A boy's hand thrust forward towards the camera

September City of York Safeguarding Children Partnership Newsletter

The City of York Safeguarding Children Partnership E-Learning Training has changed!

A new Safeguarding Children Partnership Awareness E-Learning package has been produced which is more in depth and up to date. If you're working with children and young people in the city of York we would encourage you to access this e-learning training.

The new course is now accessible via the City of York Council training platform MyLO. If you already have an account on MyLO you just need to login as you usually would. If you have never used MyLO before you'll need to create an account.

If you need to pay to access our e-learning course you will be directed to enter your payment details. The costs for this updated course will remain the same (£15).

If you're unsure if you need to pay for the course, further information regarding costs is available on the partnership website.

It's planned for our old training portal to be discontinued. If you or your staff have completed our previous e-learning course, download a copy of the certificate and save to your computer as soon as possible. The existing e-learning portal will not be accessible after Friday 26 September 2025. This means that all user data and previous course completion data will not be available after this date.

The old e-learning portal can be accessed until Friday 26 September 2025.

Access the new e-learning awareness training.

If you have any queries email: [email protected].

A reminder that the Partnership also offer free face-to-face training as follows:

  • Safeguarding children: Shared Responsibilities and Procedures Working Together (previously A and B)
  • Developing an Understanding of Harmful Sexual Behaviour
  • Child Death Review Training
  • Whole Approach System to Addressing Abusive Behaviours – ‘Hard to Help’ training
  • Domestic Abuse Training

Find further information about all these courses and the links to book.

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This briefing is relevant to all statutory, non-statutory and voluntary agencies who work with children in York.

This briefing will provide an overview of the national vision for the reforms of Children’s Services. The purpose of the session is to share a summary of the national expectations of the Families First Programme including:

  • Family Help
  • Multi-Agency Child Protection Teams
  • Family Group Decision-Making

There will be an opportunity to ask questions and understand how these reforms will be developed locally.

This course will take place on Wednesday 15 October 2025, from 4.00pm until 5.00pm using Microsoft Teams.

Go to the Families First Partnership Briefing 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.

If you have difficulties accessing the course email: [email protected].

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We're pleased to let you know that dates for 2026 have been released for Child Death Review Training. This course covers:

  • the different components of the Joint Agency Response in
  • response to a child death
  • the role and responsibilities of different professionals
  • the statutory purpose of the Child Death Overview Panel
  • the role of the key worker and the Coroner
  • informs professionals on how best to support to bereaved families
  • an overview of the National Child Mortality Team and local data

Book onto the Child Death Review Training.

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This course will take place on Wednesday 19 November 2025, from 9.30am until 12.30pm on Microsoft Teams.

Transitional Safeguarding – as defined by Holmes and Smale (2018) – is:

an approach to safeguarding adolescents and young adults fluidly across developmental stages which builds on the best available evidence, learns from both children’s and adult safeguarding practice and prepares young people for their adult lives.

This 3-hour interactive masterclass will:

  • clarify what Transitional Safeguarding is, and is not
  • explore the evidence base and 6 key principles
  • share learning from local areas innovating in this space
  • support participants to consider how this approach could be applied

Transitional Safeguarding is not a practice level intervention but an issue of whole systems change that requires collaborative systems leadership.

Practitioners will have much expertise to contribute, however it's essential that managers and senior leaders also attend.

Dez Holmes is Director of Research in Practice and Strategic Director of Practice & Programmes at the National Children’s Bureau. She has extensive experience in training, leadership development, youth justice and early help practice. Dez leads national programmes on Transitional Safeguarding and child exploitation, and chairs the Contextual Safeguarding UK Advisory Group.

This masterclass is funded by YHMAST and free-to-access for Yorkshire and Humber professionals.

Register your place on the Yorkshire and Humber Multi-Agency safeguarding Trainers presents an online masterclass on Transitional safeguarding.

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Hate Crime Week 2025 is fast approaching, and we have 3 confirmed webinars for partners to attend.

Misogyny, sexism and violence against women and girls

Underpinning violence against women and girls is a spectrum of behaviours and attitudes that permeate through our society – sexism and misogyny.

This workshop will look at the systems and structures that enable these to prevail and the everyday actions that embolden perpetrators of gender-based violence and abuse.

The workshop will encourage discussion and aims to empower us all to think about the changes we can make to prevent violence against women and girls.

