Latest news and best practice

MARCH 2008

Safety for young runaways

Responding to 20 years’ campaigning by The Children’s Society, and backed by a coalition of 30 charities, the Government has unveiled a strategy to ensure adequate measures are in place to protect and support every runaway under 16. Research carried out by The Children’s Society revealed that most of the 86,000 children who run away from home or care every year are fleeing family conflict, neglect and abuse, with girls aged 14-15 the group most likely to run. Once these children run away they are often forced to sleep rough or with strangers and are at greater risk of sexual exploitation, violence and drug taking. The Government has recognised the need for a national safety net for runaway children, which will look at developing:

• Safe places: speedy review of how local authorities can provide safe places
• Safe procedures: including guidance for local authorities and a new national indicator on young runaways
• Safe people: including roles and responsibilities in supporting young runaways.

Andy McCullough, Chair of the English Coalition for Young Runaways, said: ‘We feel strongly that this is a giant step in the right direction and look forward to a time when all runaways under 16 will have somewhere safe to go.’

www.childrenssociety.org.uk

Targeted mental health

Minister for Young People Kevin Brennan has named the 25 local authorities that will begin the Targeted Mental Health in Schools project.

They are: Luton, Norfolk, Suffolk, Leicester City, Lincolnshire, Hackney, Merton, Southwark, Gateshead, Northumberland, Sunderland, Blackburn and Darwen, Blackpool, Bury, Brighton and Hove, Kent, Reading, Leeds, North East Lincolnshire, Coventry, Shropshire, Wolverhampton, Gloucestershire, Swindon, Cornwall.

Each local authority and corresponding primary care trusts will work with between three and six secondary schools, as well as their feeder or associated primary schools, to deliver
better support for those children who are at risk or are already experiencing mental health problems.

Kevin Brennan said: ‘Good mental health and wellbeing are crucial to ensuring that all our children and young people can learn, achieve and fulfil their potential. Early detection
and intervention through schools and nurseries is vital in doing this.’

The projects will be funded from the £60 million announced in July 2007 to promote mental wellbeing in schools. They will bring together professionals and relevant services to deliver innovative and holistic help and support that is easily accessible to those children and their families who need it most.

The pilots will be able to use the funding for:

• more practitioners: school-based staff (such as learning mentors and family support workers); practitioners with mental health expertise ie primary mental health workers, therapists
• voluntary sector providers – to work in and close to schools;
• the development and delivery of effective training and support for practitioners.
• The pilots will be evaluated to identify successful models of mental health support and the findings will inform the roll-out of Targeted Mental Health in Schools nationally in
  2009-10 and 2010-11.

Government News Network

Laming’s proposals five years on

Community Care magazine has analysed progress on the proposals made by Lord Laming five years ago, following the death of Victoria Climbié. ContactPoint, the children’s information sharing index, which will be accessible to 330,000 children’s services professionals, is to go live later this year in 17 local authorities in the North West and Barbardo’s, despite concerns that it will not improve the child protection system.

The author, Sally Gillen, says that it will need significant cash investment and staff training if it is to be successful. On the new Integrated Children’s system (ICS), due to be introduced in all councils by April 2008, Gillen says that current complaints that the recording of every engagement is undermining interaction with service users and making their work mechanistic bodes ill for sound engagement with children and their families. Laming’s point about clear lines of accountability was taken up in the ensuing Children Act 2004 but looks likely to be undermined by proposals to introduce GP-style social work practices. However, Gillen claims that top-level managers remain unwilling to take
responsibility for a child’s death, irrespective of who delivers the services.

See http://tinyurl.com/2zz9j9 for original article.
Community Care

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Current Awareness Service for Practice, Policy And Research. If you work with children, young people and families, the NSPCC’s free weekly email alerts keep you up to date
with all the latest child protection news.

To sign up to the service, visit:
www.nspcc.org.uk/Inform/Applications/News/listarticles.asp

CCYP journal wishes to acknowledge the help that this service has been over the years.

Poverty numbers remain the same

New research from the Institute of Public Policy Research says that more than a million children in Britain are living in poverty despite the fact that at least one of their parents is
in work. The research shows that, although 600,000 children have been lifted out of poverty in the last 10 years, the total number of poor children in working households has stayed the same at 1.4 million. The report argues that lifting these ‘forgotten million’ children out of poverty requires action to tackle high numbers of poor children in working couple families and improve wages at the very bottom of the labour market.

