NSPCC Learning Podcast

By NSPCC LearningEducation Government Non-Profit

NSPCC Learning Podcast episodes

August 07, 202355: Domestic abuse support in the workplace
Witnessing or experiencing domestic abuse can have a detrimental effect on a child's mental, physical and economic wellbeing. By recognising when an employee or colleague is experiencing domestic abuse, professionals working in any sector can help keep children safe.

In this podcast episode, domestic abuse experts from the NSPCC Helpline discuss what you can do to support and safeguard colleagues who experience domestic abuse.

The discussion covered:
why a workplace domestic abuse policy is good practice to support non-abusing parents and their children
what should be included in a workplace domestic abuse policy
the potential indicators of domestic abuse
the barriers that people may experience when they take steps to speak to their employer about domestic abuse
what managers can do to support colleagues experiencing domestic abuse or other safeguarding concerns.
You can read this episode’s 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.

Sarah Clarke is a Domestic Abuse Practice Advisor with a background as an Independent Domestic Violence Advocate (IDVA) specialising in high risk and complex needs within refuge.

Emily Harrison is a Domestic Abuse Practice Advisor with a background as an IDVA specialising in high risk and complex needs within police services.

Joanne Walsh is a Domestic Abuse Practice Advisor with a background as a senior family support worker and local authority domestic abuse champion.

📚 Related resources

> Learn more about domestic abuse

> Read our learning from case reviews briefing on domestic abuse

> Listen to our podcast episode about why domestic abuse is a child protection issue

> Listen to our podcast episode about the NSPCC Helpline's Domestic Abuse Practice Advisors

Intro/outro music is Lights by Sappheiros
25 min
March 21, 2023 54: An introduction to Report Remove, an online self-reporting tool for young people
Report Remove is an online tool that under-18s can use to report nude images or videos of themselves that have been shared online, to see if they can be removed from the internet. Developed by experts from Childline and the Internet Watch Foundation, the tool provides a child-centred and non-judgemental approach to image removal.

Listen to this podcast episode to learn more about why a tool like Report Remove is needed, how the tool works, and how you can signpost young people to the tool as part of your response to incidents of sharing nudes.

You can read this episode’s transcript on the NSPCC Learning website.

💬 About the speakers

Samantha Firth has been involved with Childline since 2006. With a background in child development and training, she was initially a volunteer Childline counsellor, becoming a Childline counselling supervisor in 2013 and then moving into the Childline Online Service in 2020.

Zara is a Senior Content Analyst who has worked at the Internet Watch Foundation for over nine years. She spends each working day assessing online images and videos of children suffering sexual abuse and removing them from the Internet.

📚 Resources mentioned in this episode

> Find out more about the Report Remove tool and download accompanying print-outs

> Watch an introductory video for professionals on how Report Remove works

> Access the Report Remove tool on the Childline website

> Take the Managing incidents of sharing nudes elearning course to learn more about the topic

Intro/outro music is Lights by Sappheiros
25 min
February 28, 2023 53: Supporting children’s mental health and wellbeing in schools
Mental health problems can impact on all aspects of a child’s life, and in some cases can lead to safeguarding and child protection concerns. Education professionals are in a good position to look out for children’s mental health, promote their wellbeing and help prevent any mental health problems from escalating into more serious concerns.

This episode examines what education professionals can do to build a positive mental health culture in schools, recognise when young people are struggling with their mental heath and respond appropriately if those struggles escalate into safeguarding concerns.

Read the podcast transcript on the NSPCC Learning website.

💬 About the speakers

Sharon Cole is the Head of Safeguarding at Place2Be, a UK-wide children’s mental health charity providing a whole-school approach to supporting children and their families with mental health in schools. She previously worked as a manager of a large multi-disciplinary team supporting schools in Hackney and was involved in setting up the area's first Multi-agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH).

Stefania Nicotra has worked on the Childline Helpline for over 10 years; in her current role, she is accountable for the live day-to-day running of the service through a duty system that ensures resources across the UK are utilised and coordinated effectively, to deliver a high standard safeguarding service to as many children and young people as possible.

📚 Related resources

> Learn more about children's mental health

> Learn more about Place2Be

> Access the Childline resources on mental health, to be used by children and young people

> Take the NSPCC Learning mental health safeguarding in education elearning course

Intro/outro music is Lights by Sappheiros
24 min
October 24, 2022 52: Together for Childhood — what we've learnt to help prevent abuse and neglect
Together for Childhood (TfC), the NSPCC's place-based approach to prevent child abuse and neglect, was launched almost five years ago.
Listen to Pat Branigan, Assistant Director for Together for Childhood, talk to the panel of development managers from all four TfC sites about the benefits of a place-based and community-focused approach to preventing child abuse and neglect.
Read the podcast transcript on the NSPCC Learning website.

About Together for Childhood
Together for Childhood was a place-based approach that aimed to strengthen the way local communities and organisations work together to keep children safe from abuse. It ran from 2017 to 2026 in four towns and cities across the UK - Grimsby, Glasgow (Govan), Plymouth and Stoke-on-Trent.
💬 About the speakers
Pat Branigan is the Assistant Director for Together for Childhood at the NSPCC. 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.
Shelley Shaw is the Development Manager for Together for Childhood Plymouth and has worked in the team since early 2018.
Bernie Taylor has been involved in Together for Childhood for five years, initially as a research and evaluation officer and subsequently Development Manager for Together for Childhood Grimsby.
Jennie Hammond is a Development Manager for the NSPCC and leads on the development and implementation of the Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Plan through the Together for Childhood programme in Stoke-on-Trent.
Di Porter is a Development Manager for the NSPCC at Together for Childhood Govan in Glasgow.
📚 Related resources

> Find out more about the Together for Childhood programme
> Learn more about child abuse and neglect
> View our other resources for voluntary and community groups
Intro/outro music is Lights by Sappheiros
30 min
September 05, 2022 51: Researching mental health support for adolescents who have experienced sexual abuse
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
37 min
June 06, 2022 50: Sibling sexual abuse
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
24 min
February 28, 202249: Understanding denial in children displaying harmful sexual behaviour
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
29 min
January 31, 202248: An interview with the NSPCC Helpline’s Domestic Abuse Practice Advisors
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
29 min
December 06, 202147: Why child neglect can happen and how to respond to it
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
23 min
December 06, 202146: What is child neglect and how to spot the signs
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
30 min

About NSPCC Learning Podcast

From the publisher's feed

Welcome to the NSPCC Learning Podcast - a series of episodes that cover a range of child protection issues to inform, create debate and tell you about the work we do to keep children safe. At the heart of every episode is the child’s voice and how what they tell us informs the work we do. If you are looking for more safeguarding and child protection training, information and resources, please visit our NSPCC Learning website.