CYSCP
March City of York Safeguarding Children Partnership Newsletter
Your March City of York Safeguarding Children Partnership Newsletter is here!
- Update to Working Together
- Learning Masterclass: An Introduction to Fabricated Induced Illness and Perplexing Presentations
- CDOP harm reduction in pregnancy campaign - Ready for Pregnancy
- Women Unlocked
- Families First Update and focus on quality
- LADO Referral Form
- Private Fostering
- SEND CENTRAL
- Services offered by York St John Communities Centre
- Partnership Training
- Online child sexual abuse
- Contextual safeguarding
- Family court proceedings
- Child criminal exploitation
- Could you be a parent advocate?
- World Autism Acceptance Week
Update to Working Together
The government have now published an updated Working Together 2026 guidance. This replaces the previous 2023 version.
A summary detailing the changes is also available:
You can also view the young person’s friendly resources - an illustrated guide:
A You Tube film for young people is also available:
As a partnership we will look to review the latest guidance and communicate any further information to partners in due course.
Learning Masterclass: An Introduction to Fabricated Induced Illness and Perplexing Presentations
Learning Masterclass: An Introduction to Fabricated Induced Illness and Perplexing Presentations - a Joint Session with City of York and North Yorkshire Safeguarding Children Partnerships.
Course outline
City of York Safeguarding Children Partnership and North Yorkshire Safeguarding Children Partnership are delivering a joint session on Fabricated Induced Illness and Perplexing Presentations.
Fabricated or Induced Illness (FII), by parents or carers, is child abuse and can cause significant harm to children. Fabricated Induced Illness involves a well-child being presented by a parent/carer as ill, or a disabled child being presented with more significant problems than he/she has.
The updated City of York and North Yorkshire Perplexing Presentations/Fabricated Induced Illness multi agency guidance aims to support professionals from all agencies to recognise and respond to possible Perplexing Presentations/Fabricated Induced Illness to effectively safeguard and achieve better outcomes for children. It is necessarily detailed as it reflects the often highly complex nature of this form of abuse.
This masterclass will explore learning from local safeguarding reviews and cases with reference to the application of the newly updated guidance.
Course details
Tuesday 5 May, 2.00pm to 3.00pm, via MS Teams.
To book a place go to the course page on MyLO and click ‘access this course’ at the top of the page and then ‘sign up’ next to the date:
Managers can book places for members of their team using the ‘allocate place for team’ option.
CDOP harm reduction in pregnancy campaign - Ready for Pregnancy
Save the Date: Week commencing 13 April 2026.
The Child Death Overview Panel (CDOP) for York and North Yorkshire is launching a communications campaign focused on reducing harm in pregnancy. The campaign aims to support mums and mums to be to make informed, positive lifestyle choices relating to nutrition, movement, and emotional wellbeing.
The approach has been formally agreed at CDOP level and is supported by key partner organisations including City of York Council, North Yorkshire Council, York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, safeguarding teams and others.
Campaign purpose
The campaign seeks to:
- raise awareness of behaviours that can reduce harm during pregnancy
- share simple, practical messages from trusted professionals
- highlight real experiences from residents who have benefitted from local support services
- encourage other families to access help early and make lifestyle changes that contribute to healthy pregnancies
Storytelling will be at the heart of the campaign, showcasing messages from frontline practitioners and families across York and North Yorkshire.
Further information will be shared in relation to this campaign in due course.
Women Unlocked
Free mentoring opportunity available for young women aged 16 to 24 in York and North Yorkshire.
Women Unlocked is a mentoring and development opportunity for girls and young women aged 16 to 24 in York and North Yorkshire. The project will provide individual and group mentoring to support young women to reach their goals in education, careers, and beyond.
This project will also focus on Gender Inequality and Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG), with mentees having the opportunity to work in partnership with the Deputy Mayor, North Yorkshire Police, North Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service and women’s organisations to represent young people’s voices and ensure services meet their needs.
They are particularly seeking applications from young women who have lived experience of gender inequality or Violence Against Women and Girls.
This is a fantastic opportunity to develop confidence and new skills and set and achieve personal goals while tackling gender inequality.
Please share this opportunity amongst your networks and encourage any eligible young women who you feel would benefit from this experience to apply.
If you know a young woman who would like to apply in a different way, such as via a video, or informal chat, this can also be arranged.
The application deadline is Friday 10 April 2026.
If you have any questions or want to chat further about the Women Unlocked, please don’t hesitate to get in contact.
See further information about the Wonen Unlocked Mentoring Programme.
View the 2025 Women Unlocked VAWG reporting video, written and created by mentees, on Instagram:
Families First Update and focus on quality
Families First has an ambition to have a shared practice framework across agencies in line with the National Framework outcomes and the requirements of Working Together.
