NSPCC Learning Podcast

By NSPCC LearningEducation Government Non-Profit

NSPCC Learning Podcast episodes

February 10, 202025: Preventing harmful sexual behaviour in education
What is good practice for preventing harmful sexual behaviour? We explore how you can use preventative and proactive measures to protect young people and manage incidents of sexualised behaviour appropriately.

In this episode, you’ll learn about:
delivering PSHE education programmes and relationships and sex education (RSE)
providing the right support for young people in educational settings, the wider community or online
what you can do to help staff in dealing with peer-on-peer sexualised behaviour and peer-on-peer abuse
how you can support parents and carers in creating safer environments for their children
the importance of working collaboratively with external services such as the police or children’s services.
The NPSCC would like to thank Academy Transformation Trust and Ormiston Academies Trust for sharing their expertise and helping us develop our series on harmful sexual behaviour.

Read the podcast transcript on the NSPCC Learning website.

💬 About the speakers

Pat Branigan is a Development and Impact Manager for NSPCC’s Children’s Services. He leads the NSPCC’s response to child sexual abuse with a focus on preventing harmful sexual behaviour displayed by children and young people.

Antoinette Jackson is the Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) at a Secondary Provision where she is responsible for student welfare, mental health and PSHE and careers education. She leads a team of teaching staff and partners who are involved in providing outstanding care and support for young people at the Academy.

Dave Jenkins is a Vice Principal and Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) and has been working in the secondary education sector for 24 years. In his current role at a secondary school, his responsibilities cover safeguarding, special educational needs and disability (SEND), behaviour, alternative provision and attendance.

Katy Tomkinson is a qualified social worker who has worked at the NSPCC for over five years where she has undertaken assessments of therapeutic need and provided therapeutic interventions for young people who have been sexually harmed. She has two BA degrees in Sociology and in Social Work.

📚 Related resources

> Manage sexualised behaviour in your school with our interactive elearning course

> Access our Talk Relationships service for secondary school teachers

> Browse teaching resources for children and young people aged 11+ about positive relationships

Intro/outro music is Lights by Sappheiros
30 min
January 27, 202024: Assessing sexualised behaviour
It can be hard to determine what is healthy, problematic, inappropriate or serious sexual behaviour in schools, particularly where there are limited resources available.

This is where specialist provision and services can help. They can support you in assessing the young person who has displayed sexually harmful behaviour and help you to understand the nature and extent of this behaviour. However, not all behaviour concerns will require a referral to a specialist service.

In this episode, our guest speakers discuss:
how assessments such as the AIM assessment are used to determine levels of risk and where they should be applied
why it’s important to integrate responses to sexualised behaviour into your wider policies and overarching strategy
how to address serious harmful behaviours and when a referral should be made to a service for an assessment
what actions to take when lower level behaviour concerns are displayed and how to minimise risks going forward.
why it’s vital to keep your professional knowledge and training up-to-date.
The NPSCC would like to thank Academy Transformation Trust and Ormiston Academies Trust for sharing their expertise and helping us develop our series on harmful sexual behaviour.

Read the podcast transcript on the NSPCC Learning website.

💬 About the speakers

Sarah Bloomer is the Director of Safeguarding for Academy Transformation Trust. She has previously worked as a secondary school teacher and Designated Safeguarding Lead. Additionally, she has worked as part of a governance team for a large multi-agency academy where she developed a role as Head of Safeguarding.

Pat Branigan is a Development and Impact Manager for NSPCC’s Children’s Services. He leads the NSPCC’s response to child sexual abuse with a focus on preventing harmful sexual behaviour displayed by children and young people.

Nicole Rossage is an experienced Designated Safeguarding Lead working within the education sector, specifically secondary school, for over twenty years.

Katy Tomkinson is a qualified social worker who has worked at the NSPCC for over five years where she has undertaken assessments of therapeutic need and provided therapeutic interventions for young people who have been sexually harmed. She has two BA degrees in Sociology and in Social Work.

