International Women’s Day

International Women’s Day is a great opportunity to celebrate so many amazing women who have made a difference to our world. And, for me, to remember with gratitude the many incredible women I have had the privilege to know.

It is also an opportunity to recognise the ongoing violence and abuse that affects so many women and girls across the world.

The statistics are horrific.

But even more salutary are the individual stories that lie behind those statistics – salutary not just because of the appalling circumstances so many women and girls have to live with, but also because of the amazing courage, resilience and hope that they embody.

Today also marks one month till our 2018 BASPCAN international child protection congress. And, as it approaches, I am looking forward to it more and more. And not least because of some of the incredible women whom we have lined up as speakers.

People like:

Elaine Storkey, former president of Tearfund, and long-standing campaigner for women’s rights, who has powerfully documented the reality of violence against women and girls in her book, Scars across Humanity

Clare Shaw, our poet in residence, whose poems reflect the depth of expertise held by someone who has walked with trauma

Siobhan Beckwith, whose talk, Hearts in the Goldfish Bowl, draws on her experience coming alongside mothers who have had to live apart from their children

Kish Bhatti-Sinclair, a reader in social policy and social work, who will be challenging us to rethink our own prejudices, discrimination and unconscious bias

Anne Fine, the celebrated author, whose novels capture, in a very human way, the reality of many children’s lives

There are so many more I could mention. And I’m really looking forward to meeting them and hearing what they have to say.

It is not too late to book, so do take a look at the programme on our congress website:

BASPCAN Congress 2018

January 27, 2018

Restorative approaches in family services: an inspiring workshop at the BASPCAN congress

One of the greatest challenges those of us involved in family services face is getting the right balance between support and intervention, care and challenge. With that in mind, many practitioners and academics are promoting moves away from methods targeting individual family members towards strength-based family-focused approaches. A Restorative Approach (RA) is one such approach increasingly adopted in belief this practice supports families more effectively.

Restorative Approaches: The concept, process, skills and effect in family service provision

This workshop led by Annie Williams and Jeremy Segrott from Cardiff University is just one of the many inspiring workshops at the BASPCAN child protection congress. The workshop will interest practitioners, managers and policy-makers concerned with children and family services. By the end they will be familiar with RA, its core values and some skills essential in its use. The workshop will outline the concept of RA, present emerging research on its use in family-services and offer an interactive session that allows participants to try RA skills and discuss its relevance to their field.

Thinking Outside the Box: innovative perspectives on protecting children and young people

It’s now just 11 weeks till the start of the congress, so if you haven’t done so already, why not get your registration in. Take a look at our website to see the full programme and to register: www.baspcan.org.uk/congress-2018/

What’s in the workshop?

The first half of the workshop will be presented by academic researchers. The initial presentation will be of an article concerned with the RA concept and how it relates to family-service delivery. Attention then turns to empirical findings. Firstly, from a study exploring family-service delivery that links using RA as a delivery framework to practice as recommended. This will be followed by results from an evaluation of the Restorative Approach Family Engagement Project (RAFEP): a family-practitioner training programme delivered across Wales with the aim of promoting RA and increasing family engagement. The evaluation collected data via questionnaires before; immediately after; three/six months post-training; and focus groups three months post-training. Findings indicated that practitioners believed RAFEP promoted RA, increased confidence when working with service-users, helped families engage better, and led to better relationships between practitioners and service-users. The final interactive part, delivered by staff from an agency committed to RA training and practice, will focus on RA values and skills. During this participants will participate in facilitated discussions of how RA relates to existing practice, organisations and working systems. They will then have opportunity to take part in activities that develop essential skills underlying RA practice.

BASPCAN: For Child Protection Professionals

January 15, 2018

Macbeth doth murder sleep

Methought I heard a voice cry, ‘Sleep no more!

Macbeth doth murder sleep,’ the innocent sleep,

Sleep that knits up the ravell’d sleave of care,

The death of each day’s life, sore labour’s bath,

Balm of hurt minds, great nature’s second course,

Chief nourisher in life’s feast.

