Keeping the focus on children: the challenges of safeguarding children affected by domestic abuse

1. Keeping the focus on children: the challenges of safeguarding children affected by domestic abuse Sue Peckover & Fiona Trotter 18th June 2012

2. Introduction Safeguarding children affected by domestic abuse: • context for study • practice challenges • research design • findings: keeping the focus on children? • emerging issues

3. Domestic Abuse & Safeguarding Children Domestic abuse ‘any incident of threatening behaviour, violence or abuse (psychological, physical, sexual, financial or emotional) between adults who are or have been, intimate partners or family members, regardless of gender or sexuality‘ (Home Office 2007)

4. Domestic Abuse & Safeguarding Children Widespread problem: • 1 million children and young people in UK are affected (UNICEF 2006) • young people and abusive relationships (Barter et al 2009) Impact on children and young people: • can be varied, serious, long term • individual risk and protective factors and resilience are important Policy initiatives: • awareness, support and protection for CYP affected by domestic abuse • has become a safeguarding children issue Practice challenges: • extent of problem, associated risks, overwhelmed services

5. This Study • Child welfare professionals providing universal and additional support services • health • education • early years • family support • youth services • Tier 1 & 2 Tiers of Need and Intervention DH Toolkit (2009)

6. Research Aims and Objectives Aim: • To examine challenges facing professionals in safeguarding children who are vulnerable as a result of domestic abuse Objectives: • To examine if and how professionals working in universal and additional support services identify and meet the needs of children and/or young people who are vulnerable as a result of domestic abuse • To examine if, and how, professionals use the Common Assessment Framework to assess and meet the needs of children and/or young people who are vulnerable as a result of domestic abuse • To identify gaps in service provision and professional practice and make recommendations for improvement at local and national levels

7. Research Design • Small study, north of England, funded by LA , undertaken in 2011 • 5 focus groups (n= 23) and 2 group discussions (n= 27) • Participants worked in universal and additional services: • health (school nurses, midwife, hvs), education (teachers, learning mentors, parent support worker, EWO), family support and early years workers • specialist staff (FIP and IDVA) • Discuss views and experiences of safeguarding children who are vulnerable as a result of domestic abuse: • awareness, assessment and responses, service provision/gaps, safeguarding processes • Qualitative data, recorded with consent, transcribed and analysed • Ethics approval

8. Findings Safeguarding Children • lots of ‘safeguarding’ (process and systems) • little about ‘children’ • recognition, more than responses This paper about responses/working with children: • examples • barriers and constraints • confidence, skills and time • whose responsibility?

9. Examples of Child Focused Work Preventative work • School Nurse - targeted local project for young people and PHSE • Motivational interviewing techniques in talking with young people Keeping children safe • getting mum to take children to grandmas early in day rather than late at night when partner returns home late, drunk and abusive Providing a specialist or adapted service • Tailored timetable within school • Play therapy offered by Family Support workers • Early years child care • School based counselling services • Talking with children and young people

10. Barriers/Constraints • Skills, knowledge and confidence (and time): • about what working with children means and how they can contribute • talking with CYP living with DV and YP affected by abusive relationships • interventions: preventative and or targeted programmes • Shortage of specialist service provision (therapeutic services and/or direct work): • service gaps, waiting lists, strict referral criteria • raises anxiety about how to work with children/respond to DV • talk of ‘passing the baton’

11. I deal predominantly with just one sole year group with nearly 300 pupils and there’s at least 5 cases that I am actually aware of, there’s probably a fair view more that I’m not aware of. And like you say the support isn’t there. There is now no services within the educational counselling that service has now been cut as well, because otherwise I would have referred there. But I’m then taking on the role whilst as a link tutor part of my role is to do some mentoring work but it’s a field that I’ve only touched on in parts and its not a specialist field of mine. But yet I am trying to support young people that are around domestic violence and I don’t have the equipment really to do that. (Link Tutor)

12. And as school nurses I see quite a few children as well and you know as when they want it. They can either come to a drop in, or we can set up some one to one meetings. But I mean I’m not a counsellor. But I think sometimes just to be there and just caring and being there to listen sometimes helps. And assess them and refer on. If you can find a suitable agency to refer on to (School Nurse)

13. Well I have done a course but it was more about how to recognise the signs, what to look out for in a family and how it might affect women. But not actually then how to help them deal with it. Because we have got a family and the kids and they do go to CAMHS. We don’t know what they do at CAMHS though, we are not told anything. But that’s the only support that they actually get. So other than they talk to us in school. But as I say we are not actually trained to know how to – so we are just kind of talking to them from a commonsense point of view of how we would feel about it and what have you. But we have no training to actually support them (Learning Mentor)

14. Wider Research • Children’s perspectives - what helps (Houghton 2008): • Feeling safe • Finding someone to trust • Confidentiality • Overcoming stigma and shame • Knowledge, understanding and ability • One-to-one support or groupwork with other children • More help available at school • Smoother transitions: moving home, school etc • NSPCC/Refuge study - London (Radford et al 2011): • Professional reluctance to engage children/young people, involve them in decisions etc • Uncertainty about what working with children means

15. There is clearly a need for better understanding among professionals and commissioners about what ‘work with children affected by domestic violence’ means. There has been a tendency to focus on nonevaluated ‘therapy’ and group work. Conversely, meeting basic developmental needs – such as access to safe play spaces, having fun, getting into school, making friends, maintaining safe contact with the wider family and the community and having stability – seems to have received less attention. .... (Radford et al 2011, p 19)

16. Implications Improve professional skills and confidence: • talking with CYP affected by domestic abuse – safety & support • about what working with children means and how they can contribute • maximise service offer – eg education, health, play etc • ‘do basic things very well’ • delivering targeted or preventative programmes to children and young people affected by domestic abuse • training focused on responses rather than signs and symptoms • central focus on children/young people

17. Small Steps • Promote understanding with the child – what is domestic abuse • Validation and acknowledgement of the child’s experience – they are not alone and NOT to blame • Find a vehicle whereby the child can express their feelings – depending on the age of the child this might be via direct one to one speech / or play if a young chilzd • Awareness of resources • Develop a support plan • Ensure the child knows when, where and how to contact you • Identification of triggers with victim and also child • Develop a safety plan for child and parent • Focus of work - empowerment

18. Thank You Sue Peckover and Fiona Trotter 18th June 2012