VWTC/03/04 - VULNERABLE WITNESSES ACT IMPLEMENTATION
STEERING GROUP
TRAINING AND COMMUNICATIONS SUB-GROUP
NATIONAL TRAINING STRATEGY
1. In consideration of a National Training Strategy, the
Victims and Witness Unit prepared and distributed a
questionnaire to sub-group members. It is expected that the
information collated will help provide the Victims and
Witnesses Unit with a clearer picture as to what a National
Training Strategy might include; what training is already
available in different organisations; what training is
required those organisations; how current training could be
adapted and/or shared with others, and what assistance
would be helpful to provide from the centre.
2. Members were invited to respond by 8 February but,
given the tight deadline, it has not been possible to
receive and collate all responses and this will be done and
circulated in due course. For those who have not yet been
able to respond, please forward your replies to Clare
Collin.
3. Members are invited today to consider the
questionnaire (annex A) and comment on the usefulness or
otherwise of such a National Strategy.
SEJD
Victims and Witnesses Unit
February 2005
Vulnerable Witnesses ( Scotland ) Act 2004
Training and Communications Sub Group - Training
Questions
We would appreciate if you could consider and answer the
questions in Section A to E providing as much relevant
detail as possible and return to Clare Collin by no later
than 8 February 2005.
Section A
Your
organisation:…………………………………………………………………………………..
1a) Does your organisation have an internal training
programme?
If yes, in your reply please clarify each
of the following:
b) Who is responsible for training within your
organisation?
c) Who delivers the training?
d) Which staff are covered by the training
programme?
e) Do you have joint training of any type with another
organisation? If yes, please provide details of the type of
training and who is involved.
f) Where training is provided in respect of child
witnesses, do you use your own training materials or other
recognised good practice material? Please provide general
information as to the information/training materials you
use.
g) Is there a process of monitoring and evaluating the
effectiveness of training provided within your
organistaion?
If your organisation does not have an internal
training programme, please clarify each of the
following:
h) How is training usually provided to staff within your
organisation?
i) Is your organisation intending/in the process of
developing a training programme? If so, when will this be
developed?
j) Do your staff link into another organisation's
training programme? If so, please provide details of the
staff involved, the training provider and the type of
training made available.
If unsure about your organisations training
programme, please can you consult with the
appropriate colleague (s) and respond in as much detail as
possible.
Section B Vulnerable Witnesses Act Training
2a) Will your organisation provide training on the
provisions within the Vulnerable Witnesses Act?
If yes, please clarify each of the
following:
b) What aspects of the Act will you provide training
on?
c) What will the training involve?
d) Who in your organisation will receive this
training?
e) Who will deliver this training?
f) When will this training be provided?
g) Will this training be rolled out nationally across
your organisation or will the training be provided at a
local branch level?
If no, please clarify each of the
following:
h) Why has your organisation decided not to provide
training on the Act?
i) Will your organisation link into any other
organisation's training programme? If so, please provide
details.
j) What aspects of the Act would your organisation need
training on?
If a decision about whether to provide training has not
yet been reached, given the provisions of the Act will be
implemented for child witnesses from 1 April 2005, when
will a decision about training be made?
Section C Joint Training - Shared Learning
(locally/nationally)
3a) Would your organisation consider joint training with
another organisation?
b) If yes, which key partner (s) would you be keen to
join up with?
c) Will there be aspects of your training programme that
could be shared with other organisations both locally or
nationally? Please provide details.
d) Would you be willing to host joint training
events?
e) Would you be willing to deliver joint training
events?
If assistance from the centre was made available, please
reconsider questions 3a) to 3e) and refer to questions 4f)
to 4i).
If unsure, please can you consult with the appropriate
colleague(s) and respond in as much detail as possible.
Section D Assistance from the Centre
Training Strategy
4a) Does your organisation feel there is a need for a
national vulnerable witnesses training strategy?
If yes, please clarify each of the following:
b) What do you think this should include?
c) Who do you think needs to receive training?
d) How can we best target those who need training?
e) Who else, beyond the members of the Training and
Communications sub group, should be interested in training
their staff on vulnerable witnesses?
Assistance
f) Is there any assistance the centre could provide your
organisation to help facilitate joint national or local
training events?
g) Which aspects of the Act do you consider to be a
training priority for your organisation?
h) What assistance from the centre would encourage you
to be willing to adapt your training programme to include
training on vulnerable witnesses with the view to sharing
this with other organisations?
i) Are you aware of other training courses which could
be appropriately adapted and used to roll out either
locally and/or nationally? Please provide details.
Training Pack
Views are sought on developing a generic starter
vulnerable witnesses training pack that could include a
variety of material relevant to vulnerable witnesses e.g
supporting child witnesses guidance, frequently asked
questions, practitioner's information leaflet, additional
guidance on the special measures as and when they become
available.
j) Do you think this would be a useful training
tool?
k) What kind of material do you think should be
included?
l) Would you have any
information/guidance/leaflets/videos/dvds which could be
included?
Section E Monitoring and Evaluation
Ministers have committed to monitor and evaluate the
effectiveness of the training provided on vulnerable
witnesses.
To ensure consistency and quality of training regardless
of who is providing it, no matter where they live, we need
some way to nationally monitor and evaluate the training
provided. This process will provide valuable feedback to
individual organisations to further develop their current
training programmes.
5a) Would your organisation be willing to participate in
monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of the training
provided on vulnerable witnesses?
b) How could this be best taken forward within your own
organistaion?
c) Would you be agreeable for a random sample of your
staff to participate in providing their views on the
effectiveness of the training provided?
Please feel free to raise any other relevant training
issues.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR PARTICIPATION