Domestic Violence: Child, Young Person or Adult.

Domestic Violence: Child, Young Person or Adult.

Background:

We are about to embark on a launch of our development programme which can be adapted for the all employers, training organisations, schools, academies and colleges and training establishments.

If you would like to find out more about how we could work with you, here are our contact details:

enquiries@coadyconsultants.co.uk 

Telephone 0121-602-7191 (UK)

Mobile 07984409937

or of course, use the comment section on our Blog.

Domestic Violence-Awareness Raising.

Premise

In 2001 women represented 44% of the working age labour force. This figure is set to rise to 48% by 2012. In some specific areas, women will form the majority of the workforce.  It is estimated that 1:4 women will experience domestic violence from men known to them and between 1:8-1:10 will have experienced it within the last year. A woman is at her most vulnerable at the point of leaving a violent relationship.

The Programme

Our programme is drawn from a nationally recognised (Home Office Approved) format providing practical approaches and in doing so establishes:

• Domestic Violence accounts for almost 25% of violent crime
• It crosses social and cultural boundaries
• There are critical events when the targets of domestic violence are at their most vulnerable
• Teachers, Mentors and other colleagues in the Education Workforce may be confided in by parents, carers or co-workers who have been the target of Domestic Violence and are at a point where they need informed assistance
• The targets of Domestic Violence , their colleagues and managers need access to recent information, including signposting to support networks and practical steps for employers
• Misinformed actions or suggestions may exacerbate an already dangerous situation

Members of the Education Workforce are ideally placed to recognise patterns of behaviour that may suggest a child, a parent/carer or an employee is under duress. We believe that we all place worker safety, safeguarding and security at the heart of our Duty of Care to their learners, parents and employees and would wish to develop a positive approach to supporting those who are/have been the targets of domestic violence. We also recognise the impact of Domestic Violence on Learner Achievement, Parental engagement and the investment lost to organisations in terms of skills and expertise when experienced colleagues leave their jobs at short-notice either as a direct or indirect outcome of domestic violence. Our programme will enable participants to

• Acquire a working understanding of the processes targets are subjected to
• Develop overview of perpetrator behaviour
• Understand to support colleagues at the point of disclosure.

Learning Styles

• Participative.
• Presentation & Video Materials (Please note-video materials are “acted” and free from “Shock Tactics”)

Lunch Time Supervisors-An Authority Approached Us....

Lunch Time Supervisors: Beginning The Journey

February for the shortest month of the year, February can seem to last forever; the buzz of Christmas and New Year has long since past and this year was a cold, snow and slush laden affair that made Summer seem a long way off.
It’s always great to get a telephone call asking if we’d be interested in some work-it lifts the spirits and refocuses our energies and puts some energy into thinking and planning for the future.
A local authority contact had found us through the Web Site (www.coadyconsultants.co.uk )and was very interested in our Lunch Time Supervisor Development Programme: could we deliver it, to a series of Local Authority Secondary Schools in April, with a catch-up session in May? Our resources created a really favourable impression and the contract was agreed.
One of our Associate Consultants delivered the package-the feedback has been hugely encouraging: for the vast majority of those attending this was the first exposure they had received to training that acknowledged the huge contribution their role makes to the health, safety and well being of learners during the lunch period.
There is something very powerful about dignity achieved through recognition. Participants want to develop their skills and understanding of how they can better contribute to outcomes for learners and to work with Senior Managers and Duty Teams to improve the lunch-time experience for all concerned.
We have a strong set of evaluations that continue to point us in the direction the consultancy has followed since its inception, namely that to obtain the very best from people, there has to be a strong inner compass that points in the direction of mutual respect and dignity for all of the workforce.

Developing Lunch Time Supervisors (ii)

We prefer to enter longer-term sustainable relationships with our customers. One of the benefits for us is that we get to see the outcomes of the work we deliver: it's immensely rewarding to witness, in real terms, the amount of movement teams are capable of making.
Working with one of our customers, we have developed a "Lunch Time Team Charter", a simple 3 Fold leaflet that delivers some very powerful messages about the the Lunch Time Team and how it contributes to the well-being of the school community.
An enthusiastic and committed management team have worked with us throughout and the 3 fold will now be

• shared with the whole workforce
• e-mailed (where appropriate) to parents and carers
• used as part of the induction pack for next academic year's Year 7 learners
• the subject of tutorial/assemblies

Nothing beats good practice! There are regular meetings between the supervisors, student support managers and a Deputy Head Teacher. It was a privilege to attend one very recently and to witness at first hand the shift in dialogue in this team of 12 people. It has moved from sounding "stuck, helpless and problem-donating", to a place where it is "dynamic, resourceful and problem-solving."

My drive home that evening was made up of around 25 miles of gentle rolling country-side between two major urban areas-the spring sun and crisp skies of late March contributed to the feeling of well-being that had arisen from the massively positive messages and tangible progress demonstrated by a team that had committed to the development process, supported by a school that takes seriously the value-added to be gained from investing in the development and growth of its workforce. Some days are just better than others!

Developing Lunch Time Supervisors

We've approached by a number of schools to train their lunchtime supervisors. Hard working people who deliver a massively important thankless task at just above minimum wage. They tell us that they feel undervalued by the workforce and are subject to low-levels of co-operation from children and young people.

Where we've put some training in things have changed for the better. After using our systems the Supervisors have reported that they "feel better about their jobs" and this has had a significant impact on learners. The chief element of change seems to be to increase the worth and regard the supervisors are held in by the rest of the work-force and to get the message across to the kids that Lunch Time Supervisors should enjoy the same level of regard and respect as that given to other team members.

Assertiveness skills, handling your own anger and adopting a common approach seem to have made a difference in every case. Schools should be safe at lunchtimes, this sort of thinking does not come cheap-they need to consider the benefits of the investment. Safer schools, a reduction in bullying and intimidation and a better start to the afternoon session give some indication of the value of the investment in training and development. Trained supervisors have a greater sense of confidence, worth and value and can use their skills in other areas, allowing them to progress in their jobs with the Children's Workforce