By some strange irony, the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford will be staging their contemporary production of Shakespeare’s darkest psychological thriller with Christopher Eccleston as Macbeth at the same time as our BASPCAN 10^th International Child Protection Congress at the University of Warwick.

Thinking outside the box

The theme of our congress, ‘thinking outside the box,’ reflects our desire to learn and develop, encouraging participants to be creative and reflective, and to interact with each other.

The Shakespeare connection

Shakespeare will, in fact, feature quite prominently in our programme, with a promenade performance by Playbox Theatre company of ‘Shakespeare’s Lost Children’, and an opening keynote presentation from Paul Edmondson, head of learning and research at the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.

Shakespeare’s Children remain powerful presences today as the emotions, dilemmas, responsibilities and bond between parents and children is brought into sharp focus.

Be inspired, challenged, equipped

Why not register today to attend the congress, and stay on for a day or two to explore Coventry and Warwickshire and treat yourself to a live performance at the RSC?

Check our congress website for more details: www.baspcan.org.uk/congress-2018/

January 13, 2018January 13, 2018

This poem moves awkwardly…

This poem:

a poem in two parts by Niamh, aged 10 and Clare, aged 45

for the BASPCAN 2018 child protection congress

This poem moves awkwardly.

It lives in the sea, near the shore

where the waves crash

and poetry is swept onto the beach.

This poem eats slimy things.

It has one blunt tooth

and its tail is ripped by rocks.

It swims with small poems

and big poems and songs –

the books are far off in the ocean

which looks plain from a distance

but from the inside,

it’s full of life.

This poem is red, like ore.

It is small and wide

and its eyes are sapphire.

They look straight ahead.

I almost caught this poem.

It was on the tips of my fingers,

I felt its smooth skin.

Though I followed this poem

to the shore

it had gone. It had gone

and the sky was grey.

This poem lives in a slow river

where it’s summer and I am seven

and the river is green

and the dark current scares me

it hangs in the shallows

there are pebbles

and low trees

and feet turned the colour of rust

in the sun through the water

and its mouth is a tiny dot

it flickers off on and on

and its eyes are invisible

but it sees

how the universe moves in colour

and a huge sun that simmers

and darkness I cannot describe

and the rocks are worlds

and the currents are storms

and my hand is a shadow

and cage

This poem is by Clare Shaw and her daughter Niamh which they wrote for the BASPCAN 2018 child protection congress in April.

Clare is our poet in residence for the congress, part of our exciting ‘out of the box’ programme.

September 13, 2017

Thinking creatively about safeguarding children

Over the past few weeks I have been in a number of conversations which have highlighted the complexity of work around safeguarding children, the commitment of those professionals engaged in such work, and the huge impact of the work on children and families.

I have been very aware of the challenges practitioners face in balancing their supportive and protective roles, and also how both survivors of abuse and families who come into our protective systems can feel excluded and victimised by the very services set up to support them.

So I am really very excited by next year’s BASPCAN child protection congress taking place at the University of Warwick in April.

The theme of the congress, Thinking outside the box, captures our desire to think creatively about how we safeguard children.

For the first time ever, we will be bringing together practitioners, survivors of abuse, researchers, trainers and policy makers to learn from each other, reflect and consider how we can improve services to support families and protect children and young people.

We have an exciting line up of keynote speakers, and some really inspiring abstracts already being submitted. The call for abstracts ends soon, so if you have a good idea, some original research or innovative practice that you can present, or if you are able to draw on your own experience as a survivor of abuse or someone who has been involved with family support services, do get online now to submit an outline (abstract) of your presentation.

And do take a look at our all-new website (click here) where you will find lots of information and inspiration, including our latest poem of the month from our poet in residence, Clare Shaw, and some tasters from our artist in residence, Harry Venning.

August 19, 2017

You are teaching your daughter to swim

in open waters

though you don’t know the depth

of the lake at its centre; who might have died there,

whether the pike will scare her or bite her,

if the current will pull her down.

At the level of water, the mountains are higher.

The cold is a world she will walk to and enter

where deep mud is softer than skin.

Let the pebbles swim under her feet!

All the darkness beneath her

is answered by birds

and the trees will be tall and kind.

The sun will light up the water above her.

