NSPCC Learning Podcast

Being online is an integral part of children’s lives, but it can expose them to risks, including sexual abuse. The past five years has seen a proliferation in child sexual abuse material online, and IICSA’s investigations into the problem found that law enforcement is struggling to keep pace. In this episode of Recommendations for Change, we explore the scale of the online abuse problem and how the IICSA recommendations and the new Online Safety Act seek to tackle the issue. The episode covers the importance of implementing online protections for children and what professionals can do to keep children safe online. You’ll also learn how law enforcement responds to online-facilitated CSA. > Read the podcast transcript About the speakers Susie Hargreaves is the Chief Executive of the Internet Watch Foundation. She is a member of the National Crime Agency (NCA) Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Command Strategic Governance Group and an Executive Board member of the UK Council for Internet Safety (UKCIS). Ian Critchley is the National Police Chiefs Council Lead for Child Protection, Abuse and Investigation, a role he has held for three years. Ian’s role is to enhance and develop the police service in its prevention and response to child abuse working with Chief Constables, the College of Policing and statutory and charitable partners across the country. Ian was also formerly the Deputy Chief Constable of Merseyside Police. Further resources > Read the IICSA investigation into child sexual abuse and exploitation facilitated by the internet > Read the latest Internet Watch Foundation annual report > Learn more about online safety with our introductory elearning course > Read our article about what the Online Safety Act means for professionals > Find out more about how young people can use the Report Remove tool to take down nudes shared online About the series The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) published its final report in October 2022. The report was a comprehensive examination of institutional failings to protect children from sexual abuse, demonstrating the need for a wholesale change in how child sexual abuse (CSA) is tackled. The report highlighted 20 key recommendations that would contribute towards this change. This five-part podcast series explores these recommendations in more detail. A range of experts from both inside and outside of the NSPCC will break down why the recommendations are needed, how they’ll work if implemented, and what impact they might have on the prevention of child sexual abuse. The series is a useful introduction to the Inquiry for anyone who is working or volunteering with children and young people. Intro/outro music is This Too Shall Pass by Scott Buckley

Many children enter care because they have been abused or neglected. IICSA found that, rather than being protected, many vulnerable children who entered care were subject to further abuse.This episode of Recommendations for Change looks at the IICSA findings relating to children in care. How did institutions fail to protect looked after children, and what changes – through IICSA or other reform – need to be made to improve the care system for young people and keep them safer in future? This episode also covers the mandatory reporting recommendation made in the final IICSA report.> Read the podcast transcriptAbout the speakersClaire Sands is an Associate Head in the NSPCC’s Research and Evidence team. She manages research projects across all areas of NSPCC work and runs the NSPCC Research and Ethics Committee.Matt Forde is Partnerships and Development Director at the NSPCC. He leads services for children that the NSPCC delivers in partnership with other organisations and communities across the UK and Channel Islands.Chloe Meaney is an HR Safeguarding Consultant with the NSPCC, she works nationally across a diverse range of sectors as well as providing internal advice and support, looking at HR policy, procedure and practice through a safeguarding lens.Patricia Cannon is a Children’s Solicitor and Partner at national firm Simpson Millar Solicitors. She specialises in the representation of children and young people in care proceedings before the Family Court.David Pritchard is the Registrar and Director of Regulation at Social Care Wales, which is responsible for regulation of the social care workforce in Wales.  Over 60,000 social care professionals are registered with Social Care Wales, including domiciliary and care home workers, social workers and managers. Before joining Social Care Wales, David was a senior official at the Welsh Government where he led the development of the Regulation and Inspection of Social Care (Wales) Act.Further resources> Read IICSA's research report into child sexual abuse in children's homes and residential care> View the NSPCC Learning information page on looked after children> Read the latest Working together to safeguarding children statutory guidance> Learn more about safer recruitment> Take our safer recruitment training course> Read our CASPAR briefing on the UK Government plans to reform children's social care in England> Listen to our podcast episode on what's next for children's social care in EnglandAbout the seriesThe Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) published its final report in October 2022. The report was a comprehensive examination of institutional failings to protect children from sexual abuse, demonstrating the need for a wholesale change in how child sexual abuse (CSA) is tackled. The report highlighted 20 key recommendations that would contribute towards this change.This five-part podcast series explores these recommendations in more detail. A range of experts from both inside and outside of the NSPCC will break down why the recommendations are needed, how they’ll work if implemented, and what impact they might have on the prevention of child sexual abuse. The series is a useful introduction to the Inquiry for anyone who is working or volunteering with children and young people.Intro/outro music is This Too Shall Pass by Scott Buckley

