Programme overview
Introduction:
Family violence and child protection, covering reporting, risk assessment and case conferences, is a 5-day course for social work, protection unit and safeguarding staff, ending with a Family Violence and Child Protection Response Protocol for a case organisation. Agencies lose children and adult victims to harm when indicators go unrecognised, reports stall between services and risk is judged by instinct rather than structured evidence. Nominees already receive disclosures or protection referrals at work and learn through case studies built on anonymised referrals, risk checklists and case chronologies. CoreConcept Training Center delivers this family violence and child protection course.
Course Objectives:
- Recognise physical, sexual and emotional abuse, neglect, coercive control and economic abuse from presenting indicators and disclosures
- Apply a reporting pathway that moves a concern from first disclosure to a referral that meets the receiving agency threshold
- Score family violence and child maltreatment risk with a structured checklist and record the reasoning behind each judgement
- Draft victim safety plans and emergency shelter referrals that match the assessed level of danger
- Contribute to multi-agency case conferences and child protection plans with clear actions, owners and review points
- Keep case records, chronologies and information sharing decisions that respect confidentiality and stand up to later review
Target Audience:
- Staff who receive family violence reports and carry protection caseloads in social welfare agencies
- Staff in family protection units who investigate referrals and coordinate immediate safety measures
- Staff who act as designated safeguarding contacts in schools and respond to pupil disclosures
- Staff who identify and refer suspected abuse in hospital emergency, paediatric and maternity services
- Staff who run shelter intake, victim advocacy or helpline services for women and children
Course Outline:
Day 1: Family Violence Forms, Child Maltreatment Categories and Service Landscape
- Physical, Sexual, Emotional Abuse and Neglect Definitions Compared
- Coercive Control and Economic Abuse Patterns Within Households
- WHO Child Maltreatment Risk Factors at Four Levels
- Protection Service Map Across Health, Education and Social Welfare
- Current Response Gap Scan Using Recent Case Files
Day 2: INSPIRE Strategies, Abuse Indicators and Reporting Pathways
- INSPIRE Seven Strategies Mapped to Local Response Services
- Physical and Behavioural Abuse Indicators Recognition Checklist
- Disclosure Handling Protocol Using Listen, Reassure and Record
- Mandatory Reporting Pathway Flowchart From Concern to Referral
- Referral Form Content Standards and Threshold Decision Matrix
Day 3: Structured Risk Assessment, Safety Planning and Shelter Referral
- Structured Professional Judgement Risk Checklist Scoring Practice
- Lethality Indicators Including Strangulation, Weapons and Separation Timing
- Child Needs, Parenting Capacity and Family Environment Assessment
- Victim Safety Plan Template With Exit Routes and Contacts
- Emergency Shelter Referral Criteria and Placement Intake Checklist
Day 4: Multi-Agency Case Conferences, Information Sharing and Problem Cases
- Multi-Agency Risk Conference Agenda, Roles and Action Log
- Child Protection Plan With Named Actions and Review Points
- Information Sharing Agreement, Consent Exceptions and Confidentiality Rules
- Case Record Standards, Chronologies and Defensible Decision Notes
- Failure Patterns From Serious Case Reviews and Missed Signals
Day 5: Case Study Building a Response Protocol for a Case Organisation
- Case Organisation Brief With Hospital, School and Shelter Referrals
- Case File Risk Scoring and Safety Plan Drafting
- Mock Case Conference Using Shared Chronology and Plan
- Reporting and Information Sharing Flowchart for Case Organisation
- Family Violence and Child Protection Response Protocol Completion
Skills You Will Gain:
- Abuse Indicator Recognition
- Disclosure Response
- Protection Referral Writing
- Structured Risk Scoring
- Victim Safety Planning
- Case Conference Participation
- Case Chronology Recording
- Confidential Information Sharing
Why Attend This Course:
- Deliver a Family Violence and Child Protection Response Protocol for a case organisation to the head of the protection or safeguarding unit
- Decide whether a concern meets the referral threshold, needs an urgent safety plan or calls for shelter placement, using recorded risk evidence
- Avoid delayed reports, lost referrals and repeat incidents that follow when agencies hold separate pieces of the same family picture
- Share the indicator checklist, risk scoring sheet, safety plan template and referral flowchart with frontline colleagues
Conclusion:
Back at work, the participant hands the head of the protection or safeguarding unit a Family Violence and Child Protection Response Protocol that sets who receives a disclosure, how risk is scored, when a safety plan or shelter referral is made and how partner agencies are convened. Unit leads use it to brief staff and agree referral routes with hospitals, schools and shelters. After the first case conference held under the protocol, the unit should review referral timeliness, risk scoring consistency and the quality of shared records.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ):
What should participants know before the family violence and child protection course?
Participants should already receive disclosures, protection referrals or victim enquiries at work. Bringing an anonymised referral, a current reporting procedure or a risk form from their own service helps them apply the case study exercises to real practice.
How does family violence and child protection training differ from a social services management or school counselling course?
It centres on frontline protection work: recognising abuse, handling disclosures, reporting, scoring risk, safety planning, shelter referral and case conferences. Social services management courses cover running and evaluating a service, and school counselling courses cover academic and personal guidance for students.
Why does family violence and child protection work rely on structured risk assessment?
Structured risk assessment makes judgements consistent and explainable. A checklist of known danger indicators, scored and recorded with reasons, helps staff spot escalating cases, prioritise safety measures and give partner agencies a shared basis for decisions at case conferences.
What do participants take back from the family violence and child protection course?
Participants take back a Family Violence and Child Protection Response Protocol for a case organisation, plus an indicator checklist, a risk scoring sheet, a safety plan template, a referral flowchart and a case chronology format they can adapt to their own service.