The Social Worker Investigation Training (SWIT) had been identified by the Section Manager of the Assessment & Support Team as requiring review and revision. The training had been in the current format for a number of years and it was agreed that it needed to be updated to deliver more relevant training on current practice issues.
The training was delivered over 5 days to 18 staff. Social workers from Conwy and Denbighshire including the Disability Service attended. For the first time since the disbanding of the Joint Investigation Training (JIT) the invite for the training was extended to colleagues from the North Wales Police and officers from the Onyx team also attended. The Onyx team is a newly formed team working with Children who are at risk of Child Sexual Exploitation.
The training was aligned to the Social Worker process as per the All Wales Child Protection Procedures 2008 and the categories of Physical, Sexual, Neglect and Emotional Abuse. The training was delivered by a number of professionals within their respective field, including an Independent Social Worker (previous Head of Children’s Services) focusing on Neglect and Emotional Abuse; Community Paediatrician discussing physical abuse illustrated by pictures of different scenarios and comparing non-accidental with accidental injuries; Police Officers specialising in On line abuse and; a service user who has experienced years of domestic abuse delivering her story in a powerful and heartfelt manner.
For the first time we provided a short scenario enacted by the Drama Group from Llandrillo College, which had a significant impact on the audience. Following the presentations the attending staff had the opportunity to demonstrate their interpretation of the learning. This was done with the help of the drama students who returned later during the course to act out realistic child protection scenarios.
The feedback provided was excellent and the investment in refocusing the SWIT has provided an effective learning tool.