Protective Behaviours Newsletter
01273 411613 training@safety-net.org.uk www.safety-net.org.uk
Edition 7 Spring 2013
A safety awareness programme to promote safety and well-being for children, young people and families Welcome to the Protective Behaviours Newsletter for the South East Our aim is to share information, practice and ideas about Protective Behaviours. Free PB training sessions are still available for anyone working with children & young people see http://safetynetbrighton.eventbrite.co.uk for more details. Good News Safety Net have secured Comic Relief funding to build self-esteem, confidence and resilience in children and young people who have experienced sexual abuse. The funding will last for three years.
Protective Behaviours Network Meetings Next 2013 network meetings (click to book): Thursday 18 July | Thursday 21 November 10am – 1pm at Safety Net, Portslade At the last meeting we were really fortunate to have Sally Ann Hart, independent PB trainer from Cambridge, as a speaker. She talked to us about her PB specialism of working with children under five years old. There’s not enough space here to share everything we learned but we’ve summarised as much as we can in this newsletter. Sally Ann demonstrated how PBs mirrors and fits into so much of the Department of Education’s Early Years Foundation Programme. She talked about how babies need acknowledgement of their feelings from the word go, and demonstrated ways of developing the language of feelings using different textures or objects to explore– and then connecting physical sensations to the language of emotional feelings.
Using Makaton signs with young children for expressing feelings is very visual and emphasises the importance of feelings. Adults also tend to slow down when they use Makaton signs which is always helpful! Click here to download a PDF of basic Makaton feelings signs. Be alert to the use of every day feelings language in children’s books. We can change the wording in books or songs to be more emotionally intelligent, e.g. rather than ‘If you’re happy and you know it…’ change it to ‘Feeling happy and you know it…’ A new parenting programme called ‘Five to Thrive’ simplifies key messages for parents to remember about their babies’ healthy brain development: Talk, Play, Relax, Cuddle, Respond. When babies feel safe they thrive and research shows that how a parent behaves around their baby in the first three years of life has a direct impact on how their baby's brain develops. When Sally Ann works with parents, to emphasise the rapid early brain development she uses the analogy of a tin of baked beans as the size of a new born baby’s brain which doubles to two tins by the second year and then triples to three tins by third birthday! Sally Ann co-created the new free Protective Behaviours website www.pbpeople.org.uk. The purpose of the website is to promote PBs far and wide with information about trainers, resources, activities and a forum to share ideas. Sally Ann’s recommended cards/books, for working with under 5s: The Bear Cards: Veeken and Harman Baby Strength cards: Jan Player, St Luke’s Innovative Resources (www.innovativeresources.org) The Great Big Book of Feelings: Mary Hoffman Sometimes I feel Sunny: Gillian Shields
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Protective Behaviours Newsletter Edition 7 Spring 2013
Safety Awareness Programme to promote safety and well-being for children, young people and families Children and Young People’s Participation In the Easter holidays our Children and Young People’s Participation Worker Emma was invited on a trip to the Longman of Wilmington with the Young Oasis project. It was a great opportunity for Emma to meet the children and young people who use the Young Oasis project and to let them know about the exciting opportunity Young Oasis have taken up to work in partnership with Safety Net on a children and young people participation project. The project will take place in the summer holidays and will involve the children and young people being trained in a variety of skills in order to become Young Inspectors for the Young Oasis project! Young Inspectors assess how good a service offered to young people is as seen by young people who actually use it. The children and young people will have a chance to say what they think about the service as a whole and come up with ideas and suggestions as to anything that could be done in a different or better way. Staff will work alongside the children in forming working plans and strategies so a culture of children and young people participation can really be embedded and continued after Emma’s work with them is complete. On the trip Emma carried out an initial consultation, gaining the children and young people’s views at this point and the different ways they enjoy working, i.e. art, cooking, drama, which she will use when delivering participation training with them. Emma has also sent the children a newsletter feeding back the findings from the day.
Safety Net Assertiveness Project - SNAP Brighton and Hove Food Partnership: MEND We recently ran a SNAP session for young people taking part in the MEND programme which is a ‘family-based programme’ for children and their families who are above their ideal weight’ (http://www.bhfood.org.uk/mend/ ). It is a national programme, delivered in Brighton by the Brighton and Hove Food Partnership. The parents also joined in during this session, exploring early warning signs, helping hands and using Stop Think Go to help achieve goals, as each child has nutrition and exercise goals they must complete each week. SNAP for Secondary Schools Some exciting news with regards to SNAP for secondary school: We are now able to deliver our assertiveness work with children and young people up to the age of 16 (previously 13). This is a really exciting development for the CYP team at Safety Net. SNAP R&R Next term we will be trialling our protective behaviours work with young people in secondary schools identified as “the bullies”. We will be exploring rights and responsibilities, using role play to identify the different types of behaviour: passive, assertive, aggressive and use Stop Think Go as a tool for looking at the consequences of our actions. NEW! SNAP - ITS Free 1:1 or Small Group Sessions for Children Aged 8-13 from the Deans or East Brighton . Our specially designed SNAP-ITS session is for: Children and Young People aged 8-13 living in the East Brighton and Deans areas Children who are ‘at risk’ of the effects of deprivation. Children from East Brighton or the Deans whose Parents/Carers are attending a Triple P or Feeling Good Feeling Safe course. For more information please contact Den McCartney (den.mccartney@safety-net.org.uk) or Pippa Fairhead (pippa.fairhead@safety-net.org.uk) or call 01273 411613 2 of 2