Safeguarding Sessions for Foster Agencies 1

Safeguarding Sessions for Foster Organisations

We provide session for fostering organisations like ‘By the Bridge and Cambian’ to engage with young people and their respective foster families. Using participatory methods, our sessions involve everyone. Produced to support the contextual safeguarding agenda, child sexual exploitation (CSE) and child criminal exploitation (CCE) are key themes. Related subjects like risk-taking behaviour, online safety, social media usage and substance misuse are also covered through the ‘real-life’ stories of young people. Sessions are delivered in the North West and South East regions of the UK and include theatre, interactive breakout sessions and reflection and discussion all tailored for young people and their respective families to share good practice and peer support.

Using real and relatable stories, we provoke the audience/participants with hard-hitting, yet familiar and relatable issues that cared for young people face. These sessions aim to equip young people and their respective families with improved knowledge and awareness whilst having the opportunity to share their own views, ideas and solutions in a safe and supportive setting.

Why are Safeguarding Sessions with 2engage useful?

Learn who and why people are vulnerable and how they behave.
Safeguarding training is a legal requirement for all professionals who come into contact with children and vulnerable adults in their working lives. Many organisations complete this mandatory training online. Our participative and hands-on approach brings real stories and situations to life. All participants will have an insight into different models of exploitation and how both males and females can be targeted. Follow-up discussions will give an overview of the different ways in which individuals are vulnerable.

Recognising the tell-tale signs of exploitation.
Moving directly on from learning about which young people are at an increased risk of being vulnerable, our safeguarding sessions ask audiences to reflect on the stories told and discuss the tell-tale signs of exploitation.

Get conversations started.
Effective communication lies at the core of successful safeguarding practices. Our young people face many threats in a variety of forms. Sometimes, the only way a parent or carer knows about a situation is because the young person has spoken-out. Our session will provoke participants to think about the stories being presented to them. Conversations about the potential warning signs, the outcomes of bad decision making and even the moments where interventions could have been made.

Examples of grooming models and perpetrator behaviour are demonstrated.
Research into Child Sexual Exploitation shows that there is not one type of abuser. Perpetrators of Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) can be male or female, come from any ethnic background and be any age. They may have a low social and/or economic status or they could be a wealthy individual in a considerable position of authority. The real stories we present display different models of grooming and perpetrators in 3 different contexts.

Upskill everybody! Bring your training provision to the next level.
Staff, parents, carers, beneficiaries, stakeholders and volunteers all benefit from taking part in our safeguarding sessions. Putting everyone in a room together encourages communication, conversation and learning to take place. A creative approach to boosting your current training provision. Staff, volunteers and parents have an opportunity to share good practice. Young people have an opportunity to share their opinions and knowledge too. It’s about learning together, learning from each other.