Communities Putting Children First

"It takes a whole village to raise a child."

Who we are:History of children1st •In New York in the 1870s, eight-year-old, Mary Ellen suffered terrible abuse at the hands of her adoptive parents.•A neighbour asked the police to do something but they could not act to protect her as there were no laws in place to prevent cruelty to children.•There were laws to protect animals, New York Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals •The police took her case to court, citing Mary Ellen as an animal of the human species. The New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children was established in 1875 as a result of this case. •In 1921, the Scottish National Society received Royal Charter status and became the Royal Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (RSSPCC)• It became Children1st in 1995

Why we are here?

• To raise awareness of the role communities play in safeguarding children and young people

• To explore the barriers that prevent communities being able to safeguard children and young people

• To offer support and encouragement to communities to have a safeguarding role

Everyone’sEveryone’s Responsibility…Responsibility…

community community groupsgroups

friendsfriends

societysociety

schoolschoolstatutory statutory agenciesagencies

parents & familyparents & family

extended familyextended family

peerspeers

voluntary voluntary organisationsorganisations

Our Our CommunityCommunity

GIRFEC

Curriculum for Excellence

Scottish Government say this is what a child

needs in its life.

•Safe•Healthy•Achieving •Nurtured•Active •Respected•Responsible•Included

•Think Back

• Recalling your childhood, did you feel safe in your community ?

• What has or hasn’t changed?

Being a Bystander

Have you ever been a “passive bystander?”

Have you ever walked passed:

•an accident?•a child who is lost in a shop?

Why don’t we intervene?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7dfkZKjWSo

Possible Responses

• We hope someone else will deal with it

• It’s not my problem• What about my safety?• Feel embarrassed• Pressure from other people• Don’t know what to say or do? • So who do we ask to find out?

Intervention (doing something) can mean: The 5 D’s

• Don’t - turn a blind eye

• Directly Support – Approach and offer to help or challenge when needed

• Distracting – Try to distract the child/adult in the situation

• Delegating – Contact an authority figure

• Delaying – Look for a time when it is more appropriate, wait and then come back to say or do something

What is Child Protection?

• Every child deserves a safe , secure, healthy, happy childhood free from harm

• Abuse may be physical, emotional, sexual and/or neglect

• It is not always black and white and it may simply be thinking about what is different with this child in this situation and passing that information on to someone in authority or if serious report to the police.

How can we take action? What can we do?

In groups think about the scenarios given and how you

might deal with them now.

•Look at the situation!•How does it make you feel?•Why are you concerned?•What might you do about it?

So……..• Be aware

• Your own safety is important

• Do something!

• In an emergency call the police – anonymously if you have to.

If you have concerns about a child who can you talk to?

• Community Engagement Staff/volunteer

• ParentLine 0800 028 2233

• Social Work

• Police

• School Head Teacher or school nurse

• Doctor

• Community nurse/health visitor

CEOP Child Exploitation and Online Protection

• Is a command of the UK's National Crime Agency • Tasked to work both nationally and internationally to bring online child

sex offenders to court.• Most importantly - there’s also a place which anyone can use to report

if they feel uncomfortable or worried about someone they are chatting to online.

• Visit CEOP's Thinkuknow – www.thinkuknow.co.uk - to find out the latest information.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_o8auwnJtqE

Teenage CEOP Clips