April 2022

SSCP News 

Salford Safeguarding Children Partnership circulate monthly E-Bulletins; if you would like to be included on the distribution list, please email sscp@salford.gov.uk.

News items are available by month of publication from the menu on the right.

Child Employment Awareness Fortnight 

Child Employment Awareness Fortnight runs from 17 April to 1 May 2022 and aims to raise awareness of child employment legislation, to ensure children engaged in part-time employment do so legally and safely.  Getting a part-time job can be great experience; helping young people to meet others and earn some money.  However part time work needs to be safe, age appropriate and not negatively impact their studies.  Parents, children and employers should be aware of the rules around break times, working hours and what children can and can't do. Employers need a work permit for under 16's which can be obtained online and for free. To find out more visit: https://www.salford.gov.uk/child-employment

Young People and Social Media

At the end of March 2022 Ofcom published their research into how adults and children use and understand media.  The Living our lives online research shows that many children could be using private or 'fake' social media accounts accounts that their parents don’t know about; that children are seeing less online video content from their friends, with their feeds dominated by professional content from brands, celebrities and influencers; children are defying age restrictions on social platforms; and over half of 13– to 17-year-olds felt being online is good for their mental health, while one in five disagreed.  The Ofcom 'Children and Parents: media use and attitudes report 2022' is available to download now.

Recent research exploring the relationship between social media use and life satisfaction during adolescent development found that that lower life satisfaction can drive increased social media use. In light of these findings, the researchers are calling on governments to introduce legislation compelling social media companies to share data with independent scientists, enabling further to identify which children are most likely to be influenced by social media 

New SSCP 'E-safety Essentials' Course

Keeping safe online continues to be a concern for young people and the adults who care for them.  This new e-safety course for multi-agency professionals will take a journey into the online world which our young people navigate everyday.  Over the course of this session, participants will learn about online risks, how to respond to incidents, where to find resources and how to encourage young people to be safe online.

Applications are now being taken for this virtual course, for anyone working with children and young people in Salford.  All SSCP courses can be found on the SSCP training programme webpage.

Safe Sleep - Lullaby Trust free training

We are pleased to announce that training is available for all SSCP partners for SIDS and Safer Sleep for Babies, through The Lullaby Trust.  This is a useful session for anyone who has contact with young families to ensure consistent messages are given in relation to safer sleep.  The training will include, what is sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), evidence based safer sleep advice, considerations with communicating safer sleep messages and resources available.

The training includes two pre-recorded presentations and videos to watch. A 45-minute live online interactive session follows, on a selected date in May, which gives participants the opportunity to discuss the training material and to ask the trainer(s) practice related questions.

Please note that  you only need to attend ONE 45 minute interactive session after viewing the pre-recorded training presentations

In order to access this training (including the 45 minute interactive session and the pre-recorded training presentations through Eventbrite) please click on the following link:

LINK -  https://sids-sco.eventbrite.co.uk

PASSWORD – NHS2022

For further information on Safer Sleep in Salford please the most recent guidance from 2021 salford-safer-sleeping-policy-guidance-april-2021.pdf

Home Fire Safety Training

Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service offers Home Fire Safety Training to partner organisations. They are currently offering two options: 

Option one  - Home Fire Safety Assessment (HFSA) Training  is a 90-minute online option delivered on Microsoft Teams.  It is designed to equip partners to identify people at increased risk of fire, amongst their service users, and refer them for a Home Fire Safety Assessment (HFSA). HFSAs are home visits to assess and reduce the risk of fire in the home.

Option two  - Home Fire Safety Assessment (HFSA) Training Plus is a half-day session delivered at the Safety Centre in Bury. It provides the same learning as option one but also provides learners with an immersive input on fire safety in the home, including the five main causes of fire, bedtime routines and escape planning. This is delivered in a mock home environment at the Safety Centre. Lunch is provided.

Further information including training dates and how to book, can be found on the Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service website.

SSCP Training Officer job opportunity

Take a look at our exciting new job opportunity as SSCP Training Officer https://greater.jobs/search-and-apply/job-details/SF-60601/ We continue our commitment to help create & develop an effective, confident & skilled workforce across Salford to improve outcomes of children & families.   If there are any queries about the role, please contact Shahanara.Begum@salford.gov.uk  or Kate.Pollard@salford.gov.uk

Adolescent mental health

The Department of Education (DfE) has released a research report on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on adolescent mental health in the UK. The research found that the pandemic led to an increase in depressive symptoms and a decrease in life satisfaction, suggesting that had the pandemic had not occurred, this increase would not have been as severe.

