NSPCC Learning Podcast

Bernie Taylor, Development Manager in Grimsby, and Jennie Hammond, Development Manager in Stoke-on-Trent, share insights from the Together for Childhood initiative. They explore how building local partnerships can enhance community trust and tackle child abuse. Topics include asset-based community work, co-producing resources with parents, and innovative practices to prevent harmful sexual behavior. The conversation emphasizes a collaborative approach to safeguarding, highlighting the importance of shared language and trauma-informed strategies in their work.

In this episode, we hear from Dr Helen Beckett and Dr Debbie Allnock, two researchers from the Safer Young Lives Research Centre (SYLRC), who worked on a study looking at adolescents’ experiences of sexual abuse and how this has affected their mental health and wellbeing.  The discussion covers the purpose of the study, the importance of listening to and learning from young people, and the ‘six pillars’ of an effective response to adolescents who have experienced sexual abuse. Read the podcast transcript on the NSPCC Learning website. 💬 About the speakers Dr Helen Beckett is Director of the Safer Young Lives Research Centre and a Reader in Child Protection and Children’s Rights at the University of Bedfordshire. She has 25 years’ experience of undertaking applied social research, across academia and the voluntary and statutory sectors. She holds particular expertise in researching sexual harm and related adolescent safeguarding issues, and in ethically engaging children and young people in such research. Dr Debbie Allnock is a Senior Research Fellow at the Safer Young Lives Research Centre, part-seconded to the Vulnerability Knowledge and Practice Programme within Norfolk Constabulary. She has undertaken a wide range of research on issues of social justice within the US and the UK, where she has taken a specific focus on the field of child protection and safeguarding. She has particular expertise in CSA disclosure and service provision and policing and criminal justice responses to child and adult harm. Chloe Gill is a Senior Research and Evaluation Officer at the NSPCC. Over the last nine years Chloe has carried out exploratory and evaluation research focusing on Childline, the NSPCC Helpline, children’s social care, sexuality and relationships education, and child safety online. Chloe has supported the joint NSPCC and ESRC research grants programme since 2017, helping disseminate findings to NSPCC’s internal and external audiences. 📚 Related resources > Read the full Safer Young Lives Research Centre report > Read more about what child sexual abuse is and how to respond to protect children from this form of abuse > Learn more about supporting children and young people’s mental health Intro/outro music is Lights by Sappheiros

Listen to Katy Tomkinson and Rowan Wolfe who work on our harmful sexual behaviour service talk about the effects of sibling sexual abuse on children and families; how to provide whole-family support; the impact of family dynamics and contributing factors to harmful sexual behaviour being displayed. This episode touches on our practitioners’ experiences of working directly with children and families. Although all experiences are generalised, they could be upsetting for some, and may cause distress.   Read the podcast transcript on the NSPCC Learning website. 💬 About the speakers Katy Tomkinson is a qualified social worker who has worked at the NSPCC for over five years. She has undertaken assessments of therapeutic need and provided therapeutic interventions for young people who have been sexually harmed. Rowan Wolfe has worked at the NSPCC for fifteen and a half years as a qualified social worker. She has worked with children and young people who have displayed harmful sexual behaviour by undertaking assessments and providing therapeutic interventions. 📚 Related resources > Browse our resources and research about harmful sexual behaviour > Listen to our episode on direct work with children displaying HSB > Play our episode on planning therapeutic sessions for children displaying HSB Intro/outro music is Lights by Sappheiros

In this podcast episode, Katy Tomkinson and Rowan Wolfe, who deliver our HSB service, talk about: what denial and shame might look like in children and young people the physical signs and non-verbal cues that children might display when talking about their experiences building trusting relationships and using therapeutic and trauma-informed approaches exercises for practitioners to help understand children’s lived experiences and explore feelings of shame and denial the impact on children of parents or carers experiencing denial techniques for working with a child or young person when they are fixed in their denial. Read the podcast transcript on the NSPCC Learning website. 💬 About the speakers Katy Tomkinson is a qualified social worker who has worked at the NSPCC for over five years. She has undertaken assessments of therapeutic need and provided therapeutic interventions for young people who have been sexually harmed. Rowan Wolfe has worked at the NSPCC for fifteen and a half years as a qualified social worker. She has worked with children and young people who have displayed harmful sexual behaviour by undertaking assessments and providing therapeutic interventions. 📚 Related resources > See our resources and research about harmful sexual behaviour > Listen to our episode on direct work with children displaying HSB > Play our episode on planning therapeutic sessions for children displaying HSB Intro/outro music is Lights by Sappheiros

