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Useful Information

This is the place where Warwickshire Safeguarding Adults Board will input information you may find useful in regards to Safeguarding in Warwickshire.

After reading some of the crime prevention booklets produced by the police, Christopher Langman, who has learning difficulties himself, wanted to help share the information with those who may find it hard to understand the advice, also including those who do not speak English as their first language.

Christopher was assisted in producing the booklet by his support worker Natalie Bull, who helped him translate the topics and lay them out in an easy-to-read format.

The Warwickshire Safeguarding Adults Board have happily agreed to share and support Christopher's work in the hopes that it will increase understanding on certain Safeguarding topics for those with learning disabilities or difficulties, as well as those who do not speak English as their first language.
To download a copy, just click on the below titles:

 

The aims and objectives of this document and associated learning provides information in the following areas: -
> Identifying risk and vulnerability to fire
> The importance to include the risk of fire at initial assessment and care plan design
> When and how to refer to WFRS including what support and services are available

Click here to download the Guidance.
Click here to read more about Warwickshire Fire & Rescue Service.

 

Warwickshire Trading Standards Service: Protecting residents and local businesses from scams and frauds

Everyday, even in the safety of our own homes, we are all contacted by people trying to persuade us to part with our money. Some are honest and reputable, some are not. It can be very difficult to tell the difference.

We might get a knock at the door from someone offering to clean our gutters, fix a loose roof tile or resurface our driveway. Through the post we may receive prize draws, competition or lottery schemes requiring us to pay an upfront “admin fee” for our entry. When the phone rings it might be someone trying to sell PPI, solar panels or miracle health supplements. Even on the Internet we are constantly bombarded with bogus emails.

Warwickshire Trading Standards seeks to support local residents and businesses both by awareness raising and targeted enforcement action. Whilst we are all targeted by scams and fraudsters from time to time, most of us are able to identify the scam when we see it and deal with it accordingly. Unfortunately, a minority of vulnerable Warwickshire residents struggle to do this and therefore may be at a greater risk of falling for a scam or rogue trader. These vulnerable individuals are often targeted again and again.

To help protect vulnerable people living in Warwickshire, Trading Standards utilises a number of enforcement tools including a rapid response service, No Rogue Trader Zones and postal and telephone scam interventions to help those most at risk and in need.

Please watch this video by Hereford Trading Standards and Citizens Advice on "How to Avoid Doorstep Crime and Rogue Traders"

You can also read these Case Studies by Warwickshire Trading Standards of Door Step Crime and Scam Mail.

 

Warwickshire Safeguarding Adults Board have created an 'Easy Read Guide' on Keeping Adults Safe from Abuse and Nelgect. This guide is ideal for someone who's first language may not be English, or for someone with a learning disability, as this guide gives a basic outline of what Safeguarding means using visual representations. We hope you find this guide useful. Please click here to download it.

 

Warwickshire Safeguarding Adults Board have created informative flyers providing information on the different forms of abuse. We hope you find these flyers useful and eye-opening to the different forms of abuse. Please click here to download them. 

 

Warwickshire Safeguarding Adults Board have created a guidance for Councillors on Safeguarding Adults at risk of abuse or negect, to view it, click here.

 

Independent Age's free guides and factsheets are full of information to help you boost your income, find the care you need, remain independent, choose the right place to live, stay connected with others, and more.

To view and download these guides and factsheets, go to their website by clicking here.

 

EQuIP is the Equality and Inclusion Partnership, a charity working across Warwickshire to promote promote equality and diversity. They have been providing support, advice and training to Warwickshire for over 10 years. Formerly known as the Warwickshire Race Equality Partnership, EQuIP became the Equality and Inclusion Partnership in 2017, when they expanded their services to cover everyone who experiences discrimination.

They are a charity providing support, advice and training to people across Warwickshire to combat discrimination.They work alongside local groups, businesses and organisations, helping to build understanding and cohesion throughout the Warwickshire community through individual support and advice, group learning and tailored training courses.

To learn more about EQuIP and the great work they do within Warwickshire, then go to their website by click on the link; EQuIP

 

The Modern Slavery Police Transformation Unit (MSPTU) have produced 3 informative posters which we would like to share with you, they are:

There is no one type of Modern Slavery

There is no one type of Modern Slavery Offender

There is no one type of Modern Slavery Victim

Please feel free to download these posters to put up in your workplace. For further information about Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking, please go to our webpage by clicking here.