Gathering and analysing data plays a key role in understanding the extent of child sexual abuse and exploitation (CSA and CSE). The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) final report suggests one of the reasons that the true scale of CSA in the UK is not fully understood is poor data collection. In the second episode of our series looking at the IICSA final report, we explore the topic of data. You’ll learn how data can help professionals to prevent and respond to CSA, and what the existing data and evidence is telling us about the scale of CSA in the UK. We also cover how the introduction of a single core dataset in the UK will improve data collection. > Read the podcast transcript About the speakers Lisa McCrindle is Assistant Director in Policy, Communications and Strategic Influence at the Centre of expertise on child sexual abuse (CSA Centre). She’s an experienced public policy and communications leader, researcher and evaluator with over 20 years’ experience working in public policy across the children and young people’s agenda. Kelly Agudelo is Head of Analysis at the National Policing Vulnerability Knowledge and Practice Programme (VKPP). Further resources > Read the CSA Centre's latest trends in data report > Read the VKPP's National Analysis of Police-Recorded Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation Crimes Report 2022 > Read the NSPCC Learning briefing on some of the issues to consider when looking at child abuse statistics About the series The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) published its final report in October 2022. The report was a comprehensive examination of institutional failings to protect children from sexual abuse, demonstrating the need for a wholesale change in how child sexual abuse (CSA) is tackled. The report highlighted 20 key recommendations that would contribute towards this change. This five-part podcast series explores these recommendations in more detail. A range of experts from both inside and outside of the NSPCC will break down why the recommendations are needed, how they’ll work if implemented, and what impact they might have on the prevention of child sexual abuse. The series is a useful introduction to the Inquiry for anyone who is working or volunteering with children and young people. Intro/outro music is This Too Shall Pass by Scott Buckley

Recommendations for Change is a new five-part podcast series from NSPCC Learning, exploring the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) final recommendations. The series breaks down why the recommendations are needed, how they’ll work if implemented, and what impact they might have on the prevention of child sexual abuse. This first episode of the series provides the background to the Inquiry. You will learn why IICSA was set up, how the NSPCC contributed to the Inquiry, and why it’s so important for professionals working with children to be aware of the Inquiry and its findings. The episode also covers how the Inquiry engaged with victims and survivors of CSA, including the set-up of the Truth Project. > Read the podcast transcript About the speakers Peter Wanless is Chief Executive of the NSPCC. Peter joined as Chief Executive in 2013, after running the Big Lottery Fund for 5 years. Before this he worked as a Director at the Department of Education. In the 2021 New Year’s Honours, Peter was awarded a knighthood for services to Children, to Young People and to the Charitable Sector. Lisa McCrindle is Assistant Director in Policy, Communications and Strategic Influence at the Centre of expertise on child sexual abuse (CSA Centre). She’s an experienced public policy and communications leader, researcher and evaluator with over 20 years’ experience working in public policy across the children and young people’s agenda. Dr Maria Neophytou is the Director of Strategy and Knowledge at the NSPCC, joining in 2020 from Impetus, where she was Acting CEO. Maria has worked on strategy, public policy and research in the children’s sector for over fifteen years, exploring how we can harness evidence in aid of social change. She gained her PhD at Cambridge University, where her research was on gender equality and international relations. Further resources > Read the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) final report > Read the CASPAR summary of the IICSA final report, and the government responses to the recommendations made > View the CSA Centre's 'Key messages from research' series > Access other practice resources from the CSA Centre > Learn more about child sexual abuse About the series The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) published its final report in October 2022. The report was a comprehensive examination of institutional failings to protect children from sexual abuse, demonstrating the need for a wholesale change in how child sexual abuse (CSA) is tackled. The report highlighted 20 key recommendations that would contribute towards this change. This five-part podcast series explores these recommendations in more detail. A range of experts from both inside and outside of the NSPCC will break down why the recommendations are needed, how they’ll work if implemented, and what impact they might have on the prevention of child sexual abuse. The series is a useful introduction to the Inquiry for anyone who is working or volunteering with children and young people. Intro/outro music is This Too Shall Pass by Scott Buckley

The first 1001 days of a child’s life are crucial for their development and wellbeing. Having access to caring relationships and support networks can help a child’s brain develop in a healthy way. New parents who experience adversity, such as domestic abuse, may need additional help to build these support networks for their child. This is the second half of a two-part podcast discussion focusing on For Baby’s Sake, a service which provides therapeutic and trauma-informed support to expectant parents who have experienced domestic abuse. You'll hear from Ged Docherty, a Team Manager at For Baby’s Sake Blackpool, and Colin Smy, Development Manager at Blackpool Better Start. In this half of the discussion, Colin and Ged will talk about why it's so important to involve fathers in early intervention, and how service practitioners can engage fathers in their services. If you haven't done so already, you can listen to part one here. You can read this episode’s transcript on the NSPCC Learning website. 💬 About the speakers Colin Smy is Development Manager at Blackpool Better Start. Blackpool Better Start is a 10-year National Lottery funded programme to transform services in the town and change childhoods through lived experience, science, and evidence. The Centre for Early Child Development is the research and development hub of Blackpool Better Start, and provides a whole systems approach to delivering universal services, early help, and specialist support. Ged Docherty is Team Manager at For Baby’s Sake. For Baby’s Sake is a programme for expectant parents that takes a whole-family approach, starting in pregnancy and dealing with the entire cycle and history of domestic abuse, identifying and directly addressing the trauma or traumas that lie at the heart of the problem. 📚 Related resources > Find out more about For Baby’s Sake > Find out more about Blackpool Better Start > Learn more about how childhood trauma affects child brain development > Take the NSPCC’s elearning course on trauma and child brain development > Take the NSPCC’s safeguarding elearning course for anyone working with under 1s and families in the antenatal or postnatal period Intro/outro music is Lights by Sappheiros

