Child protection consultancy

Working in partnership and collaboration with other organisations to improve the protection of children is core to our strategy to 2016.

To end cruelty to children we must share our expertise and learn from what is happening elsewhere. We can achieve much greater impact by working with others and being a catalyst for change than we can be working in isolation.

We are significantly increasing our training and consultancy activities to support this.

What is the NSPCC Child Protection Consultancy?

The NSPCC Child Protection Consultancy aims to make organisations safer for children and young people by improving their child protection procedures.

NSPCC Child Protection Consultancy provides services across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. These include:

• training programmes
• materials
• consultancy services
• evaluation and assessment work for anyone working with children or families 
• consultancy staff conduct serious case reviews and sit on local safeguarding children boards (LSCBs).

Its work includes the NSPCC Child Protection in Sport Unit which has advised many sports bodies to improve their child protection procedures and to train their staff and volunteers to recognise the signs of abuse. Through this service alone we have enhanced the protection of more than six million children.

In June 2009, we launched Safe Network – a new £2.2 million unit managed by the NSPCC and Children England and funded by the Department for Children, Schools and Families to help protect eight million children taking part in voluntary activities.

What we do

Training

NSPCC Training provides child protection and child welfare training for trainers and all those working with children and young people. Our 2009/10 training programme offers courses designed to meet the changing needs of children, families and professionals.

Consultancy

We help organisations put safeguards in place to prevent child abuse and develop, evaluate or review safeguarding policies and procedures. The NSPCC offers consultancy combined with specialist child protection expertise, informed by up-to-date research and practice.

Learning and information resources

We create and distribute training packs, course materials and toolkits. We also provide information and resources for professionals working with children eg NSPCC Inform, library resources, publications and digital communications.

Partnerships

We work in partnership with other sectors and organisations to create and promote safe environments for children and young people.  Examples include the child protection in sport unit (CPSU) andSafe Network and our partnership with CEOP (Child Exploitation and Online Protection). We are looking to expand our partnership opportunities by identifying organisations, networks and communities both regionally and nationally.

Representation

We expect to increase our representation on boards and committees where we can influence change. We are currently represented on many LSCBs and plan to explore opportunities within other sectors.

Child Protection Assessment and Review

The NSPCC’s authorised status gives us statutory powers to intervene on behalf of children in the same way as local authorities or police. These powers can be used to assist or challenge local authorities to take action but can also be used through the courts to request that children are taken into care.