The Child Accident Prevention Trust (CAPT) have launched a campaign to highlight to parents, the dangers of buying cheap toys online.

Many parents and carers assume that if they can buy a toy for their child then it must be safe. But sadly, there is an increasing number of unsafe toys being sold online which can be deadly. And, with many families feeling the pinch this Christmas, the appeal of cheap toys could  have fatal consequences. To find out more click on the links below - 

Tell me more about the campaign to raise awareness of the high-risk toys to avoid on online marketplaces.

Download the free resources and visual explainers to share with parents

The 16 Days is an annual international campaign that starts today, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and runs until 10 December, Human Rights Day.

Partners that Arun District Council work closely with such as West Sussex County Council and Sussex Police will be posting targeted messages to raise awareness of domestic abuse, stalking, sexual violence, modern slavery and elder abuse until the 10th of December. Their Comms team will also be sharing key posts with content sensitivity with links to their external website where local and national support and information can be found- https://www.arun.gov.uk/community-safety

Please see below the link to a leaflet of local and national services and also for Arun & Chichester- leaflets for My Sisters House, Women’s centre. There is a generic leaflet but also a specific welfare based leaflet translated in Bulgarian, Ukrainian and Polish to help engage with Eastern European females sensitively and subtlety- who may not be aware of local support or that they may/are experiencing harm and abuse. Once they start to engage the wider agenda of VAWG can be explored.

• Domestic Abuse Flyer - Contact & Support information
• My Sister's House - Information (Bulgarian)
• My Sister's House - Information (Polish)
• My Sister's House - Information (Ukrainian)
• My Sister's House - Information (English)

If you attended the WSSCP Safeguarding Conference on Monday, you will have heard the excellent presentation that looked at gamification, the potential risks of being online, and how to protect and support children and young people. There are sessions available, delivered by the Community Safety and Wellbeing team and aim to explore steps we can take to ensure individuals of all ages, but particularly how children and young people can be kept safe online and the risks that are present. The training will apply this within the context of radicalisation, looking at how extremism groups make use of the online space and gamification as part of the radicalisation process. To book your place click on the link below - 

Gamification and Violent Extremism – Monday 12^th December – 10am to 11:30am

Gamification and Violent Extremism – Wednesday 11^th January – 10am to 11:30am

Gamification and Violent Extremism – Friday 27^th January – 10am to 11:30am

Gamification and Violent Extremism – Monday 6^th February – 10am to 11:30am

The Safe Clubs for Children campaign has been launched to support parents with advice and guidance on out of school activities.

Clubs, classes and tutorial sessions offer great ways for children and young people to develop their skills and confidence as well as having fun. But did you know that where you send your child may actually not be regulated? Even people who have committed criminal offences can legally continue to work in roles like children's entertainers or private tutor.

We want to help parents and carers make sure that their children will be happy and protected in after school and extra-curricular clubs and activities within the community. For more information on regulated childcare you can contact the Family Information Service or search for childcare near you on the website.

To view the full information and to visit the WSCC page on this campaign click on the link below - 

Safe Clubs for Children Campaign

Along with the broad training offer already available to those working with children and young people across West Sussex, there is some new training starting this month which still has some places available. This 3 hour webinar is for frontline professionals to consider unconscious bias and stereotypes and how to address them within ourselves as well as challenge them. The adultification of children will be explored, as well as victim blaming language, the importance of using the correct terminology and understand challenges faced by Black, Asian and Minorities Ethnic Communities

To book your place on the first session please click on the link below. More dates will be added shortly, and it is hoped that this will become embedded as part of our core training offer, meaning that is will be a regular feature on the WSSCP Training calendar.

13th December 2022 – 

Visit the Learning & Development Gateway to book your place

The WSSCP Escalation Process has been in place for over 6 years and is an important piece of guidance for those needing to challenge a potentially unsafe decision about a child from an agency different to their own. It is important to be aware that an escalation process for use within your own agency will also be available. Please ask your manager if you are not sure where to access this on your internal systems. 

For those practitioners needing to refer to the WSSCP Escalation Process, it is key to understand the importance of professional challenge and to discuss any disagreements with colleagues at the time of the issue, wherever possible (or as soon after if not appropriate at the time). There is lots of guidance around this including steps to follow, to ensure a decision is not delayed which might potentially impact on a child's safety. The WSSCP Escalation Process is now aligned to the Pan Sussex Escalation process. This means that if you work across Sussex, the process to follow is the same (the only difference is the need to complete a template at Stage 3 and send into the WSSCP Business Team - more information below)

Click on the links below to find out more information on this important policy and how / when to access it -

Professional Curiosity information on the WSSCP website

Pan Sussex Resolving Professional Differences

WSSCP Escalation Process Template (for use from Stage 3 in West    Sussex only)

WSSCP Escalation Process PowerPoint slides (for use in team meetings)