During the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, the NSPCC's national helpline saw a 35%  increase in contacts about domestic abuse.1 In response to these rising figures, the NSPCC secured funding from the COVID-19 Support Fund to launch a three-year domestic abuse project and extend the capacity of the helpline to support contacts who have experienced domestic abuse. This project included the appointment of two Domestic Abuse Practice Advisors, Lisa Begley and Naomi Hawthorne. In this episode, Lisa and Naomi speak to the NSPCC’s Quality and Development Manager, Paddi Vint. They discussed the risk factors and indicators of domestic abuse, and their work in ensuring all NSPCC Helpline staff are equipped with the knowledge and skills to support children and families who are experiencing domestic abuse. Topics covered include: holistic support provided to callers of the Helpline how experiencing domestic abuse can affect children and young people how helpline practitioners are trained to safeguard children and young people from any further emotional harm. Read the podcast 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. Lisa Begley is a Domestic Abuse Practice Advisor for the NSPCC Helpline. Lisa has worked within the field of domestic abuse for over 13 years, in a range of frontline, training, and management roles within Women’s Aid in Northern Ireland. Lisa has been trained as a panel member for Domestic Homicide Reviews and represented Women's Aid at MARACs (Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conferences). Naomi Hawthorne is a Domestic Abuse Practice Advisor for the NSPCC Helpline. Before joining the NSPCC, Naomi worked in the Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) sector for over 10 years in a range of frontline, training, consultancy and management roles. 📚 Related resources > Learn more about how you can protect children from domestic abuse > Read our learning from case reviews briefing on domestic abuse > Listen to our episode on why domestic abuse is a child protection issue Intro/outro music is Lights by Sappheiros

Neglect is a form of child abuse that can have serious and long-lasting effects on a child’s life, but it can be difficult to recognise. In the second episode in this two-part podcast series exploring what can be done to support children and families experiencing neglect, Dawn Hodson, the NSPCC’s development lead for neglect, Mandi Tambourini-Moore, a family support worker for Liverpool Children’s Services, Lisa Shannon, the Graded Care Coordinator from Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council and Sharon Graham, an Early Help Manager at Shropshire Council discuss: why neglect happens the importance of keeping children at the forefront when working with families what can be done to support parents or carers when there is neglect how practitioners use Graded Care Profile 2 (GCP2) alongside other resources the importance of early intervention. Read the podcast transcript on the NSPCC Learning website. 💬 About the speakers Dawn Hodson is the NSPCC’s development lead for neglect. She has led on the development and research of several evidence-informed assessments and interventions in relation to neglect, including the only authorised update to the Graded Care Profile. Her work on implementation has led the way for the GCP2 to be adopted in over 90 areas in the UK. Amanda (Mandi) Tambourini-Moore has over 25 years' of experience working with children and young people in child development, youth and play work, and targeted services. Mandi currently works as a Family Support Worker at Liverpool Children’s Services, where she is also the ‘GCP2 champion’, promoting the use of GCP2 to support families to fully understand neglect and improve the lives of children experiencing neglect. Lisa Shannon started her career as an early years practitioner with over 25 years’ experience in that field. Lisa was also a family worker for 13 years. She is currently a Graded Care Coordinator for Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council. Sharon Graham is an Early Help Manager within Children’s Services at Shropshire Council and has a lead role around the prevention of neglect. Sharon has over 17 years experience of supporting vulnerable families and 11 years experience of managing Early Intervention services. 📚 Related resources > Read more about protecting children from neglect > Learn more about Graded Care Profile 2 (GCP2) > Read our case study evaluation of GCP2 > See our range of child protection resources Intro/outro music is Lights by Sappheiros

Neglect is a form of child abuse that can have serious and long-lasting effects on a child’s life, but it can be difficult to recognise.  In the first episode, Dawn Hodson, the NSPCC’s development lead for neglect, Mandi Tambourini-Moore, a family support worker for Liverpool Children’s Services, Lisa Shannon, the Graded Care Coordinator from Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council and Sharon Graham, an Early Help Manager at Shropshire Council discuss: what neglect is and some of the harder to spot signs of neglect the difficulties and challenges when conducting assessments issues and challenges that arise in relation to children’s age and stage; covering early years, adolescence and additional needs. what they’ve learnt from their experiences and what they find works when supporting families. Read the podcast transcript on the NSPCC Learning website. 💬 About the speakers Dawn Hodson is the NSPCC’s development lead for neglect. She has led on the development and research of several evidence-informed assessments and interventions in relation to neglect, including the only authorised update to the Graded Care Profile. Her work on implementation has led the way for the GCP2 to be adopted in over 90 areas in the UK. Amanda (Mandi) Tambourini-Moore has over 25 years' of experience working with children and young people in child development, youth and play work, and targeted services. Mandi currently works as a Family Support Worker at Liverpool Children’s Services, where she is also the ‘GCP2 champion’, promoting the use of GCP2 to support families to fully understand neglect and improve the lives of children experiencing neglect. Lisa Shannon started her career as an early years practitioner with over 25 years’ experience in that field. Lisa was also a family worker for 13 years. She is currently a Graded Care Coordinator for Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council. Sharon Graham is an Early Help Manager within Children’s Services at Shropshire Council and has a lead role around the prevention of neglect. Sharon has over 17 years experience of supporting vulnerable families and 11 years experience of managing Early Intervention services. 📚 Related resources > Read more about protecting children from neglect > Learn more about Graded Care Profile 2 (GCP2) > Read our case study evaluation of GCP2 > See our range of child protection resources Intro/outro music is Lights by Sappheiros