📚 Related resources

> Listen to our introductory episode on harmful sexual behaviour

> Read about protecting children from harmful sexual behaviour

> Manage sexualised behaviour in your school with our interactive elearning course

Intro/outro music is Lights by Sappheiros
31 min
January 13, 202023: Harmful sexual behaviour in schools
Around a third of child sexual abuse is by other children or young people (Hackett, 2014). Educational settings play a key role in identifying and preventing harmful sexual behaviour. However, this can be difficult to manage without adversely affecting the education of both the child and young person that has experienced the abuse and the child who has displayed the behaviour.

This episode will help you to understand:
the issues schools, colleges and academies are currently seeing and why there’s an increase in sexualised behaviour in young people
what healthy, problematic and harmful behaviours are and how you can respond appropriately
how children and young people are affected, including those who display sexualised behaviour
what you can do to balance needs so that safeguarding is prioritised without affecting education.
The NPSCC would like to thank Academy Transformation Trust and Ormiston Academies Trust for sharing their expertise and helping us develop our series on harmful sexual behaviour.

Read the podcast transcript on the NSPCC Learning website.

💬 About the speakers

Fiona Barber has been a Children’s Service Practitioner at the NSPCC since 2010, delivering services that involves the assessment and treatment of children and young people who display harmful sexual behaviour and who have been affected by sexual abuse. She has background in providing support to children and families in the field of social work and therapeutic care in residential work. In 2014, Fiona joined the National Clinical Assessment Team (NCATS), a service for treating young high-risk harmful sexual behaviour.

Pat Branigan is a Development and Impact Manager for NSPCC’s Children’s Services. He leads the NSPCC’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.

Lucy Dawes started out as a primary school teacher in mainstream provision in 2007, teaching across Key Stage 2. In 2012, she moved to her current school which is a SEMH Provision where she supports children who have social, emotional or mental health needs identified on their Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP). She is now the Assistant Principal and Special Educational Needs & Disabilities Co-ordinator and Designated Safeguarding Lead.

Jacqui Ferris has worked in education for 25 years and is currently part of the leadership team at a secondary academy which serves a community with higher than average levels of deprivation. As a Senior Assistant Principal, she leads on behaviour, attendance and safeguarding and liaises regularly with agencies including social care, the police and family services. She is focused on working in the best interests of children and serves to maximise their educational opportunities and life chances.

📚 Related resources

> Read our blog on understanding children’s sexual behaviour

> Take a course for managing sexualised behaviour in primary and secondary schools

> Refer anyone up to the age of 21 who has displayed harmful sexual behaviour to our NCATS service

Intro/outro music is Lights by Sappheiros
28 min
December 09, 201922: Supporting young people with learning disabilities
The NSPCC developed Love Life in partnership with Dr. El Stannage and Connecting Youth Culture for young people with learning difficulties or special educational needs.

The films and resources help support adults in starting conversations with young people aged 11 to 25 about topics such as feelings, privacy and boundaries, relationships and online safety.

Listen to our episode to find out:
why and how the films and resources were developed
how the resources can be delivered
the benefits these resources provide for young people with learning disabilities
Read the podcast transcript on the NSPCC Learning website.

💬 About the speakers

Helen Westerman is joint acting Head of the Safeguarding in Communities team at the NSPCC and has been working at the charity for the past 13 years. She is also the Local Campaigns Manager in the North of England, running local and regional campaigns in partnership with health, social care, police, education and voluntary sector agencies which aim to safeguard children and young people.

Elanor Stannage has a PhD in Arts in Mental Health and has worked as a theatre practitioner, director, writer, and producer for over a decade. This involves creating projects and performances with marginalised communities and specialising in the areas of mental health and learning difficulties. She has also developed and worked with Connecting Youth Culture on Fuse Theatre - an inclusive youth theatre for over 10 years - which has helped inspire the concept for Love Life.

