1. Vulnerable Young People Awareness Raising

2. Introductions
Tutor and group introductions (see tutor notes)

3. Course Aims
The aim of this course is to raise awareness with staff and/or volunteers about issues in relation to young people who may be putting themselves at risk, so that they can act to protect them.
As slide

4. Course Outcomes Participants will:
Recognise their values in relation to working with young people
Describe developmental issues in adolescence
State procedures in relation to vulnerable young people
Respond to concerns about young people
As slide

5. Housekeeping Timetable Fire alarm and exits Phones
Take group through housekeeping arrangements for the venue and the session

6. Learning Agreement Participation Confidentiality Line management
Join in!
Ask questions
Listen and don’t talk over each other
Be respectful
Confidentiality
Line management
Feelings
See tutor notes

7. That’s Not Fair!
Exercise 1
See tutor notes

8. Wellbeing Indicators
Adolescents need their basic needs met, as described in the GIRFEC Wellbeing Indicators. However, what this looks like will be different from what it looks like for younger children

9. Adolescence is a time of significant growth and development
Adolescence is a time of significant growth and development. Young people are going through a transition from parental control to self control. They are trying to work out who they are in relation to the world around them in general, and their families and communities in particular. Through this transition they need a measure of freedom to grow, within secure boundaries.

10. Adolescent development
Physical
Social/Emotional
Identity
Cognitive
Physically, adolescence is a time of significant physical growth and development. The body is going through puberty, with physical and sexual development.
Socially and emotionally, young people are becoming increasingly aware of their own emotions and learning how to manage these for themselves. In addition, they are becoming more socially aware – they are trying to make sense of the emotional needs of others and to respond to these.
In terms of identity, young people are trying to establish who they are, and developing their sense of independence. Two key elements to this are self concept – what a young person thinks about themselves; and self esteem – how they value themselves.
Cognitively, young people are developing their abstract thinking skills, that is, their ability to see beyond their own situation and experience. They are also able to think about their own thoughts and feelings, which helps them develop strategies for self management.
All young people will develop at different paces, and their development will often be uneven, which can be difficult to manage, both for them and those looking after them. If they have any additional needs or learning difficulties, this will also affect their development, and will need to be taken into account.

11. Brain development Planning Impulse control Reasoning Emotions
Adolescence is a key time of growth in relation to brain development (the other key time is infancy). The brain’s capacity to grow and develop at these stages is called its ‘plasticity’. It can grow and develop throughout life, but at infancy and adolescence, it is particularly open to change. This means that adolescence is an opportunity for learning.
The area of the brain which governs planning, impulse control and reasoning skills (the pre-frontal cortex) is still growing and developing. By contrast, the the area of the brain which governs emotions (the limbic system) is more fully developed. Young people, therefore, may be more likely to be influenced by emotion than rational thought - teenagers often not very good at making sensible choices or managing their emotions!

12. Moderate stress and secure base Helps develop problem solving skills
Basis for developing life skills
Prolonged or severe stress and no base
Leads to survival strategies
Unhealthy basis for future life
A young person’s growth and development, physically and emotionally, will be influenced by their environment.
If the young person has a secure base and support network, then when stress comes along this provides an opportunity to learn how to manage it – making mistakes along the way – and they can develop healthy patterns of coping and problem solving, which will give them a stable basis for going into adult life.
In situations of prolonged or severe stress, young people often learn to manage in negative ways. They can develop poor coping skills, which form patterns they follow in later life. These will end up being reinforced and becoming patterns for adult life that are very difficult to change

