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Private Fostering Week 2025

The partnership are hosting an online presentation on Thursday 6th November 5.30pm to 6.30pm to raise awareness of private fostering. We will achieve this by discussing the definition of private fostering, exploring differing scenarios to put the definition in practice, and feeling confident in your responsibilities when you identify a private fostering arrangement. 

Jess Markwart, Head of Service for MASH, Assessment and Targeted Intervention for Children’s Social Care will share her experience and expertise of Private Fostering, linking the procedures to frontline practice.

Jess will talk about some of the lessons learnt through the death of Victoria Climbié and how The subsequent Laming Report prompted a strengthening of the legal framework around private fostering.

We hope to inspire professionals to feel confident in recognising private fostering arrangements, know what to do and how to support children and young people in these arrangements.

Sign up here: Course: CSC: Private Fostering Week.

You can also access resources and more information like leaflets for parents, carers, children and young people on our private fostering web page.

Private fostering is a private arrangement made between a parent and a responsible adult for the care of a child under the age of 16 (under 18 if disabled). The person who will be looking after the child is not a parent or close relative of the child, and the arrangement is intended to last for at least 28 days.

A close relative includes those who are a:

  • grandparent
  • adult brother or sister
  • biological uncle or aunt
  • step-parent by marriage or civil partnership

Private fostering applies to children living with:

  • the parents of friends
  • a parent’s ex-partner
  • wider family such as adult cousins
  • friends of the family

Examples of private fostering:

  • Children sent to this country, for education or health care, by parents who live overseas.
  • A teenager living with a friend's family because they don't get on with their own family.
  • Children living with a friend's family because their parents' study or work involves unsociable hours, which make it difficult to use ordinary day care or after-school care.
  • Children staying with another family because their parents have separated or divorced.
  • A child from overseas staying with a host family while attending a language school
  • Students at boarding school who stay with a host family during the holidays.

Further information in relation to Private Fostering is available on the partnership website.

If you would like to speak to someone regarding Private Fostering, please contact Jess Markwart, Head of Service for MASH, Assessment and Targeted Intervention for Children’s Social Care via email: [email protected].

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YHMAST Online Masterclass: Transitional Safeguarding

Transitional Safeguarding, as defined by Holmes & 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 six 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 is essential that managers and senior leaders also attend.

The speaker for this masterclass is Dez Holmes, Research in Practice. Dez is the Director of Research in Practice, a not-for-profit organisation that since 1996 has been supporting those who work with children, families, and adults to use evidence in their practice and leadership. When Research in Practice joined the National Children Bureau family in 2024, she joined the NCB Leadership Team as a second Strategic Director of Practice and Programmes. Dez has several years of experience of training and workforce and leadership development; she is the Programme Director for the Practice Supervisor Development Programme. Her practice experience is largely within youth offending services and early help. She is particularly interested in adolescence, transitions, risk and participatory practice; Dez has led Research in Practice’s work on Adolescent and Transitional Safeguarding; she is the Programme Director for the Tackling Child Exploitation Programme and also chairs the Contextual Safeguarding UK Advisory Group.

This masterclass is funded by Yorkshire and Humber Multi-Agency Safeguarding Trainers (YHMAST) and free-to-access for Yorkshire and Humber professionals.

Register your place online via Ticket Tailor.

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Hate Crime Awareness Week 2025

Published 23 September 2025.

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.

This session will take place on Thursday 16 October 2025 at 9.30am.

You can book tickets to this session online via Eventbrite.

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.

This session will take place on Thursday 16 October 2025 at 11.00am.

You can book tickets to this session online via Eventbrite.

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

This session will take place on Thursday 16 October 2025 at 1.00pm.

You can book tickets to this session online via Eventbrite.

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

Hate Crime Awareness and Hate Crime Champions training

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 on Tuesday 14 October 2025 at 10.00am at 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 are 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.

You can book tickets to this session online via Eventbrite.

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York St John Communities Centre: Services for Children and Young People

Published 11 September 2025.

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 is 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

For current dates or to find out more information about these services visit York St John University's website. If a parent or carer would like to enrol their child, they can complete the self-referral form online and include the age of the child and the programme(s) 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 www.yorksj.ac.uk/ysjcc to learn more or contact us at [email protected]. Please share our services with anyone who might benefit — together, we can continue creating change in our community.

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City of York Safeguarding Children Partnership E-Learning Training is changing!

Published 10 September 2025.