The full report can be downloaded from http://tinyurl.com/26h2ks
Institute for Public Policy Research

Children’s views on bullying

Roger Morgan, the Children’s Rights Director for England has published a report on children’s views and experiences of bullying. Called Children on bullying, the report looks at what triggers bullying, why and when it happens and how children protect themselves
from bullying. More than 300 children were consulted, either by interview or by filling in question cards. The children were either living away from home (in care homes, foster care, adoption placements, boarding schools and residential special schools) or those getting help from children’s social care services and care leavers.

Around a fifth of children said they worried a lot or most of the time about being bullied, but the top two answers about what children do when they see someone being bullied were: stay and watch (41 per cent) and film it on their mobile phone (29 per cent). The report noted: ‘Some discussion groups told us that when bullying gets serious, a growing way of young people showing that they can defend themselves is to carry a weapon, such as a knife or bottle.’

Speaking to The Guardian, Morgan said: ‘Children now know examples of other children their age or who lived near who have been killed on the street for no reason.

They can name individual children who they relate to. They are very aware of that context and that they don’t always feel safe. And some are responding by saying to feel safe they need to think about protecting themselves.’

The report can be downloaded from www.rights4me.org/content/beheardreports/159/bulling_report.pdf
The Guardian and www.rights4me.org

Children of prisoners get a raw deal

Scotland’s Commissioner for Children, Kathleen Marshall, has called for the plight
of children to be higher up the agenda when custodial sentences for a parent are considered. A child impact assessment should be considered when sentencing options are reviewed, she said.

Speaking after the publication of a report that found thousands of children in Scotland had
been bullied because one of their parents was in prison, she emphasised that she was not pleading for offenders to be let off the hook: ‘It is a plea for their children to be protected from the very real and often brutal financial, emotional and physical impact of losing a parent. Politicians, the police, the Scottish Prison Service and social workers all have a duty to place children’s rights, including stability in education and home life, much higher up the agenda.’

Andrew McLellan, Scotland’s Chief Inspector of Prisons, said: ‘The commissioner’s report will help us all to understand the plight of the children of prisoners. Theirs is a frightening and wretched lot in life. Publicly they can be exposed to shame and bullying, while privately they cannot be comforted by the strength and love of the absent parent.’ He said that worrying about children ‘is almost universal among prisoners’.
BBC

Schools and safeguarding children

The NSPCC has published research on the relationship between schools and local
authorities in protecting and safeguarding children. The study reports on the results of surveys carried out between 2002 and 2005, during which time, in the wake of the Victoria Climbié Inquiry, the Government’s Every Child Matters (ECM) agenda and the Children Act 2004 were introduced. It also looks at how schools are positioned to assume their role within the Every Child Matters programme, and identifies the support
they need to carry out this role effectively.

A pdf of Schools, social services and safeguarding children: past practice and
future challenges can be downloaded in either full or summary form from
http://tinyurl.com/2cnagk

NSPCC Caspar Alert

Sure start plus?

The Institute for Public Policy Research has published new research calling for ‘Sure Start Plus’ centres for five- to 12-year-olds to prevent them turning to crime and anti-social behaviour later in life. The analysis shows that prolific criminals start offending between the ages of 10 and 13 and claims that children’s behaviour and emotional wellbeing at age 10 can predict the likelihood of offending at 16.

Intervening at this crucial age, ‘Sure Start Plus’ would draw together current services such as those providing play areas and mentoring, and target resources at the most at-risk children and families. The report recommends that lead professionals should control individual budgets for at-risk children ranging from £100 to £2,500 to provide:

• Targeted parenting programmes - such as Functional Family Therapy, which
  involves parents and families and focuses on interpersonal skill training and
  individual counselling.
• Intensive education interventions - for example, Reading Recovery, which helps children with poor literacy attainment.
• Cognitive-behavioural therapy - which addresses impulsiveness and other personality traits that lead to criminal activity.
• Multi-systemic therapy – which assesses the needs of the child, then uses a variety of therapies to treat the differing aspects of the problem.