13. Influences
Influences in a young person’s life can be both positive and negative, and usually a mixture of both…
Click up the pictures one at a time. As pictures come up on the slide, ask the group to talk about how these can be both positive and negative influences in a young person’s life. For example:
Family – can provide a secure base, with authoritative and nurturing parenting style. This gives them a safe space from which to move on into adulthood. Where parenting is neglectful or abusive, this can provide a negative role model for the child. They may develop skills to survive in their situation, which are not helpful for adult life. (It is important to note that some children will grow up with neglect or abuse and still develop positively, generally due to some additional support)
Peers – good peer group can be positive influence, and often provide a sense of belonging. Nevertheless, peers can encourage risk taking behaviour, and negative behaviour can be accepted as ‘norm’
School – young people who think their teachers think well of them perform better. Negative school experience can lead to dropping out of education, and impact on engagement with their children’s education
Community – wider family and community network can act as a buffer where parenting problems at home. Conversely, as with peers, negative community norms can become accepted by young people
Social Networks – this can be challenging for parents and carers, as they did not have the same experiences growing up. Young people can develop networks around their interests and hobbies, and young people with communication issues can benefit from the different ways of communicating. Nevertheless, there are risks of grooming and cyber bullying, as well as spending too much time on technology.

14. Coffee Break

15. Vulnerable Children and Young People at Risk of Significant Harm
VYP Procedures
Vulnerable Children and Young People at Risk of Significant Harm
index.aspx?articleid=9805
Glasgow CPC has produced procedures for managing cases where young people are at significant risk. This sets out what to do if you have a concern abut a young person, and how cases will be managed. These are generally known as the VYP (vulnerable young persons) procedures.
The link here will take you to the Policy and Procedures pages of the CPC website, and you will find the VYP procedure and all the guidance mentioned at this page.

16. http://www.online-procedures.co.uk/ westofscotland/
Legal Framework
The VYP guidance sits under the umbrella of the Child Protection guidance for Glasgow. Each agency will have its own child protection guidance, which sits under the overall interagency guidance for the West of Scotland.
westofscotland/

17. Risk Risk of significant harm Own behaviour Behaviour of others
The risk posed to a young person should be significant – there may be behaviours that would put them at risk, but it will only fall under the VYP procedure when it is significant, i.e.
it has been ongoing for some time
the young person is not using supports to change, and
it is likely that the behaviour will be repeated and cause lasting harm.
The behaviour causing risk may be the young person’s own behaviour (we will see some of these on the next slide). It may alternatively be someone else’s behaviour that is posing a risk, though the young person’s behaviour may be contributing the risk if they are not acting to protect themselves/avoid risky situations.

18. Risk Behaviours Persistent running away
Chaotic or serious substance misuse
Mental health issues (including self harm) placing self or others at risk
Violent and abusive behaviour placing self or others at risk
Persistent offending, placing self or others at risk
Internet safety
Sexual exploitation and trafficking
The following behaviours have been identified as high risks for young people, and there is guidance under the VYP procedure on these issues.
Put up the behaviours one by one. As they come up, ask the group to suggest the sort of signs and indicators they might notice if this was an issue. Some will be common themes, others particular to a particular behaviour.
(if you are running short of time you can talk through these yourself rather than asking the group for indicators)

19. Age of ‘young person’ Under 16
Under 18 if looked after or accommodated
Under 18 if vulnerable and at risk of significant harm
Under 21 if previously looked after and accommodated
A ‘young person’ can include anyone under 16. In practice, it tends to be young people aged 12 or over, but they could be younger.
If the young person is under 18, has been looked after (on a supervision order) or accommodated (foster, kinship or residential care), or there is another vulnerability, they may be considered under the procedure.
If the young person has been accommodated in the past, they may be considered under the procedure up until they are 21, if this is felt to be in their best interests.

20. Core Principles Welfare of young person is paramount
Views of young person heard and taken into account
Views of parent/carer considered
Information sharing – sensitivity
A key principle of the procedure is that the welfare of the young person is paramount.
The views of the young person should be sought and taken into account. This may involve identifying someone to support the young person to express themselves. The views of the parent/carer should also be considered, but if these come into conflict with the welfare of the young person, their welfare comes first.
As with child protection, information should be shared whenever there is a risk to a young person, even if the young person has shared information in confidence. Nevertheless this should be done sensitively. If possible, the young person should be advised what information is to be shared, and it should only be shared with those who need to know.

