Words by Dollie Wilson

Hundreds of Dorset practitioners have received specialist training in responding to child sexual abuse.

More than 240 frontline practitioners have now benefited from free training provided by both Local Safeguarding Children Boards (LSCBs) over the last few months, as part of a scheme funded by the Dorset Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner.

The sessions helped staff to understand the impact of child sexual abuse related trauma, as well as how to spot the signs and encourage and support children to disclose abuse in a safe way.

Sue Jones, LSCB project lead, said: “Organisations involved in the project have learned a lot about the nature and scope of such cases across Dorset and have been able to find assurance that key services are working effectively to respond to cases that are disclosed.

“The wider workforce has been provided with the tools and confidence to have those important preventative conversations with children and their families, but also to provide appropriate support for those who are affected by this type of abuse.”

Participants felt that the training was beneficial, with one school pastoral care worker saying: “It has made me more aware of the embedded impact of trauma and how child sexual abuse affects victims and survivors throughout their lives.”

The training came as a result of practitioners expressing their desire for extra training following child sexual abuse awareness-raising workshops run last year.

Dorset Police and Crime Commissioner Martyn Underhill granted an extension to funding earlier this year, enabling the LSCBs to provide the training as part of their Tackling Child Sexual Abuse project that started in 2018.

He said: “Child sexual abuse is something we all need to be aware of, and this work has provided hundreds of frontline workers with specialist knowledge about what to look out for and how to support young people and their families.”

A year-long awareness campaign is also being run in partnership with the NSPCC to raise awareness of this issue using the resources of their national PANTS campaign featuring the animated dinosaur- Pantosaurus.

The LSCBs are now using a Pantosaurus suit in schools, nurseries and community events to help provide children with important messages about staying safe.