The report – Make me a criminal: preventing youth crime – can be downloaded from www.ippr.org.uk/publicationsandreports/publication.asp?id=587
IPPR press release

Innovative CAMHS projects

Anew report, Right time, right place: learning from the Children’s National Service Framework development initiatives for psychological wellbeing and mental health,
2005-2007, has been published by The Care Services Improvement Partnership. It shares the learning from 19 projects that received funding through the Department of Health Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services Grant 2005-2007. The aim of the projects was to develop cost-effective innovative services that would contribute to the delivery of comprehensive CAMHS. The projects were located throughout England and include work with:

• Black and minority ethnic/access for marginalised groups
• Complex disorders
• Early intervention
• Learning disabilities

These are evaluated and findings are listed for service planning and process, and for delivery. The pdf can be downloaded from www.cypf.org.uk/silo/files/right-time-right-place.pdf
Department of Health

Mobile phone safety

The GSM Association, which represents mobile phone companies, has launched Mobile Alliance against Child Sexual Abuse Content – an initiative to shut off access to child pornography on mobile phones that can access the Internet. They believe there
is a danger that the broadband networks now being rolled out by mobile operators could
be misused in the same way as the Internet.

Craig Ehrlich, Chairman of the GSMA said: ‘We call on governments across the world to
support this initiative by providing the necessary legal clarity to ensure that mobile operators can act effectively against child sexual abuse content and to step up international
enforcement against known sources.’
www.gsmworld.com

Cannabis-related help

The Priory Hospital in London has set up a clinic to offer NHS-funded therapy to children from 12-18 years suffering from cannabis-related paranoia and schizophrenia. Latest figures show that 500 people – adults and children – are being treated every week
by the NHS for such problems. The number of teenagers being treated for cannabis addiction is now nearly 10,000. The still-developing brains of teenagers are known to be particularly at risk:

40 per cent of 11- to 15-year-olds who have smoked cannabis have been diagnosed with a
mental disorder. The Government is expected to re-grade cannabis as a Class B drug in
the light of recent medical evidence. There is also now growing scientific evidence that the increased availability of skunk (an extra-strong version of the drug) is behind the rise in cases of teenage paranoia and schizophrenia. A spokeswoman for The Priory said: ‘We know that adolescents who smoke cannabis just 50 times before the age of 18 treble their chances of developing schizophrenia.’
www.thisislondon.co.uk

Music therapy for vulnerable children

Athree-year study by Coram, the children’s charity, demonstrates that music therapy in the community helps children develop confidence, self-esteem and social interaction skills. The effects were shown positively in the home, the nursery and the school environment. The findings of the study revealed that in 92 per cent of cases, children showed signs of increased concentration, attention skills and improved confidence. The research was
carried out because there were no standardised measures in place to test the effectiveness of music therapy. Coram music therapist and author of the research, Tiffany Drake, said:
‘For children with a range of difficulties or those who have experienced the trauma of abuse or family breakdown, music can provide a creative means of expressing what words cannot.’

Coram believes this model of music therapy can be replicated in other organisations if a music therapist is integrated into the team. Music therapy could then spread from Tier 4 specialist units into children’s centres and schools.
www.coram.org.uk

OLDER NEWS

Children and Young Persons Bill

The Children and Young Persons Bill has its second reading in Parliament. The NSPCC is calling for specialist therapeutic assessment to form part of a statutory routine health check when children go into care.

Source: NSPCC Press Release 26 November 2007

Further Information:

• Children and Young Persons [HL] Bill - 2007-08 Hansard
• 26 November 2007 House of Lords - Col 1041-1100

With thanks to the NSPCC Library & Information Service's CASPAR

NICE is consulting on draft public health guidance on promoting the mental well-being of children in primary schools.

Deadline for responses is 21 December 2007

Source: 23 November 2007 NICE

With thanks to the NSPCC Library & Information Service's CASPAR

The Byron Review - Call for Evidence

The Byron Review into the risks to children from exposure to potentially harmful or inappropriate material on the internet and in video games is calling for evidence. Deadline for submissions is 30 November 2007.

Source: Department for Children, Schools and Families 09 October 2007

Further Information: Consultation Paper available online

Acknowledgements to the NSPCC Library & Information Service's CASPAR

Experts in the British Medical Journal debate whether young people should be given antidepressants.

Source: British Medical Journal 12 October 2007

Yes - Andrew Cotgrove
No - Sami Timimi

Further Information: British Medical Journal 12 October 2007

Stop it now! Campaign

The Times looks at the Lucy Faithfull Foundation and Stop It Now! which aims to help people before they commit a sexual offence against a child. It helps those who are worried about their own behaviour as well as family and friends who have concerns.