📚 Related resources

> Access our Love Life resources

> Read more about safeguarding children with SEND

> Hear about our study into safeguarding disabled children from sexual abuse

> Read our blog on exploring emotions and relationships with young people with SEND

Intro/outro music is Lights by Sappheiros
25 min
November 25, 201921: Steps to Safety programme
Listen to this week’s episode to learn about:
the Steps to Safety programme, including the research behind the service and its development process
what the outcomes were from the feasibility study and what we learnt from the service
how practitioners assessed parents, delivered sessions and modules and used Video Interaction Guidance (VIG)
the challenges practitioners encountered whilst implementing the pilot programme
how children’s voices were considered at each stage to ensure the service was delivered safely.
Read the podcast transcript on the NSPCC Learning website.

💬 About the speakers

Nicola McConnell is a Senior Evaluation Officer within the NSPCC’s Evidence Team who has over 20 years of experience in evaluating health and social care services for children and families, including training and supporting others to undertake this work. She has researched and published a range of evaluation reports across different topic areas such as child protection, domestic abuse and preventing child abuse.

Roberta Neill is a qualified social worker and Children’s Services Practitioner working at the NSPCC’s Belfast Service Centre. During her time at NSPCC she has delivered domestic abuse services including DART and Steps to Safety as well as a number of different sexual abuse services. She has also been delivering a Video Interaction Guidance (VIG) service since 2011 across Northern Ireland.

Paula Telford is a qualified social worker with over 40 years’ experience in both delivering services and managing teams. She has largely worked in child protection, especially sexual abuse and in mental health. She is currently a Development and Impact Manager at NSPCC and led on the Steps to Safety Service among others. Paula is working with a team of colleagues to take forward the learning from Steps to Safety into other services.

📚 Related resources

> Discover how to recognise, respond and prevent domestic abuse happening to a child

> Learn more about what early intervention services are and the benefits of early help

Intro/outro music is Lights by Sappheiros
31 min
November 11, 201920: Protecting disabled children from sexual abuse
Joining us for this episode, Sarah discusses:
our report findings including the key issues for parents and carers
the need for accessible relationships and sex education for children and young people with disabilities
how parents and carers can work with schools to provide children with consistent messages around relationships and sex education
involving children, young people and their parents and carers in the development of services and approaches to preventing sexual abuse
Read the podcast transcript on the NSPCC Learning website.

💬 About the speakers

Sarah Goff is Safeguarding Disabled Children Services Manager at the Ann Craft Trust. She carries out research; delivers training to agencies and local safeguarding children partnerships; and, provides consultancy to organisations about safeguarding disabled children. Her recent work has focused on seeking the views of disabled children and young people placed away from home; the experiences of deaf and disabled children and young people facing domestic abuse and child sexual exploitation; and, developing training to support practitioners in keeping children safe.

📚 Related resources

> Read more about safeguarding children and young people with SEND

> Download our resources for young people aged 11 to 25 with learning disabilities

> Browse our PANTS guides for children with learning disabilities

> Read more about how you can protect children from sexual abuse

Intro/outro music is Lights by Sappheiros
31 min
October 28, 201919: What is the Underwear Rule?
Tune into our episode for more about:
the impact PANTS has had since it launched in 2012
having conversations around PANTS and embedding the messages into daily life
how local safeguarding boards, parents, schools and local communities are helping to raise awareness of the campaign
what children have said about the PANTS campaign and future developments to materials and resources.
Read the podcast transcript on the NSPCC Learning website.

💬 About the speakers

Ally Sultana is the Local Campaigns Manager for the NSPCC covering the East and West Midlands and is involved in keeping children and young people safe from all forms of abuse, including child sexual exploitation and online risks. She has played a pivotal role in the NSPCC’s PANTS campaign - working with hundreds of parents and professionals to help safeguard children from abuse.