Stress awareness month

Stress Awareness Month has been held every April since 1992 to raise awareness of the causes and cures for our modern stress epidemic.  This year the theme is 'Community', chosen by the Stress Management Society  because lack of support can cause loneliness and isolation, which in turn lowers people’s wellbeing, impacts mental health and can lead to mental illness. They highlight that social isolation is an important risk factor for both deteriorating mental health and suicide.  They add that it’s vital that the community support experienced by many people during the pandemic continues as people adjust to a new way of living.

On-line mental health support

From 1st April, Qwell, the adult counterpart service to Kooth, is launched for anyone aged 26+ across all of Greater Manchester.   Kooth.com will also become available to access for ages 10 up to young adults' 26th birthday across Greater Manchester.  This means the entire Greater Manchester area will have wrap-around digital mental health support available from the ages of 10 to 99+. 

If you'd be interested to hear more about the Kooth and Qwell services, or if you'd be willing to help them highlight this online service offer to anyone you work with or support, please get in touch with the Salford local Engagement Lead Kia Bailey at kbailey@kooth.com. 

To  discover more about the uplift of Kooth and the Qwell adult service, there will be a selection of Kooth and Qwell Launch webinars for people based in Greater Manchester on a variety of dates. This webinar will explain what exactly the service offer involves, how to access Kooth/Qwell support, a space for questions and a live tour of the site. You can register a place for this webinar at: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/305777096527  

Exploitation - 'Cuckooing'

'Salford Connect' and 'Partners in Salford' have produced a short narrated PowerPoint explaining what cuckooing is, what the signs are and what professionals can do if they are worried that a person could be a victim of exploitation or cuckooing.  The presentation is available to view on the Salford Safeguarding Adults Board You Tube Channel.  A 7 Minute Briefing on the subject of cuckooing has been produced by Salford Safeguarding Adults Board.  A plain text version is also available.

Gender based abuse

The Home Office has released new guidance for England and Wales to encourage a whole-system response to violence against women and girls (VAWG). Its ‘National statement of expectations’ sets out a number of expectations for local strategies and services which are: to put the victim/survivor at the centre of service design and delivery; to have a clear focus on perpetrators in order to keep victims and survivors safe; to take a strategic, system-wide approach to commissioning, acknowledging the gendered nature of VAWG; to be locally-led and safeguard individuals at every point; and to raise local awareness of the issues and involve, engage and empower communities to seek, design and deliver solutions to prevent VAWG. The Home Office has also published a ‘Commissioning toolkit’ which outlines the guidance on commissioning local services to support women and girls who have experienced domestic abuse. 

The Home Office has released a document on supporting male victims of crimes commonly associated with violence against women and girls (VAWG) that supplements the plan to tackle domestic abuse. The document highlights the specific barriers and vulnerabilities both boys and men face when reporting and seeking support for sexual or domestic abuse, and the need for specialism in the support that services and organisations give.

Safeguarding Adults Review - Role of fathers

Salford Safeguarding Adults Board published the findings of a Safeguarding Adults Review which highlighted the need to recognise the role of the father, as part of a whole family approach.   A briefing document for the review of 'Matthew' has been produced in addition to a 7 Minute Briefing focusing in on when and how to make a referral to adult safeguarding.

Consultation on the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) Code of Practice

In March the Government announced its consultation on the draft MCA Code of Practice.    This is the biggest change to the framework around the MCA in some years.    It presents a real opportunity for making comments about the use of the MCA with dependent drinkers.   The draft Code of Practice has already slightly updated its input on alcohol with a case study example of the application of the Act to a dependent drinker.  The consultation runs until early July 2022.

The consultation is accessible at Changes to the MCA Code of Practice and implementation of the LPS - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Alex Ruck Keene, a barrister who is expert in this area has put out this helpful video about the consultation.   Alex Ruck Keene, 'MCA Code/LPS implementation consultation - rapid reaction overview and walkthrough' (MCLAP blog, 17/3/22) — This is a detailed summary of the MCA Code and LPS consultation, together with a 19-minute video walkthrough.

Equality, diversity and inclusion

Our vision is to make Salford a fair and inclusive city where everyone has an equal voice, access to services and opportunities, and are included and represented in decisions that affect them, irrespective of their age, disability status, ethnicity, faith, gender identity, sex, sexual orientation or socio-economic background.  Salford has a strong commitment to tackling inequality which is reflected in The Salford Way, a city-wide approach to ensure partners work together to build a fairer and more inclusive Salford for all.  A key part of this approach is the  Salford Equality Strategy our catalyst for change to ensure we work together to build a fairer and more inclusive Salford for all.

All partners of the SSCP are required to ensure that equality, diversity and inclusion are a thread through all our priorities/activity, as are the views and voices of young people. 

If you have any questions or want to add anything to our dedicated page above please do not hesitate to email: sscp@salford.gov.uk