Working Together 2026 has been published this month which further endorses “Having an evidence-based framework, which is shared across the partnership and involves regular review to ensure that real progress is being made”.
City of York Safeguarding Children Partnership have agreed to use the Building Brighter Futures Practice Framework in York which is outlined in the newsletter. The practice framework is also aligned to our training offer based on the workforce survey. Partners can access training and development through MyLO.
The First course is Families First: Social GGRRAAACCEEESSS (Gender, Geography, Race, Religion, Age, Ability, Appearance, Class, Culture, Education, Employment, Ethnicity, Sexuality, Sexual Orientation, and Spirituality) Train the Trainer Session:
View the Families First March Newsletter.
If you have any queries or would like to provide feedback, please email: [email protected].
LADO Referral Form
The LADO Referral Form has slightly been updated to now include the capability to record ethnicity.
Please ensure if you are making any referrals you use the up-to-date form:
Private fostering
Do you know what private fostering is? Would you know if a child you are working with is being privately fostered? Would you know what to do?
Private fostering is a private arrangement made by a child’s parent, or someone with parental responsibility, for the child to live with someone who is not a close relative.
If a child or young person is staying with someone who isn’t a close relative for more than 28 days in total then it could be a private fostering arrangement. Further details about this are available on the Partnership website:
Do you need to tell anyone if you suspect a child is being privately fostered?
Yes. City of York Council Children’s Social Care must be notified of any private fostering arrangements. This is to ensure that children in private fostering arrangements are seen and spoken to and their welfare is checked to make sure that children do not suffer abuse or neglect. They will also ensure that the person or people caring for the child and the child’s parents get the help and support that they need.
See further private fostering information and resources on the partnership website:
SEND CENTRAL
SEND CENTRAL is York’s Family Hub that specialises in Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). This is a hub that families can seek advice and information about what’s available in York when they have children and young people who have additional needs, any age from 0 to 25.
SEND CENTRAL provides an essential breathing space for children, young people, and their families. A warm, welcoming, and supportive environment where families can go for information, advice, and support on all aspects of SEND and where they can find out more about the Local Offer in York.
This is a place where families can meet multiple professionals and agencies all under one roof, meet other parents and carers of children and young people with SEND and where they and their child can access a range of information about events and activities.
Visit the York SEND Local Offer website for further information.
There's also a timetable of available of activities for children, young people and their families available on the York SEND Offer website.
Services offered by York St John Communities Centre
A reminder that York St John Communities Centre offer the following free services.
Breastfeeding Group
The Treasure Chest breastfeeding group aims to provide new families a chance to talk with peer supporters as well as other families who are breastfeeding or combination feeding.
- Facilitated by: Treasure Chest
- Dates: Every Monday
- Duration: 10.30am to midday
- Location: York St John University’s Chapel on Campus
- Further information: Treasure Chest Breastfeeding Group
Bereavement Support Group
A free online support group for people who are bereaved or experiencing grief.
- Facilitated by: York St John Communities Centre
- Duration: 4.30pm to 6.00pm
- Location: Online
- Further information: Bereavement Support Group
- Self-referral form: YSJ Communities Centre Self-Referral Form
Bereavement Café
Come along to one of our cafés for bereaved people, to help you understand what you are going through.
- Facilitated by: York St John Communities Centre
- Dates: Wednesdays on 11 March, 8 April, 13 May, 10 June, 8 July, 9 September, 14 October, 11 November, and 9 December.
- Duration: 1.00pm to 3.00pm
- Location: York St John University Campus
- Further information: Bereavement Café
York St John Communities Centre offer the following free services for children and young people.
Community Language School
The Community Language School caters to the language learning needs of children aged 6 to 13 years from migrant, multilingual families as well as those for whom English is currently the only language in use.
- Dates: The school year typically runs from September to May with breaks from December to January, and March to April
- Duration: classes are run on Saturday afternoons for 1 to 2 hours
- Location: York St John University Campus
- Further information: Community Language School
- Referral: Enrol your child
- Volunteering: Apply to volunteer
Creative Literacies Hub
A free service which welcomes parents, carers, and their children, who would like to learn effective ways of approaching reading and creative writing. We have 2 programmes you can attend: Supporting Reading at Home, and Creative Writing Together.
- Dates: To be confirmed
- Duration: Doors open from 3.30pm but sessions will start nearer to 4.00pm to allow for the school run. Sessions end at 5.00pm, and both programmes last for 6 weeks
- Location: York St John Communities Centre
- Further information: Creative Literacies Hub
- Referral: YSJ Communities Centre Self-Referral Form
Partnership Training
Safeguarding Training
The City of York Safeguarding Children’s Partnership aims to provide a range of courses that support those working with children and young people in York.
