The Community Safety and Wellbeing Team currently have online training dates available for the following sessions:

Gamification and Violent Extremism training now available

Delivered by one of the Community Safety and Wellbeing Team’s experienced trainers, Richard Kaczmarz, the Gamification and Violent Extremism training explores how extremist groups use the online gaming space and make use of gaming approaches for recruitment and radicalisation.

For full details please use the link appropriate to your organisation below - 

If you’re a West Sussex County Council staff member, please book through the West Sussex Learning Pool, which has sessions available for the following dates and times:

• Friday 2 February – 10:00am to 11:30am
• Tuesday 20 February – 10:00am to 11:30am
• Monday 4 March – 10:00 to 11:30am
• Thursday 21 March – 10:00 to 11:30am

For anyone outside of the council, you can book training on Eventbrite, which has sessions available for the following dates and times:

• Tuesday 6 February – 10:00am to 11:30am
• Thursday 29 February – 10:00am to 11:30am
• Monday 11March – 10:00am to 11:30am
• Thursday 28 March – 10:00am to 11:30am

Please note: this training builds upon the team’s Intro or Refresher sessions on Preventing Radicalisation and Violent Extremism, and therefore you must have attended either of these to be able to access the training.

For any questions or further details, please email CommunitySafety.Wellbeing@westsussex.gov.uk.

Preventing Radicalisation and Violent Extremism refresher training

Recently, new training dates were announced for the Community Safety and Wellbeing Team’s ‘Preventing Radicalisation and Violent Extremism’ training, which is run by Dan Sanders, one of the experienced Prevent trainers.

However, Dan also runs a separate refresher course for those who have done the main training and want to review, reinforce and upgrade their current knowledge and skills. This will ensure that you are best equipped to understand, identify and respond to early signs of individuals being radicalised into violent extremism.

It is advised that this 1.5-hour online refresher is taken every 18 months to allow you to recognise current trends, theories and developments in policy and practice, both locally and nationally.

Currently, spaces are available on the following dates:

• Friday 9 February from 10am – 11.30am
• Thursday 21 March from 10am – 11.30am
• Friday 26 April from 10am – 11.30am
• Monday 17 June from 10am – 11.30am

The refresher training is free to West Sussex County Council staff, district and borough colleagues, parish council members and statutory Safer West Sussex Partnership executive partners and is suitable for all local authority staff and partner agencies working in the Private, Voluntary and Independent Sector.

For more information and to book a place, visit the Learning Pool and if you have any issues, please email communitysafety.wellbeing@westsussex.gov.uk.

NSPCC Learning has published a new learning from case review briefing on parental substance use. The briefing looks at case reviews published between 2022 and 2023 involving parental substance use problems. Key learning points include: professionals need to conduct child-centred assessments and continue to reassess the potential risks that children face in households experiencing problems with substance use. To view the learning click on the link below -

Parents with substance use problems: learning from case reviews

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NSPCC Learning has published a learning from case reviews briefing on family reunification based on a sample of case reviews published between 2016 and 2023 where returning children home from care was a key factor. The briefing highlights: the need for a thorough assessment of risk, protective factors and parental capacity; clear preparations for the return; and sharing information with other agencies. Learning also includes the need to continue to monitor the child’s safety and wellbeing before, during and after the return.

Read the briefing: Returning children home from care: learning from case reviews

Is this ok? is a confidential and anonymous support service for children which can be accessed online. This has been funded by Sussex Police Op Safety for 12 months and is an excellent resource for frontline practitioners. Please promote and utilise in your services and share with the staff you work with. 

There are links to posters below and you are encouraged to display these in prominent places and schools are encouraged to put them up in places with a busy footfall of children and young people, such as canteens, corridors, toilet cubicles and quieter areas such as libraries and study areas.

This service is primarily focused on children and young people at risk or currently experiencing exploitation and Is This Ok? are an avenue of support for young people who may be struggling to speak to adults about what they are facing and may feel they have nowhere to turn. This is a confidential and anonymous online space for young people to share these concerns and issues though online chats. 

Click on the links below to view the posters and video clip - 

Is this ok? Image 1

Is this OK? Image 2

Is this OK? Image 3

Is this OK? video clip

Sands are delighted to announce that tickets are now available for our 2024 series of NBCP workshops in March and April.

The NBCP workshops are best practice networking events for any healthcare professional involved in implementing quality bereavement care standards. They are suitable for staff working in both community and hospital settings where care is provided for bereaved families; ambulance staff, health visitors, nurses, sonographers, midwives and doctors are all welcome.

The workshops are a fantastic opportunity to meet colleagues from your region, hear from parents, share ideas, problem-solve challenges, and be updated on the latest work in perinatal bereavement care from Sands staff and the NBCP partner organisations.

A total of ten NBCP workshops are being held this year: eight regional, in-person events, and two online workshops. Please follow the links below to book your free ticket:

• Newcastle 6 March
• Sheffield 7 March
• Colchester 13 March
• London 14 March
• Preston 17 April
• Nottingham 18 April
• Poole 23 April
• Plymouth 24 April

For those unable to make an in-person event, online workshops can be booked here:

• Online 20 March
• Online 11 April

Places are limited, so please book soon—​most workshops sold out last year! For further information, please see here, or contact bereavementcare@sands.org.uk

Read the report in full

Watch a short animation which describes some of the key findings and insight from the report

The WSSCP hosts a multi-agency Neglect Champions meeting twice a year to provide support to professionals who have taken on the role of Neglect Champion within their own organisation. The next face to face meeting is 7th March. This meeting provides a space for professionals to learn about updates around responding to and tackling neglect, find out more from interesting specialist speakers and also share good practice as well as any challenges faced by colleagues.

To book your place at this meeting please click on the link below. Please make sure your manager has approved your attendance.

Book my ticket for the next WSSCP Neglect Champions meeting

This video-based course is for anyone who works with children and young people and will support you to explore what Contextual Safeguarding is, how it works in practice, and how you can apply it to your own professional area of work.

You will learn about the societal responses to growing up that children and young people have and how these have changed in recent years along with the importance of cognitive development on adolescent safeguarding and the extra-familial risks that some children and young people experience.

You will also explore the ways in which adolescent safeguarding differs from traditional child protection/adult safeguarding and, therefore, the different approach it needs, and how Contextual Safeguarding approaches help to address adolescent risk outside the home.

To undertake this course visit the The Learning Pool and type the title of this training in the search bar.