North Yorkshire safeguarding sessions open free

Free learning sessions on safeguarding children and adults will run across North Yorkshire, York, Hull and the East Riding of Yorkshire from Monday, June 15 to Friday, June 19.

The Safeguarding Week Learning Sessions are free to attend, with more than 60 online and face-to-face events scheduled at various times during the day. Sessions will take place virtually and at locations including Pickering Market, Filey Library, Tadcaster, Eggborough, Scarborough, Selby and Skipton.

The programme is aimed at professionals, members of the public, volunteers, parents and carers who want to better understand how to recognise signs of abuse or neglect and report concerns. Some sessions are open only to people working in the safeguarding sector, but the wider week-long programme includes events for public audiences too.

North Yorkshire Council said early registration is recommended, with the full programme available through its website.

Free sessions across the region

Safeguarding Week brings together partners from Safeguarding Adults Boards, Children’s Safeguarding Partnerships and Community Safety Partnerships across North Yorkshire, City of York Council, Hull City Council and East Riding of Yorkshire Council.

The theme for this year’s programme is “safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility”, with sessions designed to cover both adult and child safeguarding. The programme includes learning events, seminars and interactive sessions, mixing practical awareness with professional discussion.

Topics listed for the week include rough sleeping outreach support, autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, domestic abuse, modern slavery and other safeguarding themes. Team members from adult services, children’s services, the City Health Care Partnership and the voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise sector are also expected to attend events.

Cllr Janet Sanderson, executive member for children and families, said safeguarding is about protecting children and adults from abuse or neglect and helping people around them recognise the signs and report concerns.

“The sessions have been designed to stimulate discussion, spark innovation and share best practice,” she said. “But more so, the excellent programme of events allows us all to educate ourselves further on how we can recognise the signs of abuse and help safeguard people from abuse.”

Public drop-ins with community safety officers

Alongside the wider online and in-person programme, community safety officers will be joined by colleagues from North Yorkshire Police at several listed locations during the week.

The listed sessions show how the week is being taken beyond formal meeting rooms, with officers available in markets, libraries, community centres, cafés and public neighbourhood locations.

Who can attend and how to plan

The Safeguarding Week Learning Sessions are free, but attendance arrangements vary across the programme. North Yorkshire Council said sessions will be delivered both virtually and face-to-face at different times of day to help people attend around work and other commitments.

Residents, volunteers, parents and carers can use the public-facing sessions to learn more about safeguarding concerns affecting children, young people and adults. Professionals working in safeguarding can also find sector-specific sessions, though some parts of the programme are restricted to professional audiences.

Anyone planning to join should check the full programme before travelling or registering, because venues, times and audience eligibility vary by session. Early registration is recommended to avoid disappointment.

Source: North Yorkshire Council