Source: Times, 13 August 2007

Further Information:

Website: http://www.stopitnow.org.uk/   Stop It Now!

(Thanks to NSPCC Caspar newsletter for information)

The FRIENDS Emotional Health Programme:

Initial findings from a school-based project (2007) Paul Stallard, Neil Simpson, Sue Anderson, Sarah Hibbert and Caroline Osborn, Child and Adolescent Mental Health 12 (1), pp 32-37

Estimates of emotional disorders in children vary from four to eight per cent for severe disorders with accompanying impairment, to something like one in five for less serious difficulties. Yet our daily experience is that relatively few of those children will receive a service from child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) – and those who do may well have to wait some time because resources are so sparse.

FRIENDS takes a different approach. The World Health Organisation cites it as the only evidence-based programme effective at all levels of intervention for anxiety in children. It is a ten-session, manualised, cognitive-behaviour therapy programme. For this study, it was delivered by school nurses to nine- and ten-year-olds in three whole-school classes in different schools in Bath and north-east Somerset. This approach reduced the possibility of stigma (no individual was singled out) and, because the programme was delivered in schools, it was highly accessible. There were signs afterwards of lower levels of anxiety and higher self-esteem.

The pressures on schools to deliver in relation to pscribed targets are greater than ever, so one could be forgiven for thinking this sort of approach must inevitably fall victim to an already overcrowded curriculum. And of course, far more evidence would need to be developed before an argument could be made for generalising this approach. Also, the authors do conclude by pointing out the limitations of their study: the size of the sample (89), the limited follow-up period (three months) and the lack of a comparison group.

Nevertheless, this is a piece of work that seems worthy of replication – and some school professionals might like to look at the case for FRIENDS and its potential relevance for their children.

(Thanks to Research in Practice for information)

Parenting Programme for Parents of Children At Risk of Developing Conduct Disorder: Cost effectiveness analysis

(2007) Rhiannon Edwards, Alan Céilleachair, Tracey Bywater, Dyfrig Hughes and Judy Hutchings, British Medical Journal (334) 682 (originally published online 9 March, 2007)

Parenting programmes have undergone a substantial amount of evaluation in recent years and the Webster-Stratton Incredible Years programme is one of the best known. What is new here is the economic focus. So, is it cost effective? The answer is a resounding ‘yes’ – and in this sample, improvements were most marked for children whose behaviour was more extreme.

Conduct disorder is estimated to affect between five and ten per cent of children aged 5 to 15 in both the UK and US. We see its outworking in the families we visit, in our classrooms and on our streets. The cumulative costs are huge. Parenting programmes and ASBOs have become part of the culture. But not all parenting programmes are equally effective so this contribution from the Centre for the Economics and Policy in Health at the University of Wales at Bangor is to be welcomed.

Those who took part in the study were the parents of 116 children aged between three and five identified as being at risk of developing conduct disorder. Two trained leaders delivered 12 weekly sessions in four groups designed to improve parenting competency.

Those on the waiting list for such a programme were used as a control group. The leaders attended regular supervision to ensure the integrity of the programme – ie, that it was delivered as intended.

The behaviour of the children in the control group remained constant or deteriorated while those in the treatment groups all showed significant improvement. The mean cost per child for their parents’ attendance at the parenting group was just under £2,000 (for a group of eight children) and just under £1,300 (for a group of 12 children), including initial and training costs for the group leaders. The authors conclude:

This parenting programme involves modest costs and demonstrates strong clinical effect, suggesting it would repsent good value for money for public spending.

http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/334/7595/682

(Thanks to Research in Practice for information)

Support for Bereaved Harry Potter Children

ChildLine is gearing up for a surge in calls with the recent publication of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows tonight.

Waterstone's book stores will be giving ChildLine's number 0800 1111 to children who need support and will make a donation to the helpline in anticipation of an increase in demand for the service. The helpline is expecting calls from children who are affected by feelings of loss and bereavement with the expected death of key characters.

It has asked its volunteers to take on extra shifts to cope with demand. ChildLine senior supervisor Kate Trench said: "For many children, Harry Potter and his friends have become a major part of their childhood. "The publication of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows brings the series to a close and - if speculation is to be believed - it spells the end for key characters in the books.