Book to attend the Misogyny, sexism and violence against women and girls webinar.

INCEL Subculture

This session will be delivered by Sergeant Ben Hallewell, Counter Terrorism Policing North East and will focus on Incel sub-culture, its deep-rooted misogynistic beliefs as well as other extreme cultural views and it’s links to terrorist acts and behaviours.

Book to attend the INCEL Subculture webinar.

Antisemitism and Extremism in 2025

This session will be delivered by Alex Webster, Northern Regional Senior Manager at Community Security Trust (CST).

Alex has been on the staff team for 15 years, having been a volunteer for 28 years. Community Security Trust is a charity that protects British Jews from antisemitism and related threats.

This session is aimed at addressing the following topics:

  • the origins and history of antisemitism, and how it presents in both extremist spaces and in everyday society
  • the current trends of antisemitism in the UK and incident figures reported on by CST
  • through different examples, highlight the common tropes, themes and nuances of antisemitism to make it easier to identify and challenge

Book to attend the Antisemitism and Extremism in 2025 webinar.

These webinars are booking up quickly, get your ticket now to avoid missing out!

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The York and North Yorkshire Inclusive Communities Joint Coordinating Group is also pleased to offer a: Hate Crime Awareness and Hate Crime Champions training session. This session will be taking place on Tuesday 14 October 2025 at 10.00am in Harrogate Civic Centre, St Luke’s Mount, Harrogate.

This is specifically aimed at practitioners who are wanting to learn more about hate crime, its impact victims and our wider community and how we can support those who are experiencing hate crime daily.

The accredited session will cover the following areas:

  • Hate Crime Awareness: delivered by North Yorkshire Police who will explain what a hate crime is, the impact of hate on victims and the wider community, the barriers to reporting, means of reporting and support services available
  • Hate Crime Community Champions: At the end of the Hate Crime Awareness training session, there will be an appeal for volunteers to take their commitment a step further and become a Hate Crime Community Champion through this accredited training

This session will focus on how champions can raise awareness within their local community and places of work. Community Champions will receive a certificate confirming their completion of the training. Both parts of this training are mandatory for those wishing to become Community Champions within your organisation or the community you work with.

If you're interested in learning more about hate crime and how you can help those who may be experiencing hate crime, then this is the event for you.

Book onto the Hate Crime Awareness and Hate Crime Champions training session.

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York Mind have introduced a 6 weekly early intervention project so support young people aged 11 to 18 years who are experiencing mental health challenges.

The group is designed to develop: confidence, communication skills, self-esteem and self expression and offers an opportunity to connect with others.

Young people themselves are welcome to make referrals, as well as parents, carers or other professionals on their behalf. All under 16 year olds will need written parent and carer consent.

Course Dates:

  • Group 1 Monday 13 October to Monday 17 November 2025
  • Group 2 Monday 8 December 2025 to Monday 19 January 2026
  • Group 3 Monday 9 February to Monday 16 March 2026

Make a mental health referral.

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Each month the Partnership will promote resources available for professionals to help with their daily practice. This month we would like to draw attention to our ‘Professionals Resolutions Practice Guidance’. This guidance was previously known as Resolution Dispute procedure.

Professionals Resolutions Practice Guidance

The aim of this guidance is to promote a culture of partnership working, whereby all agencies working with children, young people and their families feel confident, able and supported to address concerns in situations where there are differences in professional judgements around the response to the well-being and safety of children and young people.

We encourage you to share with your teams, discuss in your team meetings and supervision.

Read the Professionals Resolutions Practice Guidance.

Safeguarding Children Partnership Procedures

A reminder that all our documents, procedures, practice guidance, strategies are on the partnership website.

We also produce One Minute Guide’s and 7 Point briefings to share learning from our case reviews and audits.

Read the Safeguarding Children Partnership Procedures.

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The City of York Council, in partnership with the Solihull Approach, is offering families free access to online courses through the ‘inourplace’ platform.

These courses have been developed by NHS professionals and are designed to support parents and carers at every stage of a child’s journey, from pregnancy and the early years, right through to the teenage stage and beyond.

Each course provides evidence-based, non-judgemental learning that helps families understand child development, manage challenges, and strengthen relationships.

Topics include brain development, behaviour, communication, and parental wellbeing, giving families practical tools and confidence as they navigate the ups and downs of parenting.

