WELLBEING AND THE WORLD OF THE CHILD 2-3 November 2016

DAY ONE PROGRAMME CHOICES Please select EITHER one study trip OR two consecutive workshops

Study visit A: Kildrum Family Learning Centre – North Lanarkshire Partnership Solihull attachment programme This visit gives the opportunity to learn about the programme and to hear from some of the services involved about how its approach has impacted on practice. The services will share how they work closely in partnership with parents and other agencies (eg speech and language therapists, health visitors, social workers and educational psychologists) to ensure children are offered the best services and experiences. The programme aims to train all of its early years workforce, including managers, practitioners and support staff in the Solihull approach, to ensure that all staff have and use consistent knowledge, language and skills. It is based firmly on involving parents and families; supporting them to process strong feelings and emotions, and seek their own solutions.

Study visit B: Coatbridge Fire Station and Firereach Programme The innovative Firereach programme which has been rolled out to every secondary school in North Lanarkshire is about so much more than a week away from school. The programme works with local schools, other vocational programmes and the Children’s Reporter to identify young people who are often disengaged from school life for many reasons, or are within the care or social justice systems. This youth employability programme provides them with an opportunity to partake in team building, communication and other life skills, and invites parents and carers to come together at its conclusion to celebrate their successes. This visit provides the opportunity to visit the fire station, speak to the staff and young people, and learn about the programme from its current programme to its future plans.

DAY ONE WORKSHOPS If you are NOT attending a study trip, please select one red workshop and one blue workshop.

Workshop 1A: What next for childcare - Scotland's biggest public sector change programme Sally Cavers and Kenny Forsyth, Children in Scotland The Scottish Government’s decision to increase the quota of annual early learning and childcare provision from 600 to 1140 hours for 3-4 year olds and eligible 2 year olds raises a number of challenges and opportunities. This includes the impact on children and their families, staff availability and training, space, catering, logistics and more for those who work to support early years children and their families. This session will discuss these questions, and explore how Children in Scotland’s plans for a sustainable childcare model in Glasgow may be evaluated and rolled out elsewhere.

Workshop 1B: Improving relationships, improving lives Abbey Krause and Duncan Gordon, Scottish Centre for Conflict Resolution Last year almost 5,000 young people in Scotland became homeless due to family relationship breakdowns. Mediation is widely recognised as a helpful way to support young people and families to manage their relationships and thereby prevent youth homelessness. This interactive session will provide a taster of the SCCR conflict resolution course which explores the dynamics of conflict within relationships and develops skills to support families to have positive conversations, de-escalate and manage difficult situations.

Workshop 1C: Female genital mutilation: what should I know? Judy Wasige, Gathered Together Project Female genital mutilation (FGM) has been illegal in the UK since 1985. However, the UK government estimates that 170,000 women and girls have undergone the procedure, with a further 65,000 girls under 13 in the ‘at risk’ category. Despite this, not one conviction has been secured in the UK in this time. This session will explain the truths, dangers and outcomes of FGM, breast ironing and other related abuse. Judy will suggest ways in which to support girls who may be at risk or recovering from such practices and where and how to report these.



DAY ONE WORKSHOPS If you are NOT attending a study trip, please select one red workshop and one blue workshop.

Workshop 2A: Learning beyond the classroom: raising aspirations and attainment Mary De la Peña, Children’s University Scotland How do children learn? How are they motivated and inspired? How can we stimulate their curiosity and fire their imaginations? Children’s University offers access to learning for 5-14 year olds which is self-initiated, selfdirected, fun and innovative. They do so at a local level through partnerships with schools, further and higher education institutions and local communities This session will explore the challenges and successes, and will also explore the potential for research on evidence of impact on participants’ attainment, self-esteem and aspirations.

Workshop 2B

Early intervention and prevention through partnership working Tracy Cooper, Bookbug with partners

The success of the Bookbug Programme in North Lanarkshire has been achieved through the support of, and integration into, a broad range of community programmes and services including libraries, community centres, health and family centres. This includes working with a multi-agency steering group to ensure a continuum of support for families and the integration of Bookbug into a range of services and organisations This workshop will explore how many partners using the same tool can support families and work towards closing the attainment gap by encouraging parents to be active in their children’s learning and development from birth.