When there’s no ground left to stand on,

then she’ll fly.

Though the cold makes her teeth ache

she can take it. The rain cannot soak her,

the swan will not harm her. No dead man

will reach out his hand. You will watch her

leaving the shore behind

and the current will flow

the right way. That day,

the water will hold her

and take her far from you.

Now let her go from you. Let go.

A poem by Clare Shaw,

Poet in Residence for the

BASPCAN 2018 International Child Protection Congress

To read more of Clare’s poems and to find out more about the Congress see our website:

BASPCAN Congress 2018

and the water holds you

and carries you

it stops you from going down

and occasional sun

Y Living things scare you –

their dark little nudges

you imagine them,

snake-like and toothy and eyeless.

there’s nothing makes sense

but your arms

the rhythm of you moving forwards

beat and stroke

and sun on the surface

ou are leaving the shore behind.

July 22, 2017July 22, 2017

My mother was a verified miracle.

A poem for July by Clare Shaw, Poet in Residence for the BASPCAN 2018 International Child Protection Congress

My mother was church door where millions entered.
My mother was tower where four kestrels roosted –
my mother was hooded, she plunged and she hovered.
She flew at the speed of the wind, oh
my mother had wings and her voice was an organ,
she was seraph and cherub and throne and dominion.
My mother was bright with flame.

My mother was saint and my mother was martyr
and she was the light floating over the water.
My mother was whale and I rode safe inside her –
I was blessed and I came out clean
for my mother was sermon and she was the mountain
and she was the tree and the nails and the Roman
and her rafters were oak and her stone was all golden.

My mother said Let there be light
and she was the light. My mother was fruit
and we peopled the earth in her name
for my mother was sun and my mother was thunder.
My mother would get at the truth if it killed her –
she laid waste to the nations for me did my mother
and I could not run from her love

for my mother was choir, she was every bird singing
and she was the song and will not be forgotten.
My mother was angel, my mother was fallen.
She suffered the children and fed them on nothing.
My mother was bread
and my mother was broken
and she was the ark. She was darkness. The ocean.

To read more of Clare’s poems, to find out more about the congress and how you can participate, please take a look at the congress website:

BASPCAN Congress 2018

May 1, 2017May 2, 2017

Child Protection

A poem by Clare Shaw for the 2018 BASPCAN child protection congress

Once, everything felt like threat.

Only my body

could keep yours alive.

We’d get up to check your breathing:

it was shallow and warm

on my cheek.

The whole world swam

in its tide.

I gazed into the dark

where no monsters were;

built fences to keep you

safe;

put the matches

up on the highest shelf.

I took on the wolf

with my own weak teeth

Never

will you not be my child,

would I not hold you,

wrap you in blankets of stars,

sweep stones from your path

so you won’t fall.

I will hold your hand by habit

on the road.

and you ask would I die for you –

a thousand times over

but the fences are growing smaller

and you should climb them.

I am giving you the matches.

Now make fire.

Clare Shaw, Poet in Residence

Clare Shaw is an educationalist and a writer. Her work is explicitly grounded in academic and professional knowledge, and also in her own experiences of self-injury and using mental health services. She is the author of “Otis Doesn’t Scratch (PCCS 2015); co-editor of “Our Encounters with Self-injury” (PCCS 2013); and has published numerous articles and book chapters. Clare is also a Royal Literary Fellow at the University of Huddersfield. She is “one of Britain’s most dynamic and powerful young poets” (Arvon Foundation), and as such creativity and performance are an important element of her work.

Clare writes about her poetry:

“Part of the alchemy of poetry is not knowing what you’re going to write until it is written. I don’t have a road map for the poetry I’ll write over the coming year. Child protection, abuse and harm are huge topics to address; that’s why poetry is a perfect way to approach them. Once I started writing, I knew that I wanted to begin by deconstructing some of the language we’re all familiar with when we work in this field – by bringing it back to the ordinary and extraordinary experience of caring for a child”.

Thinking Outside the Box: BASPCAN Congress, 2018

Click here to find out more about the 2018 BASPCAN Congress

BASPCAN: For Child Protection Professionals