Finally, from October, the Solihull Approach will be rebranded as ‘Togetherness’. If you come across this new name, it is the same trusted programme with a refreshed identity.

York families can register for the free courses by visiting the ‘inourplace’ platform. The access code for these resources is RAISE.

We encourage you to share with your colleagues and promote this free resource for families.

Resources and leaflets are available for practitioners. For further information email: [email protected].

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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.

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Young people from the York area who have Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities and are in Year 9 or above are invited to the annual ‘Preparing for Adulthood Opportunities Event’, with their parents and carers.

It’s at Askham Bryan College on Tuesday 14 October 2025 from 3.30pm to 6.30pm.

If you're working with a young person and family who may be interested then book your place at the Preparing for Adulthood Opportunities Event.

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Based on the York St John University campus, York St John Communities Centre offer a range of free and low-cost services for children and young people including counselling, coaching, support groups, community projects, training and events.

They operate as a not-for-profit, values-led organisation, driven by their mission to make support more accessible, while providing excellent training and placement opportunities for students. They offer the following services and support for Children and Young People.

Creative Literacies Hub

The Creative Literacies Hub is a safe and welcoming environment for parents, carers and their children to engage in reading and writing activities. The programmes are delivered on Tuesdays from 3.30pm to 5.00pm and last for 6 weeks. They offer two programmes and families are welcome to enrol for one or both programmes.

Supporting Reading at Home

This free to access programme welcomes parents, caregivers, and children aged 5 to 11. During these workshops, parents and carers will learn techniques to assist their child in reading a diverse selection of texts.

Creative Writing Together

These free sessions are available to parents, caregivers, and children between the ages of 7 and 14. Throughout all 6 workshops, parents, carers and their child will participate in collaborative creative writing sessions. Across these sessions, various settings, characters, and plots, will be explored experimenting with different perspectives within their story universe.

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.

In offering these classes, it's hoped to enhance children’s oral fluency in the languages they are learning, develop their confidence in using languages other than English, and instil a love for languages and heritage cultures where relevant. Classes are run on Saturday afternoons for 1 to 2 hours, depending on the number of students and are free to access.

Get Involved

Find current dates and more information about the York St John Communities Centre: Services for Children and Young People. If a parent or carer would like to enrol their child, they can complete the self-referral form and include the age of the child and the programmes you would like to enrol in.

If you would like to get involved, or simply help spread the word, we’d love to hear from you. Visit the York St John Communities Centre website or email: [email protected].

Share their services with anyone who might benefit – together, we can continue creating change in our community.

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Did you know Change Grow Live provide support for individuals who use substances, as well as support for any children and other family members who may have been impacted by the individual’s substance use?

The advice and support they offer is free and confidential.

Everyone going to Change Grow Live can expect to receive:

  • a welcoming service which is focused on individual’s unique needs
  • access to advice, information and a full assessment
  • access to clinical and psychological services
  • opportunities to volunteer and access to employment readiness services
  • referral to other support services, where relevant

The Gate York

The Gate York offers a range of support services primarily for young people up to the age of 25 around drugs and alcohol.

The Gate York also offer specialist support in a confidential and safe space for children and young people impacted by somebody else’s substance use (sometimes referred to as ‘hidden harm’).

Get support

Adults can complete an online referral form to seek help and support for anyone struggling with alcohol and drugs. This form can be used if you're a professional and would like to make a referral for somebody else. Alternatively, email: [email protected].

Children and young people can complete The Gate York's online referral form or email: [email protected]. Alternatively, you can make a referral by telephone: 01904 464 680 (select option 2 for The Gate).

Further information is available on the Change Live Grow website.

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The Communities and Prevention Team in City of York Council are excited to roll out the launch of the Mental Health Roadmap, an interactive resource to be hosted on the Live Well York website which aims to help people access information and support about how they can find their way to better mental health and a good life.

The Local Area Co-ordinator Team have led this work and co-produced the development of this Roadmap every step of the way with partners, including people with lived experience, clinicians and managers from the Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust (TEWV) Mental Health Teams, Social Workers from the Adult Social Care Mental Health Team, as well as representatives from several other providers of mental health support in the city, such as York Mind and Converge.

The CVS Co-Production Network have offered invaluable feedback to help us shape and define the final version of the Roadmap in the consultation stage of the project.

The Mental Health Roadmap tool consists of a browseable and searchable visual roadmap which is divided in to four main sections, reflecting Self help, Self care, Primary care health services, Secondary care health services and the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise sector (VCSE).