 

 

 

Prevent in Warwickshire

Warwickshire is a relatively safe place to live, and most crime types are continuing to reduce. However, we also live in a global community which means we are affected by trends and events that occur at the international level. At present, we need to consider the international threat of terrorism and those people who are pulled into groups that support extremist causes.

In Warwickshire, authorities and communities are working together to deliver the Government’s Prevent Strategy. Prevent is one of four objectives which make up the Government’s Strategy for Countering Terrorism – CONTEST.

The Prevent Strategy has three key objectives:

  1. Respond to the ideological challenge of terrorism and the threat we face from those who promote it;
  2. Prevent people from being drawn into terrorism and ensure that they are given appropriate advice and support; and
  3. Work with sectors and institutions where there are risks of radicalisation which we need to address. It is set up to challenge all forms of terrorism, including the influence of far right and far left extremists. It defines extremism as “vocal or active opposition to fundamental British values, including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs”.

Prevent operates in a pre-criminal space, providing support and re-direction to vulnerable individuals at risk of being groomed into terrorist activities before any crimes are committed. Radicalisation could be comparable to other forms of harm and abuse. It is therefore considered a safeguarding issue and thought of alongside the wider safeguarding agenda.

A local action plan has been developed to implement the Prevent Strategy in Warwickshire and in particular to implement the new Prevent and Channel legislation.

The action plan is owned by the multi-agency Warwickshire Prevent Working Group which reports into the Safer Warwickshire Partnership Board.

Prevent Action Plan 2019/21

Channel is a key element of the Prevent Strategy. It is a multi-agency approach to identifying and providing support to individuals who are at risk of being drawn into terrorism.

Information on the work of the Warwickshire Channel Panel can be found on the Safe In Warwickshire Prevent website within the "how to make a referral" section.

If you need to make a referral, please download the referral form here:

Prevent Referral Form

To understand the pathway process for Channel Panel referral system, click below:

Warwickshire Channel Panel Pathway

Training courses are available throughout the year as follows:

Workshop to Raise Awareness on Prevent (WRAP) is an awareness raising session ‘Workshop to Raise Awareness on Prevent’ available to communities, individuals, professionals, agencies, partners and commissioned services.

Prevent Update Training.

The Prevent Duty was established in 2015 and since that time many people have attended the Workshop to Raise Awareness of Prevent. However the changing nature of the threat and risk associated with Violent extremism means that we need to refresh our understanding of how vulnerable individuals can be radicalised and how we can work together to challenge this. A new training course has been prepared for this purpose, and covers:-

  • A brief overview of the Prevent Duty
  • The current priorities and risks in Warwickshire
  • The signs and symbols associated with extremism
  • The impact of online grooming
  • The support that’s available and how to access it
  • The training takes 1hr 30mins and is a practical guide to the Prevent Duty for practioners. It is suitable for those staff that have attended WRAP previously and need a refresh as well as those who are new to Prevent.

Train the Trainer is on offer for those who would like to train others in the Workshop To Raise Awareness on Prevent (WRAP).

Group or team training sessions on WRAP can be arranged at a time convenient to yourselves, to organise this please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Training for Council Service Providers/Contractors in Warwickshire

The Council has a responsibility to ensure individuals are not subject to radicalisation from any ideology and in addition are not drawn into acts of terrorism. The council retains that same responsibility even when services are delivered for them by others in a commissioned arrangement.

WRAP training and Prevent Update training is on offer to local commissioned services and providers. See flyer below:

Commissioned Services Prevent Training Flyer

For further information on Prevent Training, go to the Safe in Warwickshire website for up to date information.


For more information on Prevent in Warwickshire you can
:

If you have any worries or concerns, or would like more information on Prevent and the signs and behaviours, please contact Geoff Thomas Prevent Officer at Warwickshire County Council on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
In an emergency, call 999. 

What happens if I report something

Your concerns will always be taken seriously

Remember, anyone can make the call.

The person you have told, whether that is a Police officer, nurse, care worker or someone else will ensure that all of the information is recorded accurately. A social care manager will then decide whether a full safeguarding enquiry is needed or whether there are other services which may be better placed to help resolve the problem.