From Thursday 11 September 2025, a new Safeguarding Children Partnership Awareness e-learning package will be available. Our current e-learning package has been reviewed and updated and a brand new course 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 will be 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 will 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: City of York Safeguarding Children Awareness E-learning.

It's planned that our old training portal will be discontinued. If you or your staff have completed our previous e-learning course, please 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.

If you have any queries contact us on email: [email protected].

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

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Free Online Courses for Families

Published 9 September 2025.

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.

Be aware that 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 online by entering the access code: RAISE. Further information is available on the RAISE York website.

If you're an agency working with families and would like pdf copies of posters and leaflets or images to share via social media email: [email protected].

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New Free Programme - The Spear Programme

Published 29 August 2025.

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

Over four weeks, they provide a variety of 1-1 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 four weeks of intensive coaching, they provide up to a year of drop-in sessions and extra support. They know that their work truly makes a difference: 75% of those who complete the programme obtain employment, and are still there a year later.

If you'd like to find out more, do have a listen to what one of our previous Spear Trainees, John, has to say about our award-winning programme. The first programme starts on the 30th September, and the Spear Programme are accepting referrals now. Please refer by contacting Naomi, email: [email protected], with the name and contact details of a young person, or by completing the sign-up form on our webpage.

There is also a referrer networking breakfast on the 17 September, from 9.30am to 10.30am at York Vineyard Church (3 Fawcett Street, YO10 4AH). Everyone is welcome - if you'd like to attend, please let Naomi know so she can get in touch with a calendar invite.

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Safeguarding Week 2025

Published 28 July 2025.

Safeguarding week 2025 is now complete, with over 65 sessions having taken place through the week, and over 2,200 people attending! Thank you to all who supported the week by presenting or attending.

We're already thinking about Safeguarding Week 2026, and we want the week to be better than ever. Therefore, we want to hear from you by completing the Menti Survey below. Whether you attended one of the 2025 sessions or not, we want to hear how we can make 2026 more impactful and wider reaching across all our communities.

Menti Safeguarding Week Survey

Feel free to circulate the survey among your networks, as we'd like to understand what format would be beneficial to professionals, communities, volunteers and members of the public.

Please complete the survey by Sunday 31 August 2025.

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Partnership Documentation

Published 21 July 2025.

Children and Young People’s Voice and Involvement Strategy 2025–2028

A new Children and Young People’s Voice and Involvement Strategy 2025–2028 has been published and is now available on the Safeguarding Children Partnership website. This Strategy outlines York’s commitment to ensuring young residents are seen, heard and actively involved in shaping the services that support them. It is underpinned by our shared vision: “Every conversation starts with the child or young person. We pledge to work together with young people to ensure their voices are heard, valued and acted upon.” Details in relation to the launch of this strategy will be shared in due course. The Strategy can be found on the Patnership website by following the link, Children's Rights and Involvement Strategy.

JTAI Domestic Abuse Audit Learning briefing

During 2024 a multi agency audit was carried out in relation to Domestic Abuse. Any key learning raised from this multi-agency audit has been pulled together in the form of a briefing and is now available and can be found by following the link, Learning from Mulit-agency Audits.

City of York Safeguarding Children Partnership Procedure for Non-recent, Organised and Complex Abuse

The City of York Safeguarding Children Partnership Procedure for Non-recent, Organised and Complex Abuse has recently been updated. The Non-Recent Organised and Complex Abuse Procedure section of the Partnership website has been updated accordingly.

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Hate Crime Conference, Wednesday 15 October 2025 - Booking Open

Published 1 July 2025.

Hate Crime Awareness Week will soon be upon us and to promote the valuable work that continues to progress across North Yorkshire. A Hate Crime Conference is being held at the Priory Street Centre in York on Wednesday 15 October 2025.

There are some wonderful guest speakers lined up to present to you on the day and the conference will offer attendees the opportunity to shape the York and North Yorkshire Hate Crime work landscape moving forward. A full agenda will be circulated nearer the date.

This is a free event; Light refreshments will be provided. Email: [email protected] with any specific dietary requirements.

Can we also ask that you forward this link to anyone within your organisation or any key members of your communities who may be interested in attending.

If you have any questions about the event, email: [email protected]. If you have any building or parking access requirements, let Lesley know.

The nearest car park can be found on Nunnery Lane. The nearest bus stops are located outside York Railway Station which is a 5 minute walk from the venue.

Book to attend the Hate Crime Conference.

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