The Mental Health Roadmap aims to be a visual and interactive tool to explore and explain different options which can be accessed direct through self referral through to options which are reached through a more formal service referral pathway – emphasising choice, control and resilience.

The Roadmap focuses on support for adults, recognising there are other platforms which have developed a lot of information for children and young people – with appropriate links through to these.

Find out more about the Mental Health Roadmap.

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Applications are now open for funding to support schemes which make a real difference to the lives of local residents in communities across the city. The maximum amount available through an application to this fund is currently £10,000.

The Ward Budget Citywide Fund supports projects operating citywide in York which support at least one of 4 key council priorities:

  • Equalities and Human Rights – Equality of opportunity
  • Affordability – Tackling the cost-of-living crisis
  • Climate – Environment and the climate emergency
  • Health – Health and wellbeing

Contact the Communities Team for more information by email: [email protected] or by telephone: 01904 551832.

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St Giles Trust are currently recruiting more peer mentors for their SOS+ Children and Young People exploitation service.

This volunteer role with St Giles Trust involves mentoring children and young people aged 10-25 in York and North Yorkshire, addressing issues like exploitation, gangs, and youth violence. Applicants with lived experience are encouraged, and training is provided. The SOS+ project aims to educate and safeguard vulnerable individuals and communities.

If you or any professionals or colleagues know of anyone that is ready for this next step and wants to support in making a difference, do share this link with them and ask them to complete that application and share with colleagues and services to share as widely as we can across the county.

Complete the online form to apply to be a St Giles Trust Peer Mentor. The closing date for is Wednesday 1 October 2025.

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Recently, the Government has renewed its focus on reducing the impact of child sexual abuse. Key to shaping the Government response are the report findings and recommendations from the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel’s report, “I wanted them all to notice.”, and most recently the Casey review on Group-based Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse.

The reports above highlight the need for all professionals working with children to be better informed about:

  • the prevalence of child sexual abuse
  • the signs and indicators of child sexual abuse
  • the impact of child sexual abuse
  • how we can respond when we have concerns about child sexual abuse

This is because conservative estimates suggest that at least one in ten children or young people will experience some form of sexual abuse before the age of 16. All professionals working with children should have the skills, knowledge and confidence to talk to children when there are concerns about child sexual abuse.

Free resources

This suite of resources aims to directly inform practice and provide guidance on what steps can be taken to support children and families.

These practice resources will help to improve your knowledge, skills and confidence in identifying and responding to child sexual abuse. These Centre of expertise on child sexual abuse practice resources can be found online.

Free Webinars

Throughout the year, we deliver a series of free webinars to introduce practitioners to our resources.

These hour-long sessions guide professionals on how to navigate our resources and consider how it can support and inform their practice. The Centre of expertise on child sexual abuse webinar dates can be found online.

Free E-learning course

Identifying and responding to intra-familial child sexual abuse. This is a free 90-minute, accessible and certified E-learning course for all professionals working with children.

This can be easily added as part of your organisation’s safeguarding induction and refresher training. This free E-learning course can be found online.

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The Spear Programme is a free, nationwide course that empowers 16- to 24-year-olds to get into work. They work with young people who are facing barriers to employment, such as leaving school with less than 5 GCSEs, facing mental or physical health challenges, or having a criminal record.

Over 4 weeks, they provide a variety of one-to-one and group coaching sessions, mock interviews, application support and CV workshops. Through coaching, they offer holistic and tailored support that enables young people to grow in confidence, courage and resilience.

After the initial 4 weeks of intensive coaching, they provide up to a year of drop-in sessions and extra support. Their work truly makes a difference: 75% of those who complete the programme obtain employment, and are still there a year later. Find out more on the Spear Programme website.

If you’d like to find out more, do have a listen to what one of the previous Spear Trainees, John, has to say about our award-winning programme.

The first programme starts on Tuesday 30 September 2025, and referrals are being accepted now. You can refer by email: [email protected] with the name and contact details of a young person, or by completing the Spear Programme sign-up form on our webpage.

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A dedicated SEND hub has been created by SWGfL for educators, Designated Safeguarding Leads (DSLs), and Child Protection Leads.

To access these resources access the SWGfL website.