Workshop 2C: Supporting families through addiction Liz Higgins, North Lanarkshire Strengthening Families Programme North Lanarkshire’s Strengthening Families programme supports families with children and young people who have been affected in some way by substance misuse. This session is an opportunity to learn about how the programme brings families together through group discussions, fun games & activities to focus on topics such as understanding behaviours, communication between parents/carers & children, exploring skills and tools to ensure appropriate boundaries, peer pressure, substance misuse, making positive life choices and strengthening the parent/carer child relationship through working and problem solving together.

DAY TWO PROGRAMME CHOICES Please select one of these morning sessions and one afternoon workshop from page 2.

SESSION 1A: Gazebos in the rain: no child should be hungry Chair: Dr Angela Donkin Panel: Michaela Collins, PEEK |

Nancy Clunie, Dalmarnock Primary School

This session will build on the recent success of the Food, Families, Future project and explore how we can all work collaboratively to eradicate food poverty including holiday hunger. Be prepared to discuss: -

Effective cross-sector working

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Increasing access to community spaces

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Challenging and cutting bureaucracy

SESSION 1B: Mental health: Support, stigma and social media Chair: Dr Gregor Smith Panel: Jonny Benjamin

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Mental Health Foundation (invited)

Aye Mind (invited) | Scottish Youth Parliament (invited) This session will explore how we improve our mental health support of children and young people and their families by looking at successful initiatives and discussing current challenges and opportunities. Be prepared to discuss: -

Removing stigmas around mental health

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Promoting mental health within the family setting

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Harnessing the power of social media ‘for good’.

SESSION 1C: Child protection Chair: Jackie Brock Panel: Detective Inspector Elaine Galbraith, Police Scotland Mhairi McLeod, Aberlour Guardianship Team | Children First Fiona Swift, North Lanarkshire Council (invited) Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre (invited) This session will explore how we improve our processes and services in supporting children at risk of, and recovering from, child abuse. Be prepared to discuss: -

Catherine Dyer’s keynote address

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Up-skilling staff in reporting and managing at-risk situations

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Getting it right for survivors of child abuse

DAY TWO PROGRAMME CHOICES Please select one of these afternoon workshops.

Workshop 2A: Changing perceptions, improving outcomes for under-7 education Sue Palmer, Upstart International evidence shows that children under the age of seven benefit from an educational approach that supports their all-round physical, emotional, social and cognitive development – learning through enjoyable experiences rather than formal teaching. The emphasis is on opportunities to play (especially outdoors) and develop social and communication skills, and teacher-led opportunities for art, drama, music, stories, and science and maths investigations. This session will explore how Scotland’s children could benefit from a play-centred kindergarten stage, and how we could move towards this in Scotland.

Workshop 2B: Mentors in violence prevention programme Chief Inspector Graham Goulden Young people today are faced with a number of challenges, all of which have the potential to damage their relationships with peers and impact on their attainment. This includes bullying, sexting, alcohol and social media issues to name but a few. This peer mentoring programme provides initial training to schools, after which they recruit and train mentors from the upper years. It is this ‘boy-to-boy’ and ‘girl-to-girl’ mentoring that has led to participants achieving positive outcomes and valuable life skills. This session is an opportunity to learn about the programme, speak to it’s lead, and hear first-hand from young people who have benefitted from participating.

Workshop 2C: Partnering with parents to improve children’s development through technology Chris Williams, CHATTA The CHATTA programme involves working with parents and partners in education and health to support children’s learning and development through use play, discovery and technology. This involves engaging parents in their child’s learning, where often they’re not sure how. Learning activities are created by linking images and voice recordings to share and play with their child. This session will discuss how this partnership approach has led to significant improvement in children’s understanding of order and sequence, and thereby children’s speech, language and communication, and how this could be applied in your settings.