Joint investigation in child protection : working together, training together

Addressing work done by police officers, social workers and any other professional linked to safeguarding children boards, the "Joint Investigation in Child Protection" manual can help everyone involved to: understand and recognise what constitutes 'significant harm'; focus on the children involved; and, develop suitable investigative skills, understand the roles of fellow professionals from all other agencies sufficiently well to work effectively with, and if necessary, challenge them. "The Joint Investigation in Child Protection" manual has as its primary purpose the joint training of specialist police officers and social workers. But the manual can also help all LSCB-linked agencies achieve their performance objectives, including: health workers in PCTS and hospital trusts; teachers and education staff in formal and informal education; social workers in children's and adults' services and other local authority workers such as housing staff; probation officers, and staff in the prison service, secure provision and youth offending teams; police officers who work with children; staff in the voluntary and private sectors delivering services for children and adults; and, religious leaders and volunteers providing services to children within faith communities.

Workers from all of these backgrounds, with varied levels of experience, knowledge and prior learning can benefit from this training's approach to child-centred interviewing. "The Joint Investigation in Child Protection" manual challenges and goes beyond existing government guidance in ways that can significantly improve safeguarding and protecting work with children and young people.

It follows English and Welsh statutory guidance, and is adaptable for use in Scotland and Northern Ireland. It contains a wide range of 23 presentations and 31 activities, which specialist police and social work trainers - working and training together, demonstrating their flexibility and expertise across disciplines - can pick and choose from to design their own 5-day course, depending on participants' experience and needs, including those whose needs may be at an introductory level. And trainers will still have further materials 'left over' for use at other times: this is a rich and extensive resource.

The manual includes a wide range of materials suited to adult learning such as role plays, carousels, storytelling and quizzes.

It is available at a price commensurate with the budgets of even the smaller organisations that are involved in this work; or of agencies of any size for whom this work may be crucial, but which perhaps is not their principal undertaking.