Sharing your information with other professionals

If the social work manager decides to use the safeguarding process, information may have to be shared with other parties, including the Police, if this is considered necessary to protect you or another person from harm

  • You will be told if information needs to be shared
  • You will be asked at each stage of the process what you want to happen.

If it looks as though a crime has been committed, specialist Police officers may need to make enquiries. The Police will never take any steps which will make matters worse for you.

Sometimes, even though the matter appears very serious, the Police may not be able to treat it as a crime as their threshold for an action to be a crime is laid out in law. But the matter may still be serious enough to need looking into, in which case a social worker or other professional will take the lead in making enquiries into the concerns raised and assessing the level of risk. This may involve gathering information from other people who know and care of you such as health workers and carers.

A rough guide to the process of reporting a safeguarding concern is shown below:

A rough guide to the process of reporting a safeguarding concern

If you have any further enquiries on the process once you have reported something please click and download the following information leaflet.

Making Safeguarding Personal

Making Safeguarding Personal (MSP) is a shift in culture and practice in response to what we now know about what makes safeguarding more or less effective from the perspective of the person being safeguarded. It is about having conversations with people about how we might respond in safeguarding situations in a way that enhances involvement, choice and control as well as improving quality of life, wellbeing and safety. It is about seeing people as experts in their own lives and working alongside them. It is a shift from a process supported by conversations to a series of conversations supported by a process.

The key focus is on developing a real understanding of what people wish to achieve, agreeing, negotiating and recording their desired outcomes, working out with them (and their representatives or advocates if they lack capacity) how best those outcomes might be realised and then seeing, and at the end, the extent to which desired outcomes have been realised.

For professionals who work with adults we have the following ‘Making Safeguarding Personal Toolkit’;

The toolkit is set out in a modular format with a summary of key areas. These areas range from models, theories and approaches to skills and areas of specialism that safeguarding practitioners need to be aware of. It can be used as a practitioner guide for pointers on how to respond to individual cases, or as a starting point resource for service development. It has been designed as a resource that will develop over time and allow updates and amendments to be made as development takes place or innovative and effective practice comes to light.

Click this link for an electronic copy of the toolkit.

For more information about making safeguarding personal see:
Local Government Association website www.local.gov.uk
SCIE website www.scie.org.uk
ADASS website www.adass.org.uk

Recognising and Reporting Abuse

The term “abuse” can be subject to wide interpretation. It may be physical, verbal or psychological, it may be an act of neglect, or occur where a person is persuaded to enter into a financial or sexual transaction to which they have not, or cannot consent.

Patterns of abuse vary and include:

  • serial abusing in which the perpetrator seeks out and ‘grooms’ individuals. Sexual abuse sometimes falls into this pattern as do some forms of financial abuse;
  • long-term abuse in the context of an ongoing family relationship such as domestic violence between spouses or generations or persistent psychological abuse; or
  • opportunistic abuse such as theft occurring because money or jewellery has been left lying around.

Incidents of abuse may be one-off or multiple, and affect one person or more.

Abuse or neglect may be the result of deliberate intent, negligence or ignorance. Exploitation can be a common theme in the experience of abuse or neglect. Whilst it is acknowledged that abuse or neglect can take different forms, The Care Act identifies the following types of abuse or neglect:

  • Physical abuse;
  • Domestic violence;
  • Sexual abuse;
  • Psychological abuse;
  • Financial or material abuse;
  • Modern slavery;
  • Discriminatory abuse;
  • Organisational abuse;
  • Neglect and acts of omission;
  • Self-neglect.

The following descriptions of types of abuse and neglect can help decide whether you are at risk and who you can speak to.


Physical abuse includes assault, hitting, slapping, pushing, kicking, misuse of medication, being locked in a room, inappropriate sanctions or force-feeding, inappropriate methods of restraint, and someone unlawfully depriving you of your liberty.

Suggested Helpline
Victim Support: 08081 689 111
Local Victim Support care team: 01926 682693

Alternatively you can click on the ‘Report It’ button for further details


Domestic violence is defined as any incident or pattern of incidents of controlling, coercive, threatening behaviour, violence or abuse between those aged 16 or over who are, or have been, your intimate partners or family members regardless of gender or sexuality. The abuse can encompass, but is not limited to: psychological, physical, sexual, financial, and emotional. This can include such things as forced marriage, honour-based violence and Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).