Excitement could give way to sadness for those caught up in the huge build-up to the seventh and final book." "Death and loss of any kind can make children feel upset, angry and afraid. The story could bring back unhappy memories for children who have lost friends, relatives or pets. "When boy band Take That split up, hundreds of distraught children contacted ChildLine. Last year we spoke to more than 6,000 children about bereavement, and many more may call this year in relation to death of characters in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows."

Supporting victims of forced marriage

Survivors of forced marriage are being offered help to start a new life with the launch of a new support network and handbook.

The Government's forced marriage unit deals with around 5,000 inquiries and helps rescue up to 300 women, children and men who are trapped in abusive, forced marriages every year.

Today (14 May 2007), the Government is launching a new handbook for survivors which offers practical help and information to help survivors take control of their lives. A survivors' network is also being launched in partnership with Karma Nirvana, a forced marriage NGO, which will provide long term emotional support.

Log on to www.gnn.gov.uk/Content/Detail.asp?ReleaseID=282856&NewsAreaID=2

Research in practice

All 22 authorities in Wales are members of the Wales College, a partnership with research in practice which was successfully launched on 8 October (2004) at Llandrindod Wells in mid-Wales. The venture is a significant move towards embedding evidence-informed childcare practice in Wales. The Social Services Improvement Agency, part of the Wales Local Government Association, plays a supporting role for the College and the existing Heads of Children’s Service Forum fulfils the role of a Steering Group for this initiative, giving direction and guidance on the development of the partnership. During the period of the partnership the Wales authorities have had access to a range of services from research in practice.

Log on to www.rip.org.uk/wales/index.asp

What children and young people tell ChildLine about physical abuse

This report is based on calls made to ChildLine by children suffering physical abuse. Looks at definitions of physical abuse and its extent within the United Kingdom. Summarises statistics of calls taken by ChildLine and looks at the causes of physical abuse.

Log on to www.nspcc.org.uk/documents/Caenotes-physical-abuse.pdf

Review of the child care proceedings system in England and Wales: a summary of a recent report

Discusses the review of the child care proceedings systems in England and Wales issued by the Department for Constitutional Affairs.

Log on to www.dca.gov.uk/publications/reports_reviews/childcare_ps.pdf

Working Together to Safeguard Children

The new Working Together to Safeguard Children has been published. It replaces the 1999 version and reflects developments in legislation, policy, and practice including the Children Act 2004. A training resource to support inter-agency work has also been published.

Further information available online
hwww.everychildmatters.gov.uk/_files/file.pdf

Working Together to Safeguard Children (2006)

Available online www.everychildmatters.gov.uk/IG00061/
Training resource to support inter-agency work

Sexuality Active Children Guidance for Professionals

The government has published an example from Cumbria and Lancashire of guidance for professionals working with sexually active under 18 year olds. This states that professionals dealing with a sexually active child under 13 must contact a child protection specialist but allows more discretion in the case of 13–15 year olds.

Every Child Matters website
www.everychildmatters.gov.uk/resources-and-practice/EP00127/

National Refugee Integration Forum website

A new website for those working with refugee children has been launched by the Home Office. The website is intended as a focal point for sharing information and examples of good practice; it should also help refugees to identify the range of support available to them. The website will highlight the work of the National Refugee Integration Forum, which was set up by the Home Office in 2000 to bring together repsentatives from the public and voluntary sectors to explore practical ways of improving refugee integration. The first section of the website to go live covers good practice in educational settings for all ages.

Source: Website: www.nrif.org.uk

Managing children and young people's behaviour in the secure estate: a code of practice

This code of practice sets out a framework for a strategy to manage the behaviour of troubled young people in the care of secure estates. It aims to guide the practice of all staff responsible for managing the behaviour of children and young people sentenced and remanded in custody in England and Wales.

Source: Website: www.youth-justice-board.gov.uk/Publications/Downloads

Managing depssion in children and young people

NICE (National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence) has published guidelines for identifying and managing depssion in children and young people.

Source: Website: www.nice.org.uk/page.aspx?o=276709
26 October 2005 NICE

Child victims of crime get rights information automatically

Under the new Code of Practice for Victims of Crime, children under 17 who are victims of or witnesses to a crime, will be automatically given a leaflet explaining the services they are entitled to from the criminal justice system.

Source: Children Now www.childrennow.co.uk

NICE guidance on depssion in children and young people

Depssion in children and young people: identification and management in primary, community and secondary care.

