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Children and young people EXPERIENCING DOMESTIC ABUSE: Guidance Note for Planners
9 Training
The importance of training as part of workforce development and the need for a strategic approach to it has been highlighted, as has 'the development of our understanding of the children's workforce requirements to ensure it has the skills, qualifications, capacity and leadership it needs'.
The Audit and Review of Child Protection (Scottish Executive: 2002):
'The particular difficulties for practitioners in supporting children where domestic abuse has been identified... the important role of training in ensuring all workers have the knowledge, understanding and skills to deal with it'.
The National Prevention Strategy (2003):
'Training can both improve service provision to women and children experiencing domestic abuse and impact on the prevention of abuse through conveying strong and unequivocal messages about its unacceptability'.
'All public services should be aware that addressing domestic abuse is a national priority and that they have a responsibility to participate in taking forward a united strategy, including training as an integral element'.
The National Training Strategy (2004) has as its aims:
- That all agencies, individually and working together, can make the required changes to ensure that the best possible service is provided to anyone affected by domestic abuse, anywhere in Scotland.
- That all workers who come into contact with women, children and young people who have experienced domestic abuse, and men who have used violence, have the knowledge, understanding and skill required to realise the National Strategy.
- That all relevant staff are equipped with the knowledge, understanding and skills necessary for working across professional boundaries.
It asserts that:
'It is vitally important that everyone who comes into contact with women and children who have experienced domestic abuse in the course of their work is able to give an appropriate response' and that this is particularly true for 'front line' workers such as health service professionals, teachers, social workers, police officers and solicitors as well as those in the voluntary sector' ...There is also a need for training for policy makers, senior practitioners and all levels of managers'.
'Domestic abuse training is essential to enable staff to provide a good service. There will therefore be a requirement for all sectors to view domestic abuse training as 'core business'.
The Training Strategy identifies the following elements as important components of a comprehensive training packages. The following aspects might be important in relation to developing packages relevant to CYPEDA:
- Nature, extent and causes of domestic abuse.
- Children and young people's experiences of domestic abuse.
- Multi-agency training.
- Joint working training.
- Specific issues relating to women, children and young people who experience additional discrimination.
- Child protection.
- Empowerment of women, children and young people.
The Training Strategy emphasises that 'due to the sensitive and complex nature of domestic abuse it is important that training is consistent with the analysis of abuse in the national strategy'. Also that it is 'essential that only suitably trained personnel carry out this task. If there is a domestic abuse trainer in post, they should deliver the training, involving Women's Aid and other specialist organisations as appropriate in planning and co-facilitating. Where there is no domestic abuse trainer, training should be provided by Women's Aid and other agencies with suitable skills.' This applies equally to training in relation to CYPEDA.
Planners are asked to take account of the above and to ensure that training and training strategies in relation to Domestic Abuse include its effects on CYPEDA as an integral part.
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