Suggested Helpline
Refuge Warwickshire: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. / 0800 408 1552 (Mon-Fri 08:30-20:00; Sat 10:00-16:00)
Women’s Aid: 0808 2000 247 (for men experiencing abuse call 0808 801 0327)
Victim Support: 08081 689 111
Local Victim Support care team: 01926 682693
Karma Nirvana: 0800 5999247

Alternatively you can click on the ‘Report It’ button for further details


Sexual abuse including rape, indecent exposure, sexual harassment, inappropriate looking or touching, sexual teasing or innuendo, sexual photography, subjection to pornography or witnessing sexual acts, indecent exposure and sexual assault or sexual acts to which you have not consented or was pressured into consenting. It includes penetration of any sort, incest and situations where the person causing harm touches your body (e.g. breasts, buttocks, genital area), exposes his or her genitals (possibly encouraging the abused person to touch them) or coerces you into participating in or looking at pornographic videos or photographs. Denial of a sexual life to consenting adults is also considered abusive practice. Any sexual relationship that develops between adults where one is in a position of trust, power or authority in relation to the other (e.g. day centre worker/social worker/residential worker/health worker etc.) may also constitute sexual abuse.

Suggested Helpline
RoSA: 01788 551151
Safeline: 0808 800 5008
Blue Sky Centre: 02476 865 505

Alternatively you can click on the ‘Report It’ button for further details


Psychological abuse includes ‘emotional abuse’ and takes the form of threats of harm or abandonment, deprivation of contact, humiliation, rejection, blaming, controlling, intimidation, coercion, indifference, harassment, verbal abuse (including shouting or swearing), cyber bullying, isolation or withdrawal from services or support networks.

Suggested Helpline
LWA: 0300 365 0112

Alternatively you can click on the ‘Report It’ button for further details


This includes theft, fraud, internet scamming, coercion in relation to your financial affairs or arrangements, including in connection with wills, property, inheritance or financial transactions, or the misuse or misappropriation of property, possessions or benefits.

Suggested Helpline
Office of the Public Guardian: 0300 456 0300
Warwickshire Trading Standards: 03454 040506

Alternatively you can click on the ‘Report It’ button for further details


Modern Slavery encompasses slavery, human trafficking, forced and compulsory labour and domestic servitude. Traffickers and slave masters use whatever means they have at their disposal to coerce, deceive and force individuals into a life of abuse, servitude and inhumane treatment.

Suggested Helpline
Unseen UK: 08000 121 700
Care Quality Commission: 0300 3038 151

Alternatively you can click on the ‘Report It’ button for further details


This includes discrimination on the grounds of race, faith or religion, age, disability, gender, sexual orientation and political views, along with racist, sexist, homophobic or ageist comments or jokes, or comments and jokes based on a your disability or any other form of harassment, slur or similar treatment. Hate crime can be viewed as a form of discriminatory abuse, although will often involve other types of abuse as well. Someone excluding you from activities on the basis that you are ‘not liked’ is also discriminatory abuse.

For helplines, please click on the ‘Report It’ button for further details


Including neglect and poor care practice within an institution or specific care setting such as a hospital or care home, or where care is provided within your own home. This may range from one off incidents to on-going ill-treatment. It can be through neglect or poor professional practice as a result of the structure, policies, processes and practices within an organisation.

Suggested Helpline
Care Quality Commission: 03000 616161

Alternatively you can click on the ‘Report It’ button for further details


These include someone ignoring your medical, emotional or physical care needs, failure to provide access to appropriate health, social care or educational services, and the withholding of the necessities of life such as medication, adequate nutrition and heating. Neglect also includes a failure to intervene in situations that are dangerous to you or to others, particularly if you may lack the mental capacity to assess risk for yourself.

Suggested Helpline
Care Quality Commission: 03000 616161

Alternatively you can click on the ‘Report It’ button for further details


Self-neglect covers a wide range of behaviour, neglecting to care for your own personal hygiene; health or surroundings and can include behaviour such as hoarding. Self-neglect is also defined as the inability (intentional or non-intentional) to maintain a socially and culturally accepted standard of self-care with the potential for serious consequences to the health and well-being of yourself and sometimes to your community.

Suggested Helpline
Samaritans: 116 123
Hoarding UK: 020 3239 1600

Alternatively you can click on the ‘Report It’ button for further details

 

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Adults/Children's: 01926 410410

 

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