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Monday 6 October to Sunday 12 October 2025 – Dyslexia Awareness Week

The theme for the week will be Dyslexia: Raising the Volume. The British Dyslexia Association will be sharing further details about their plans and how you can get involved over the coming months. In the meantime, you can sign-up for updates direct to your inbox and together we will make #DAW25 the best yet.

Friday 10 October 2025 – World Mental Health Day

World Mental Health Day takes place on Friday 10th October 2025. The official theme is set annually by the World Federation for Mental Health.

The theme for World Mental Health Day 2025 is: Good mental health isn’t a constant.

This year they chosen a different theme for World Mental Health Day, to reflect the unique challenges and uncertainties many of us are navigating. It’s our way of acknowledging the pressures of the current times, while highlighting the importance of mental health and wellbeing.

Further information and how to get involved is available on the Mental Health UK website.

Saturday 11 October to Saturday 18 October – Hate Crime Week

As we have already advised there are a number of events taking place during Hate Crime Week. To be a part of the narrative, use the hashtags: #HelpNotHateNY #NationalHCAW #WeStandTogether #NoPlaceForHate.

SafePlaceForAll

Report Hate Crime online.

Have you or a service user been a victim of #LGBTHateCrime? Contact North Yorkshire Police on telephone: 101 or Supporting Victims on telephone: 01609 643100 or make a #LGBTHateCrime report online.

Have you ever seen someone act inappropriately or heard someone say something that is offensive, but don’t know what to do? Visit the Enough Campaign website.

Active bystander intervention involves intervening before, during or after a situation where we witness inappropriate behaviours. Learn more about Bystander Intervention (YouTube).

HelpNotHateNY

If you have experience anti-muslim hate crime, racism and discrimination - report it. Visit Tell Mama: Report in Anti-Muslim Hate or Islamophobia (tellmamauk.org) #HelpNotHateNY.

Keep up-to-date with what’s happening across North Yorkshire.

Monday 6 October to Sunday 12 October 2025 – Keeping Your Child Safe in Sport

This year’s campaign focuses on helping parents and carers play their part by understanding what support their child needs – before, during, and after activities. The pack includes posters, conversation starters and resources to help you engage your community.

NSPCC have produced activation pack for Keeping Your Child Safe in Sport week which is now available to download!

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Welcome to the first of our regular monthly updates in relation to Families First.

We're progressing our Families First journey across York. The Families First programme was developed following an independent review of Children’s Social Care, which looked at how local authorities could better support families. The government’s Families First Partnership programme is the result. It aims to support safeguarding partners to develop:

  • Family Help
  • Multi-Agency Child Protection Teams
  • Strengthen the role of education

Across the Safeguarding Children Partnership we have developed subgroups with over 90+ multi-disciplinary professionals as members to support the changes.

On Friday 12 September 2025 the Families First Delivery group and subgroups came together to review the national requirements and action plan how we are going to implement the reforms here in York.

Co-production is at the heart of the changes and the Principal Social Worker, Beth Hudson has been developing a Co-production plan.

This builds on all the quality assurance work and learning conversations we have had with children, young people, families, and professionals, as well as the excellent work of Speak Up, York Children’s Rights and Advocacy Service. With this information we are identifying gaps where we need to start to consult across the system.

A key aspect of the reforms will be developing support services for parents and carers that attend child protection conferences. We're investing in key priority areas including a seconded post with Education expertise to be based in the Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub, as well as Police and Health secondments to support the important transformation work.

Resources and further information

The Families First Partnership programme guide describes in more detail the national programme’s vision and objectives and provides information to support all safeguarding partners with the implementation of the reforms.

It builds on the learning from Families First Partnership pathfinder areas.

The Community Care Inform article on Children’s Social Care Reforms provides a helpful summary and the wider context.

Read key documents from the Knowledge Hub.

If you would like to attend a briefing and find out more about the changes we would encourage you to book onto the October briefing already mentioned earlier in the newsletter.

Any queries or suggestions email: [email protected].

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Did you know that children’s speech, language and communication skills are vital to their development?

Language and communication skills at age five are closely linked to a child’s results at school, their employment prospects and their physical and mental wellbeing. So it’s really worth trying to support your little one as early as possible if you can.

Find dedicated resources to help your child’s speech, language and communication skills on our Raise York website or you can speak to your health visitor if you have any queries or concerns.

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Newsletter sign-up

Please let your colleagues know they can sign up now to receive our newsletter.

If anyone has any items for newsletters going forward, please let us know on email: [email protected].