21. Process Concern raised Initial Assessment VYP Case Discussion
Action plan
If you have a concern about a young person it should be shared with the Social Work department – the allocated worker if there is one, or the duty worker. They will check what information they have, as well as consulting with other agencies who know the young person.
If you believe the young person is at immediate danger, this should be passed to the Police, who will respond accordingly.
Following an initial assessment, if there is a risk of significant harm a VYP case discussion will be held – this is a multi agency meeting, chaired by a SW manager. This will put in place a VYP action plan, which will be monitored by a core group, and brought back to a subsequent VYP case discussion, until it is felt that the risk has reduced to an acceptable level.

22. VYP or Child Protection?
In some cases, it may not be immediately obvious whether the case should be dealt with as child protection or as a vulnerable young person.
At one level this does not matter – if you believe a child or a young person is at risk of significant harm for whatever reason, they should be referred to SWD or the Police.
Generally speaking, if the young person is being put at risk by a parent or carer, or someone with a familial relationship to them, this is likely to be considered as a child protection concern. If the young person is being put at risk by the behaviour of someone else outwith the family, or by their own behaviour, this is likely to be considered as a vulnerable young person concern. Nevertheless, it is often the case that the risk is coming from multiple sources – for example a young person putting themselves at risk by running away may be experiencing physical abuse in the family home which is triggering the running.
If you are not sure which procedure to use, contact SW to raise the concern, and this will be decided by the manager.

23. Glasgow Protocol for Working with Young People who are
Sexually Active
In addition to the VYP procedure, there is a protocol for working with young people who are sexually active. You will find this protocol on the CPC webasite at the link mentioned before (slide 15)
The legal age of consent to sexual activity is 16. Nevertheless, young people under 16 may be engaging in sexual activity, including sexual intercourse.
The Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009 clarifies the law around sexual activity for young people. The law makes a distinction between young children aged 12 and under, and older children aged between 13 and 15. It removes any distinction between boys and girls.
The key principle is to assess the risk to the young person(s) involved, and to offer support that is appropriate to the situation.
(note – this can be a difficult area of practice, and you should make sure you are familiar with the protocol in order to respond to questions)

24. No concern of abuse or exploitation
No concern of abuse, but some concern about risky behaviour
Heightened concern re sexual activity
Definite concern about risk of significant harm but no immediate risk
Definite concern about risk of significant harm and immediate risk
If there is mutually agreed teenage sexual behaviour and/or relationship with no concerns of abuse or exploitation:
If qualified, the professional should provide practical assistance and advice if required.
If not qualified to provide practical advice and support, then professionals must signpost and support access to appropriate services.
If there is mutually agreed teenage sexual behaviour and/or relationship with no concerns of abuse or exploitation, but there are some concerns about young person’s behaviour such as their ability to assess risk, drug or alcohol use or the environment where they seek sexual contacts:
If qualified, the professional should address these matters directly with young person
If not, then refer them to an appropriate person or agency
If there are heightened concerns about a young person’s behaviour or about the nature of their sexual behaviour or relationship:
Guidance should be sought from line manager in accordance with own agency guidelines to decide if any further action is required.
Advice can be sought from Social Work Services to assist with this decision making.
If there are definite concerns that a young person has experienced or may experience significant harm but is not at immediate risk
Referral to social work detailing who are involved, the nature of concerns and any other relevant information
Every reasonable effort should be made to speak to the young person prior to referral
If the young person does not agree then the professional should make the referral and inform young person that this will be the course of action.
Referral will always be made in the following cases:
Young person 12 or under (now or when sexual activity took place)
Other person in position of trust
Young person involved in pornography or sexual exploitation through prostitution
Young person of any age is perceived to be at risk of immediate serious harm
Automatic referral to social work (Standby if out of hours) detailing who are involved, the nature of concerns and any other relevant information
Referral to the Police via the Divisional Office

25. Exercise 2
Hand out the case studies, and ask the groups to consider what concerns they might have about this young person, what risk is being posed by their behaviour or someone else’s, and what they think should happen next.

26. Responding to concerns
It’s everyone’s job to make sure I’m alright