Annual Child Protection Conference – Who Sees the Child?

When

29/03/2019    
10:00 am - 4:00 pm

Bookings

Bookings closed

Where

Muthu Newton Hotel
Inverness Road, Nairn, Highland , IV12 4RX
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Highland CPC is pleased to announce this year’s Conference will take place on Friday 29th March in Nairn. The event is open to anyone who has regular contact with children, young people and family members (including adult services) in a paid or voluntary capacity. Young people are also welcome to attend (please contact me by phone if you would like to bring some young people along).

The Event will be Chaired by DCI Vince McLaughlin, Police Scotland (Chair of Highland CPC).

Sammy Woodhouse will open this year’s event, talking about her experiences of child sexual exploitation and how services can help prevent, protect and support young people who may be groomed and exploited. In July 2013, Sammy Woodhouse contacted The Times newspaper about the exploitation she had suffered in Rotherham. Sammy’s case triggered the Alexis Jay report detailing the sexual exploitation of approx. 1400 children. Sammy’s abuser was sentenced to 35 years in prison along with 5 other men with sentences totalling 102 years. This led to other investigations under Operations Thunder and Clover leading to the conviction of a further 20 abusers. Whilst her experience is difficult to hear, her messages for young people, parents and professionals are invaluable if we are to ensure we provide the right help at the right time

The afternoon session will be opened by James Docherty from the Violence Reduction Unit. James has become one of the leading voices in Scotland when it comes to describing what it is like to experience violence and neglect in childhood.  The power of his story is based in the fact that he tells it with total compassion and non-judgement.  James has brought his insights to his work with the Scottish Violence Reduction Unit, helping them to shape their work with gangs, families and communities.  James mentors adults who have experienced childhood trauma and speaks about recognising and using Adverse Childhood Experiences to help shape our futures, approaches and services.

Further inputs include short presentations on local initiatives and updates on strategic progress. Karen Ralston, Head of Children’s Services in Highland Council will add to the day’s discussions and give participants a clearer picture of child protection in Highland. Sally Amor, Child Health Commissioner will also give a short input on Highland’s Public Health approach to adverse childhood experiences.

Finally, Kirsty Ewen from High Life Highland, winner of the Get Inspired: Unsung Hero of the Year Award at the 2018 BBC Sports Personality of the Year ceremony will leave the audience with a message of hope and positivity for our young people.

Places are free and allocated on a first come, first served basis. Unfortunately, as demand is often high for this event, we are unable to guarantee more than one place per team/organisation. A light lunch and refreshments will be provided so please advise us on your application of any dietary needs – due to the number of participants attending we can only accommodate dietary needs not dietary preferences. We understand plans sometimes change so please let us know if you are no longer able to attend so we can offer your place to someone on the reserve list – a £30pp charge is in place for non-attendance without prior notice (min. 24hrs).

 

Bookings

Bookings are closed for this event.