The first 1001 days of a child’s life are crucial for their development and wellbeing. Having access to caring relationships and support networks can help a child’s brain develop in a healthy way. New parents who experience adversity, such as domestic abuse, may need additional help to build these support networks for their child.  This is the first part in a two-part podcast discussion focusing on For Baby’s Sake, a service which provides therapeutic and trauma-informed support to expectant parents who have experienced domestic abuse. You'll hear from Ged Docherty, a Team Manager at For Baby’s Sake Blackpool, and Colin Smy, Development Manager at Blackpool Better Start. The discussion explores how early intervention services can support families through adversity and give babies the best start in life. Part two is available here. You can read this episode’s transcript on the NSPCC Learning website. 💬 About the speakers Colin Smy is Development Manager at Blackpool Better Start. Blackpool Better Start is a 10-year National Lottery funded programme to transform services in the town and change childhoods through lived experience, science, and evidence. The Centre for Early Child Development is the research and development hub of Blackpool Better Start, and provides a whole systems approach to delivering universal services, early help, and specialist support. Ged Docherty is Team Manager at For Baby’s Sake. For Baby’s Sake is a programme for expectant parents that takes a whole-family approach, starting in pregnancy and dealing with the entire cycle and history of domestic abuse, identifying and directly addressing the trauma or traumas that lie at the heart of the problem. 📚 Related resources > Find out more about For Baby’s Sake > Find out more about Blackpool Better Start > Learn more about how childhood trauma affects child brain development > Take the NSPCC’s elearning course on trauma and child brain development > Take the NSPCC’s safeguarding elearning course for anyone working with under 1s and families in the antenatal or postnatal period Intro/outro music is Lights by Sappheiros

Evidence plays an important role in social work practice. Knowledge gained from research and practical experience should be used to ensure decisions about safety and risk are well-informed and ethical.In this podcast episode, a panel of experts from the NSPCC discuss how social workers can build and maintain an evidence base to support their work.You can read this episode’s transcript on the NSPCC Learning website. 💬 About the speakersJulian Fabian is a Consultant Social Worker with the NSPCC. He works across all their direct services for children in the areas of quality assurance, practice improvement, and training.Gurpreet Dosanjh-Bhatt is a Consultant Social Worker with the NSPCC looking at audit and review practice standards. She previously worked in the NSPCC as a children's services practitioner.Holly Bentley is the Knowledge Manager within the NSPCC's Library and Information Service, producing written content on safeguarding and child protection for professionals.📚 Resources mentioned in this episode> Find out more about the NSPCC Library and Information Service> Search the national case review repository> Browse the collection of learning from case reviews briefings> Browse the collection of CASPAR briefings on important safeguarding topics> Take the NSPCC's learning from case reviews training course> Subscribe to CASPAR, our safeguarding child protection email newsletter > View the social work Professional Capabilities Framework on the British Association of Social Workers (BASW) website > Listen to the Let's Talk Social Work podcast from BASW The websites for Research in Practice and Foundations (a merger of the Early Intervention Foundation and What Works for Children's Social Care) also have a range of resources relating to social work evidence. Intro/outro music is Lights by Sappheiros