NICE see the vital part counselling plays in helping children and young people with depssion. Their latest guidance on this is available via http://www.nice.org.uk/page.aspx?o=273124.

Cross government guidance – sharing information on children and young people

This document seeks views on a draft of the first cross-Government guidance on information sharing in respect of children and young people. It aims to cover all services including health; education; early years and childcare; social care; youth offending; police; advisory and support services, and leisure. It is for all adults who work with children and young people in the services mentioned above, whether they are employed or volunteers, and working in the public, private or voluntary sectors.

It recognises that most decisions to share information require professional judgment, and aims to provide the knowledge and understanding practitioners need to inform their judgement of when and how to share information about a child or young person with whom they are in contact, and covers the main reasons why practitioners may want or need to share information.

For more information or to ensure your views are considered click here: www.dfes.gov.uk/consultations

Working together to safeguard children and local safeguarding children board regulations

The DFES are seeking comments on draft guidance setting out how agencies and professionals should work together to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. The guidance provides a national framework within which agencies and professionals at local level – individually and jointly – draw up and agree upon their own more detailed ways of working together.

They are also consulting on a draft of the Local Safeguarding Children Board (LSCB) regulations, which will provide the statutory framework for these new Boards, and a draft Regulatory Impact Assessment looking at the impact, costs and benefits of these proposals.

Click below to read the summaries and give your feedback
www.dfes.gov.uk

Department for Education and Skills

The DfES has published its long-awaited green paper on youth services - Youth Matters. A separate consultation documents – Somewhere to go? Something to do? is aimed specifically at teenagers. Deadline for comments is 4 November 2005.

Source: DfES Press Release - 18 July 2005
Further information: Consultation paper available online

Somewhere to go? Something to do? Consultation Paper available online
Youth Matters DfES website: www.dfes.gov.uk/publications/youth/

Department for Education and Skills

The DfES has published guidance for lead professionals for children with additional needs (eg children in need, disabled children, and children who have statements of special educational needs).

Source: Every Child Matters website - 20 July 2005
Further information: available online
Lead Professional Good Practice Guidance for children with additional needs.

Guide for parents of child witnesses

The Scottish Executive has produced a new "Guide for parents of child witnesses". This contains guidance for parents and carers of any child who may be required to give evidence in court. It is vital reading for all counsellor working in Scotland.

www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/54357/0014186.pdf  (1.5MB)

The Hideout – the UK's first national domestic abuse website support for children and young people

The Hideout is the first national website for children and young people to inform about domestic violence, to help them identify whether it is happening in their home and to provide indirect and informal support to children and young people living with domestic violence or to those who may want to help a friend. Women's Aid recognises the need for increased information about domestic violence that is easily accessible and understandable for children and young people. With the support of BT and BBC Children in Need, Women's Aid has used its 30 years of expertise and experience of working with children and young people living with domestic violence to create this child-friendly website.

The Hideout uses language, graphics, checklists, quizzes and interactive games to help and allow children and young people to think through the issues that surround domestic violence. The site includes information on safety planning and clearly signposts additional routes to help and further information. Safety functions have been incorporated into The Hideout to ensure that children and young people can access the site without putting themselves at risk. The Hideout is a place for children and young people to learn that domestic violence is not okay, that it is not their fault and that they are not alone – further help and support is available.

www.thehideout.org.uk

Private fostering a cause

This Department of Health document gives guidance on what professionals should do when they discover a child is being privately fostered. Over 50% of cases of children being privately fostered are not shared with local council, yet this notification is a legal requirement. It also means many children are being cared for privately without the quality of their care being assessed.

"If you know that a child is being privately fostered, and you think that the local council is unaware, please notify the local social services department"

Private fostering a cause for concern
DOH

Counsellors finding themselves privy to the above sorts of information should review this document in consultation with their supervisor and decide what disclosure action if any should be taken.

The full document can be obtained by clicking here

Incidents of self-harm – latest guidance

The enquiry into the death of a Lincolnshire School boy lead to new advice for professionals working with Children and Young People. Below is a summary of is guidance.

School Counselor Newsletter

As you may have spotted from the spelling of counsellor this Newsletter comes from our American colleagues. The SchoolCounselor.com newsletter is a free publication for the purpose of advancing technology literacy and application among school counselors.

Click here to subscribe

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