📚 Related resources

> Download our PANTS teaching resources for schools

> Find out more about Talk PANTS for parents and carers

Intro/outro music is Lights by Sappheiros
24 min
October 14, 201918: Together for Childhood in Stoke
In this episode, we speak to Leila Canay, one of Stoke’s Children Services Practitioners about:
what evaluation activities are currently being run in Stoke
how the initiative has invited change and developed over time working with the community and partners
establishing professional and community partnerships, including embracing collaboration and co-creation
how young people can be involved in influencing and informing Together for Childhood in their local area.
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
Leila Canay is a Children’s Services Practitioner at the NSPCC’s Stoke Service Centre and a qualified social worker. She has a background in delivering child sexual abuse services, including Letting the Future In (LTFI) and Turn the Page (TTP). She is currently seconded into the role of Community Engagement Officer for Together for Childhood in Stoke.
📚 Related resources

> Find out more about Together for Childhood

Intro/outro music is Lights by Sappheiros
23 min
September 30, 201917: Charity trustees’ responsibilities
In this episode, our contributors discuss:
the role and responsibilities of a charity trustee
the key to good governance in a charity
the importance of complying with legislation and guidance around keeping children safe
top tips to ensure charity trustees and managers are working well and playing an active role in safeguarding.
This series was carried out as part a partnership led by NCVO, funded by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and the National Lottery Fund within the Safeguarding Training Fund programme.

Read the podcast transcript on the NSPCC Learning website.

💬 About the speakers

Chris Cloke was the Head of Safeguarding in Communities at the NSPCC for over thirty years. He has a huge wealth of experience and knowledge in safeguarding, particularly within the voluntary and community sector where he has been a trustee and advisor to several voluntary groups. He has been a member of and worked closely with a number of local safeguarding children boards and was chair of the Anti-Bullying Alliance for many years.

Cate Meredith has been working for the NSPCC for 10 years as a Senior Consultant in our Safeguarding in Communities team. She continues to lend her expertise to organisations in the voluntary and community sector to ensure their safeguarding responsibilities are supported, understood and met, so that children and young people are safe.

Kathy Evans joined Children England in 2010 as Deputy Chief Executive and she became CEO in April 2013. During her career Kathy has been the Chair of the Standing Committee for Youth Justice, a trustee of the Children’s Rights Alliance for England, a member of the ACMD Hidden Harm group and DCSF Care Matters advisory group. She was also consultant to the Police Foundation and Justice, devising potential alternatives to Youth Courts, to support the Independent Commission on Youth Crime and Anti-Social Behaviour.

📚 Related resources

> Find out more about safeguarding in faith communities

> Find out more about safeguarding children and young people as a charity trustee

Intro/outro music is Lights by Sappheiros
29 min
September 16, 201916: Safeguarding in faith-based communities
We are almost reaching the end of our series on safeguarding children and young people within local communities. Tune into this week’s episode to find out more about:
the role faith-based communities and groups have in children and young people’s lives
why it’s essential groups and communities understand their safeguarding responsibilities
how to address safeguarding challenges and develop a safeguarding culture that works alongside cultural beliefs, values and customs
the importance in listening to children and young people and ensuring children always feel listened to.
These episodes were produced as part of a partnership led by NCVO, funded by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and the National Lottery Fund within the Safeguarding Training Fund programme.

Read the podcast transcript on the NSPCC Learning website.

💬 About the speakers

Cate Meredith has been working for the NSPCC for 10 years as a Senior Consultant in our Safeguarding in Communities team. She continues to lend her expertise to organisations in the voluntary and community sector to ensure their safeguarding responsibilities are supported, understood and met, so that children and young people are safe.

Mike Williams has been working in evaluation for 20 years and joined the NSPCC in 2007. During this time, he has evaluated a range of initiatives relating to the prevention of child sexual abuse which includes working with the Somali community in East London and more recently the NSPCC’s child sexual exploitation programme, Protect & Respect.

Shirley Maginley is the NSPCC’s Senior Consultant for Faith and Minority Ethnic Communities. She works across communities to support and promote good practice in keeping children safe, facilitate learning and develop safeguarding initiatives that reflect cultural and ethnic diversity.

📚 Related resources

> Find out more about safeguarding in faith communities

Intro/outro music is Lights by Sappheiros
26 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.