This is the second in a two-part series looking at the future of children’s social care in England. Listen to the first episode, an interview with Josh MacAlister, here. Earlier this year, the UK government published its vision for the reform of children's social care in England: Stable homes built on love. The strategy sets out a number of proposals to family support and early help services, including the rollout of new multi-disciplinary family help teams to provide earlier support to families so they don't reach crisis point. In this podcast episode three experts from the NSPCC consider what the government’s proposals might look like in practice. The discussion covered: the planned reforms to family support and early help services what new multi-disciplinary family help teams might look like the benefits and challenges of taking a family-first approach to social care the importance of developing meaningful relationships with families and considering lived experience changes to social care workforce roles, including the introduction of a new lead child protection practitioner role barriers to implementing reform, and how they might affect the day-to-day work of social care professionals. You can read this episode’s transcript on the NSPCC Learning website. 💬 About the speakers Matt Forde is Partnerships and Development Director at the NSPCC, for services across the UK that work in partnership with communities and professionals. These include place-based projects and specialist partnerships for the most vulnerable children and families. Matt joined the NSPCC from local authority children’s services in 2010 as National Head for Scotland and took up his current role in 2020. Rachael Holdcroft is a Strategic Services Manager overseeing the delivery of the Together for Childhood project in Stoke on Trent; a 10 year project which focuses on preventing Child Sexual Abuse. Rachael has been in this role with the NSPCC for 18 months following a 20 year career working with children and families in Local Authorities and the Private Sector. Eavan Mckay is a Senior Policy and Public Affairs Officer at the NSPCC. Prior to joining the NSPCC, Eavan worked in education, first as an English teacher, then as a middle leader in schools with curriculum and safeguarding responsibilities, then at the education charity The Literacy Pirates where she led education intervention and engagement programmes for children. Eavan has also held Policy and Public Affairs Officer roles at JDRF and London Councils. 📚 Related resources > Early help and early intervention > Why language matters: what is meant by 'early help'  > News: The government's plans to reform children's social care in England > Government plans to reform children's social care England: CASPAR briefing (2023)  > The independent review of children's social care final report: CASPAR briefing (2022)  > The case for change: independent review of children's social care in England: CASPAR briefing (2021) Intro/outro music is Lights by Sappheiros

This is the first in a two-part series looking at the future of children’s social care in England.   Earlier this year, the UK government published its vision for the reform of children's social care in England: 'Stable homes, built on love'.  The Independent Review of Children's Social Care in England, which published its final report in May 2022, provided a cornerstone for this strategy. The review was chaired by Josh MacAlister and aimed to produce recommendations for a social care system that puts lifelong loving relationships at the heart of the care system and acts decisively in response to abuse. In this podcast episode, Abigail Gill, the NSPCC’s Associate Head of Policy and Public Affairs, sat down with Josh to talk about the review and what still needs to be done to meet its aims. The discussion covered: the story of the Care Review and what problems it was trying to address how the review captured the voices and lived experiences of children, young people and adults that have received the help or support of a social worker, or who have been looked after problems found with the social care system and how these negatively impact safeguarding and child protection the reforms and recommendations proposed by the review to address these problems how to implement reform and create positive future change in collaboration with professionals. You can read this episode’s transcript on the NSPCC Learning website. 💬 About the speakers Josh MacAlister is the Executive Chair of Foundations, the What Works Centre for Children and Families. He is also Co-founder and Chair of SHiFT. He chaired the Independent Review of Children's Social Care between March 2021 and May 2022. Abigail Gill is the Associate Head of Policy and Public Affairs at the NSPCC. She works across a number of policy areas, including children's social care, place-based approaches, early help and early intervention, poverty, and neglect. 📚 Related resources > Stable Homes, Built on Love: Implementation Strategy and Consultation > News: The government’s plans to reform children’s social care in England > Government plans to reform children's social care in England: CASPAR briefing > The independent review of children’s social care final report: CASPAR briefing Intro/outro music is Lights by Sappheiros

Witnessing or experiencing domestic abuse can have a detrimental effect on a child's mental, physical and economic wellbeing. By recognising when an employee or colleague is experiencing domestic abuse, professionals working in any sector can help keep children safe. In this podcast episode, domestic abuse experts from the NSPCC Helpline discuss what you can do to support and safeguard colleagues who experience domestic abuse. The discussion covered: why a workplace domestic abuse policy is good practice to support non-abusing parents and their children what should be included in a workplace domestic abuse policy the potential indicators of domestic abuse the barriers that people may experience when they take steps to speak to their employer about domestic abuse what managers can do to support colleagues experiencing domestic abuse or other safeguarding concerns. You can read this episode’s transcript on the NSPCC Learning website.  💬 About the speakers Paddi Vint is a Quality and Development Manager overseeing a three-year domestic abuse project supported by the COVID-19 Support Fund. She has been with the NSPCC in Belfast for five years, joining as a helpline practitioner and then working as a practice manager. Sarah Clarke is a Domestic Abuse Practice Advisor with a background as an Independent Domestic Violence Advocate (IDVA) specialising in high risk and complex needs within refuge. Emily Harrison is a Domestic Abuse Practice Advisor with a background as an IDVA specialising in high risk and complex needs within police services. Joanne Walsh is a Domestic Abuse Practice Advisor with a background as a senior family support worker and local authority domestic abuse champion. 📚 Related resources > Learn more about domestic abuse > Read our learning from case reviews briefing on domestic abuse > Listen to our podcast episode about why domestic abuse is a child protection issue > Listen to our podcast episode about the NSPCC Helpline's Domestic Abuse Practice Advisors Intro/outro music is Lights by Sappheiros