The Signs of Safety A Solution and Safety Oriented Approach to Child Protection Casework How many of you know nothing about the Signs of Safety approach to case work? How many of you know a little about the Signs of Safety approach to case work? How many of you know a lot about the Signs of Safety approach to case work? This is a practice framework, a way of working with families – a how to do. 1

Value Base of Social Work Let’s imagine for one moment that a child protection matter was happening in your family and a social worker (may also be joined by a Police officer) came knocking on your. What would you need to see from them in their manner, behaviour, attitude to feel confident enough to allow them into your home and talk to you, your family and your children? 2

What is the Signs of Safety Approach? Constructed around a comprehensive risk assessment framework that involves everyone in the assessment (families and professionals) that focuses you on harm/danger, existing strengths/safety and future safety. Involves building relationships with all stakeholders that are focused on safety for children. Informed by Core & Practice Principles and Practice Elements From research and from what workers and families say is good practice! A Questioning not an expert approach The Signs of Safety approach is all about building partnership with families and collaborating with professionals. There are 12 practice principles for building partnership and 6 practice principles for building safety. You can find these on the signsofsafety.net website. How many of you did an assessment this morning? Example you drove a car here and assessed the road, times, conditions etc. Every action we take with a family follows some kind of assessment-judgement. The Signs of Safety approach is constructed around a comprehensive risk assessment framework that involves everyone who is important to the child –family, community and professionals. It focuses you on the harm, danger, existing strengths / safety and future safety of the child. How many of you have achieved the best results when you have experienced building relationships? Research and legislation tell us that relationships are the key to success! When we think about your family and a social worker visiting them how would you feel if a worker came in and did not make inquiries about your family – did not ask questions and thought they knew all of the answers? Did it match your value base? Lets take this one step further and not only did the worker not ask you questions when they learnt new information they did not change their belief system and carried on thinking they knew what’s best for your family. What I also like about this approach is that it has been created from what families and workers say is good practice. The model keeps what works and bins what doesn’t work. The skill base of the approach is through SFBT questioning techniques and turning your anxieties into questions for the family for them to come up with solutions to create a safety plan. The voice of the child throughout the process. When we do have to use bottom lines be skillful as opposed to waving a child protection finger at the family. Supported by a Skill Base SFBT questioning Safety Planning Engaging Children Skillful Use of Authority Practiced from a Stance of Humility about what we think we know Focused above all on BUILDING ENOUGH SAFETY to close the case.

A Little History Andrew Turnell & Steve Edwards Collaboration 1993. Interested in how SFBT fitted with Child Protection Work. 150 Practitioners 4

The Tools Assessment and Planning tool Mapping frameworks 3 Columns Tools to engage children Three Houses Wizard & Fairy Safety House Words & Pictures 5

10 STEP THREE STEP TWO: JUDGMENT What are you Worried About? Thinking about a child/teenager in your life that you feel a worried about: What are you Worried About? What’s Working Well? What Needs to Happen? STEP ONE: START HERE, BACK AND FORWARDS STEP THREE What has happened, what have you seen, that makes you worried about this child/teenager? What do you like about ___ what are his/her best attributes? Having thought more about this problem now, what would you need to see that would make you satisfied the situation is at a 10? Who are the people that care most about ___? What are the best things about how they care for ____? What words would you use to talk about this problem so that ____ would understand what you’re worried about? What would ___ need to see that would make them say this problem is completely sorted out? What would ___ say are the best things about his/her life? When you think about what has already happened to ____ what do you think is the worst thing that could happen to ____ because of this problem? Who would ___ say are the most important people in his/her life? How do they help ___ grow up well? What do you think is the next step that should happen to get this worry sorted out? Exercise: Ask the delegates to get a sheet of paper – draw two lines to make 3 columns and then answer the following questions: Has there been times when this problem has been dealt with or was even a little better? How did that happen? Are there things happening in child’s life, family community that make this problem harder to deal with? On a scale of 0 to 10 where 10 means this problem is sorted out as much as it can be and zero means things are so bad for the young person you need to get professional or other outside help, where do you rate this situation today? (Put different judgment numbers on scale for different people e.g., you, child, teacher etc). 10 STEP TWO: JUDGMENT

HARM FUTURE Existing SAFETY Strengths DANGER Next Steps Existing Thinking about a child/teenager in your life that you feel a worried about: What are you Worried About? What’s Working Well? What Needs to Happen? STEP ONE: START HERE, BACK AND FORWARDS STEP THREE What has happened, what have you seen, that makes you worried about this child/teenager? What do you like about ___ what are his/her best attributes? Having thought more about this problem now, what would you need to see that would make you satisfied the situation is at a 10? HARM FUTURE SAFETY Existing Strengths Who are the people that care most about ___? What are the best things about how they care for ____? What words would use to talk about this problem so that ____ would understand what you’re worried about? What would ___ need to see that would make them say this problem is completely sorted out? What would ___ say are the best things about his/her life? When you think about what has already happened to ____ what do you think is the worst thing that could happen to ____ because of this problem? DANGER Who would ___ say are the most important people in his/her life? How do they help ___ grow up well? What do you think is the next step that should happen to get this worry sorted out? Next Steps Existing Safety Complicating Factors Has there been times when this problem has been dealt with or was even a little better? How did that happen? Are their things happening in ____’s life or family that make this problem harder to deal with? Animations Off On a scale of 0 to 10 where 10 means this problem is sorted out as much as it can be and zero means things are so bad for the young person you need to get professional or other outside help, where do you rate this situation today? (Put different judgment numbers on scale for different people e.g., you, child, teacher etc). 10 STEP TWO: JUDGEMENT

In the first house we will include the things that you like in your life. That’s the house of good things. In the second house we will write or draw your worries. That’s the house of worries. In the third house we will write or draw how things would be if they got better. That’s the house of dreams.

Poppy’s House of Dreams Poppy – 7 years old 9

Words and Pictures A storyboard (words and pictures) for children to help them understand events that are difficult for adults around them to talk about Parents and worker develop the words together using the family’s own words. 3. Primarily used to explain worries, concerns and difficult situations to younger children 4. Also used as part of a safety planning process as children have a copy of a safety plan in a words and pictures format 10

Practice Example This is an extract from a words and pictures storyboard used to explain to a child her parents story 11

Reflections What do you like about what you’ve heard? What don’t you like about what you’ve heard? What questions do you have? 12

Reading about Signs of Safety www.signsofsafety.net 13