manage.
• Colleges, Academies, and Independent Schools – whole setting training, training & management.
• Specialist services across the mental health, drug and alcohol, disability and domestic violence fields.
• Police, probation, prison and criminal justice organisations.
• Areas beyond a ‘children and young people only focus’, (e.g. work with parents, wider society).

Specialist input into a Youth Offender Institution, designed to develop an attachment-based model to establishing and sustaining relationships with young people. This involved the delivery of a comprehensive 5 module training programme aimed at understanding early childhood experience and its impact on development, including behaviour.

We assisted a multi-disciplinary project team in the preparation of a 'Stage 2 Better Start' application to the Big Lottery. It focussed on leveraging involvement in writing sections of the DfE and WAVE Trust publication 'Conception to 2 years : The Age of Opportunity 2013', to on the ground roll out in selected wards within an unitary authority. The application was successful and a Consultancy over the 10 year life of Better Start is to follow.

We conducted a detailed audit of the safeguarding knowledge and experience of a ‘tuped over’ workforce. We focused upon the capacity to apply knowledge to practice in a range of scenarios with young children and their parents. This included development of a parallel 'Reflective Professional Supervision' service for front line managers, primarily to assist in the development of the Practitioner Team.

We developed a comprehensive suite of Safeguarding Policy, Procedure and Protocol for a Homeless Charity. This included ‘on the job’ mentoring to the CEO, who had no prior experience in this area and co-development of a robust system for implementation throughout the organisation.

We designed a process and the accompanying materials for the systematic induction of all Early Years Practitioners in Safeguarding and Child Protection within an independent school.

"Catherine proved an invaluable help when we reviewed our safeguarding documentation. I emailed her our policy and over the phone we talked through the updates and changes. By the end of just 2 conversations I was clear about what it should contain, the importance of it reflecting the school’s ethos and how it interfaces with what we actually do." Jane Beales, Head Teacher at Herne Hill Independent School