We have been listening to your feedback. In September 2025 we launched the new City of York Safeguarding Children Partnership Awareness E-learning module, building on and improving the content from the previous module. As the current module is pitched at a higher level, we are now reviewing our face-to-face offer (previously known as Safeguarding A and B) to make sure it is at an appropriate level for Designated Safeguarding Lead’s and Deputy Safeguarding Lead’s within agencies.
As such, we will be pausing the face-to-face offer from April 2026 while we work on developing the content of a new course and it will be re-launched in September 2026.
In the meantime, we encourage you to access the e-learning module if you haven’t already and we will be in touch about bridging the gap until the new course is available.
Further information about accessing our e-learning training is available on the Partnership website.
Partnership E-Learning Training
A reminder that a new Safeguarding Children Partnership Awareness E-Learning package has been produced which is more in depth and up to date. If you are working with children and young people in the city of York we would encourage you to access this e-learning training.
‘Developing an Understanding of Harmful Sexual Behaviour’ Training
The Partnership are pleased to announce that new dates have been arranged for the Harmful Sexual Behaviour training. This training is available to all our multi-agency partners.
Course aims:
- develop an understanding of Harmful Sexual Behaviour (HSB)
- consider the risks and needs of children who present HSB
- share concerns about the possible impact of working with children who have presented HSB
- discuss what sexual behaviours are considered OK/not OK
- discuss why children engage in these behaviours
- learn about the York Youth Justice Service Harmful Sexual Behaviour programme and pathways for support
Dates available:
- Thursday 25 June, 10.00am to 2.00pm - Auden Room, West Offices
- Thursday 29 October, 10.00am to 2.00pm - Auden Room, West Offices
To book to attend go to the course page on MyLO and click ‘access this course’ at the top of the page and then ‘sign up’ next to the date that you want.
Free Bereavement Training at St Leonard’s Hospice
Working with children and young people who experience loss can be challenging. This full-day training will give you the knowledge, confidence, and practical skills to respond effectively – whether you’ve encountered it already or may in the future.
“The way adults respond to a child’s grief can shape how that child learns to cope with loss.” - Child Bereavement UK.
- Venue: St Leonard’s Hospice, York
- Time: 9.30am to 4.30pm
- Date: 17 April 2026
Free training delivered by experts from York Bereavement Alliance, Papyrus UK and Bereaved Children Support York.
- Chris Charters - York Bereavement Alliance
- Chloe Fisher - Papyrus UK
- Stef Bricklebank - Bereaved Children Support York
What you’ll learn:
- how children and young people experience grief and loss
- key theories and practical approaches for your role
- cultural and religious perspectives on bereavement
- supporting children bereaved by suicide safely and sensitively
- the impact of language and reducing stigma
“Bereaved children need honesty, reassurance and the presence of caring adults.” - Childhood Bereavement Network,
Who should attend:
Professionals supporting children and young people in non-education settings (social care, NHS, youth services, foster carers, and more). Working in the York area (YO Postcode).
A separate session is available for teachers and teaching staff in May 2026.
To reserve your place email: [email protected].
Please share or tag your colleagues or networks who may benefit.
Recovery College Online - Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust
The Recovery College Online is part of Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust. It provides hundreds of free online educational courses and useful resources through its website and e-learning platform.
They are aimed at people who need support with their mental health, their families and friends, mental health professionals or anyone interested in learning more about mental health and wellbeing.
Recovery College Online is available worldwide and you don’t have to live in the Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust area to access its resources.
You’ll find lots of helpful resources for children and young people, parents and carers, and teachers and professionals on Recovery College Online, including:
- resources and information for young people about exam stress, feelings, bullying, and wellbeing and self-care
- resources and information for parents and carers about how to support your child
- online courses for children (under 12 years old) including resilience and being healthy
- online courses for young people (13 to 18 years old) including mental health and wellbeing, and psychological resilience
- online educational courses for parents and carers including autism parent support training, parenting and attachment, and understanding mental health
- online educational courses for teachers including supporting children and young people’s wellbeing
- online educational courses for professionals including supporting the mental health of children and young people
These resources are available to all our partners and may be useful if you are working with a family, or to signpost families to.
Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse
The Centre of expertise on Child Sexual Abuse latest opportunities, including their free introductory webinars, exclusive training events and research workshops and discussions, are available on the Centre of Expertise website:
The Centre of Expertise regularly host free webinars and keep their website up to date so why not bookmark their page so you have future training opportunities to hand.