TA-HSB is when children and young people use the internet or technology such as mobile phones to engage in sexual activity that may be harmful to themselves or others. Listen to Pat Branigan, the NSPCC’s Associate Head of Development, Emma Hodgson, an NSPCC development social worker and Carol Carson from the AIM Project discuss: the prevalence and different forms of TA-HSB the NSPCC's research into this area the challenges for professionals around the fast-paced nature of technology resources available to help develop confidence in managing incidents of TA-HSB. Read the podcast transcript on the NSPCC Learning website. 💬 About the speakers Pat Branigan is the Associate Head of Development at the NSPCC and leads the charity’s response to child sexual abuse with a focus on preventing harmful sexual behaviour displayed by children and young people. In addition to this, he’s an anthropologist with a background in public health and has led research into sensitive sexual health topics at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. Emma Hodgson, a qualified social worker, has worked for the NSPCC for the past 16 years and is a part of the NSPCC/AIM development group that has produced guidance on HSB and technology. Her current role as a Development Social Worker involves developing and delivering HSB and child sexual abuse training and facilitating workshops for professionals working with children and families. Carol Carson is an independent social work consultant with 30 years’ experience in safeguarding children and is the manager of The AIM Project. She has 25 years specialising in assessing and working with children and adolescents with harmful sexual behaviours. This includes writing several books on the subject. 📚 Related resources > See our resources and research about harmful sexual behaviour > Read more about Hackett's continuum > Have a look at our research on the prevalence of TA-HSB > Listen to the first episode in this series on direct work with children > Listen to the second episode in this series on planning therapeutic sessions > Find out more about the AIM Project > Learn more about the TA-HSB guidance training course Intro/outro music is Lights by Sappheiros

Continuing on from episode 43, social workers and children’s practitioners, Katy Tomkinson and Rowan Wolfe, talk about planning therapeutic sessions and assessing children and young people who have displayed harmful sexual behaviour. You’ll learn more about: preparing therapeutic session plans and helping children explore their life experiences through the use of timelines, family trees and cartoons addressing sensitive topics such as sex and HSB, and exploring children and young people’s understanding around consent. This episode touches on our practitioners' experiences of working directly with children and young people. Although all experiences are generalised, they could be upsetting for some, and may cause distress. Read the podcast transcript on the NSPCC Learning website. 💬 About the speakers Katy Tomkinson is a qualified social worker who has worked at the NSPCC for over five years. She has undertaken assessments of therapeutic need and provided therapeutic interventions for young people who have been sexually harmed. Rowan Wolfe has worked at the NSPCC for fifteen and a half years as a qualified social worker. She has worked with children and young people who have displayed harmful sexual behaviour by undertaking assessments and providing therapeutic interventions. 📚 Related resources > Browse our resources for understanding, preventing and responding to harmful sexual behaviour > Listen to the first episode in this series on direct work with children > Listen to the third episode in the series on technology-assisted harmful sexual behaviour > Listen to our episode about harmful sexual behaviour in schools Intro/outro music is Lights by Sappheiros

Hear NSPCC practitioners talk about conducting therapeutic sessions with children and young people and understanding how to manage incidents of harmful sexual behaviour. You'll hear us discuss: creating safe spaces in therapeutic session and using different techniques and strategies providing clarity around confidentiality and safeguarding when working with children and young people managing expectations of assessments their own experiences of working with children and young people. This episode touches on our practitioners’ experiences of working directly with children and families. Although all experiences are generalised, they could be upsetting for some, and may cause distress.   Read the podcast transcript on the NSPCC Learning website. 💬 About the speakers Katy Tomkinson is a qualified social worker who has worked at the NSPCC for over five years. She has undertaken assessments of therapeutic need and provided therapeutic interventions for young people who have been sexually harmed. Rowan Wolfe has worked at the NSPCC for fifteen and a half years as a qualified social worker. She has worked with children and young people who have displayed harmful sexual behaviour by undertaking assessments and providing therapeutic interventions. 📚 Related resources > See our resources for understanding, preventing and managing incidents of harmful sexual behaviour > Listen to the second episode in the series on planning therapeutic sessions > Listen to the third episode in the series on technology-assisted harmful sexual behaviour > Listen to our episode about harmful sexual behaviour in schools Intro/outro music is Lights by Sappheiros