Children and Young People Trauma Informed Care Programme
Trauma Informed Care Programme have launched their programme of training courses up until September 2026.
The following courses are available.
Developmental Trauma - An introduction
This half day course is delivered online. Further information including dates and how to book is available on the Partnership Website:
Half Day ARC Training - online evening session
This interactive session will support staff to:
- understand what trauma is and how it affects children and young people
- explore how early trauma impacts development
- learn the key principles of Trauma Informed practice
- better understand behaviour through a trauma-informed lens
- apply Trauma Informed approaches within their own role
This is a more in-depth session, designed for staff who have direct or regular contact with children and young people, including those who may be affected by trauma (whether known or not).
It is particularly relevant for colleagues working across Health and Social Care, Youth Justice, Emergency Services, and Voluntary and Community Sector organisations.
Training Details
- Date: 16 April 2026
- Time: 4.00pm
- Book your place online: Half Day ARC Training - Online Evening
Face-to-face Children and Young People Trauma Informed Care Programme
The following courses are available in person.
Full Day Trauma Informed Training session
A more in-depth training session for all staff who have direct or regular contact with Children and Young People who may be affected by trauma.
This level of training will support those working on a daily basis with Children and Young People.
2 Day ARC Training - Pre-Requisite to becoming an ARC Champion
An in-depth 2 day training course for all staff who have direct or regular contact with Children and Young People who may be affected by trauma.
This level of training will support those working on a daily basis with Children and Young People.
This training is delivered by national trainer Kati Taunt and offers the opportunity for those attending to become ARC Champions within their own service areas.
Half Day Senior Leadership Training
2 half day training sessions aimed at Senior Leaders from our Stakeholder and Partnership Organisations across the 6 places of the Humber and North Yorkshire region who can really effect organisational change.
Once Leaders have attended the ARC training, we hope that this will give them a greater understanding of the ARC Framework, to enable them to support their staff in implementing a Trauma Informed approach and some of them becoming ARC Champions.
Further information including dates and how to book are available on the Partnership website:
Online child sexual abuse
The Lucy Faithfull Foundation has created a workbook and animated video to support teenagers of a parent arrested for online sexual offences.
The workbook for young people includes creative exercises, coping strategies and space for reflection. There is also a guide to help parents and caregivers talk to and support young people impacted by the arrest of an adult they know.
The resources are available on the foundation website:
Contextual safeguarding
NSPCC Learning has published a podcast episode on contextual safeguarding featuring Professor Carlene Firmin.
The episode explores how practitioners can incorporate contextual safeguarding practices into their work with children and families.
It covers:
- what contextual safeguarding is
- how different contexts affect children’s risk of abuse
- how practitioners can build partnerships that facilitate a contextual response
- monitoring outcomes of contextual safeguarding response
- examples of contextual safeguarding in practice
Listen to the podcast online:
Or you can listen on YouTube:
Family court proceedings
Cafcass has published a new animated film as a part of its ‘Taking me seriously’ series aiming to support children and young people who are involved in family court proceedings.
Drawing on the voices of children with personal experience of family court proceedings, the episode aims to support children to feel as comfortable as possible when talking about their experiences, wishes and feelings, and encourages them to think about what they would like to discuss with their Cafcass support worker.
Watch the film online:
Child criminal exploitation
Ending Coercive Offending (ECO) has launched a Diagnostic toolkit for exploited children in England. The toolkit is designed for professionals working in police and youth justice settings, children’s social care, education and inclusion, and strategic partnerships.
It provides a structured, evidence-informed approach to diagnosing gaps between policy and frontline practice. The toolkit draws on children’s rights principles, intersectional analysis, and multi-agency practice to support local areas to: analyse how exploited children are currently identified and responded to; examine decision-making across safeguarding and justice systems; and develop local solutions to reduce the criminalisation of exploited children.
Access the toolkit online:
Could you be a parent advocate?
Do you have personal experience of Children’s Social Care Services, either as a parent or a supportive family member?
Join City of York Council’s supportive team of volunteers by getting in touch with the City of York Council’s Volunteer Service today by contacting them on email: [email protected], or telephone: 07542 510430.
Find out more about the role in the City of York Council volunteering opportunities directory:
World Autism Acceptance Week
World Autism Acceptance Week, Thursday 2 April to Tuesday 7 April, is a dedicated period focused on raising awareness, understanding, and acceptance of autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
The week aims to celebrate the uniqueness of individuals with autism, promote inclusive practices, and educate the public about the challenges and strengths of those on the autism spectrum. It is a time for communities to come together in support of individuals with autism and their families, advocating for acceptance and equal opportunities.
Newsletter sign-up
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If anyone has any items for newsletters going forward, please let us know on email: [email protected].