C.A.T. a quick review ….
2019 has been a hectic, interesting and challenging year, beginning with the “No Whispers” Child Sexual Exploitation Awareness Training Project for Volunteers which won a UCLan Propeller Award. January was also the start of a part time job at Myerscough College as the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Co-ordinator. As part of my involvement the College was successful in gaining the “Leaders in Diversity Award” this year.
Pursuing my work as an independent trainer with C.A.T – Child Sexual Exploitation Awareness Training, I delivered the six week “No Whispers” Project for Volunteers and created a free resource film https://youtu.be/rIjb-GfsJP4
I attended the Inside Government CSE Conference, wrote a short article for BASW, presented Child Sexual Exploitation Awareness (CSE) sessions in partnership with David Lean who spoke about his childhood abuse by football coach Barry Bennell. I also delivered training for UCLan, One Stop Social, Local Authorities, Rock FM Volunteers and Children’s Homes in Burnley and Croydon, London.
Mid-way through the year I was delighted to become an Associate Trainer for Barnardo’s Training and Consultancy team. I also became a Trainer for “Talking Life” and “The Athena Program”. Consequently, I have delivered varied training programs in Safeguarding, Child Sexual Exploitation, Criminal Exploitation, County Lines, Modern Day Slavery and Human Trafficking for Local Authorities Commissioning Groups and independent organisations in Milton Keynes, Portsmouth, Burnley, Fylde, Cheshire, Preston, Sheffield, and London.
Milton Keynes was a six-day commitment resulted in training over 1,200 taxi drivers in Safeguarding including awareness of CSE and County lines. Many of the drivers thanked me for the insightful information and understanding and the importance of their duty of care.
One of the best evaluation comments I received from my work in London written by a Commissioner stated;
“Karen is one of the best trainers I have every had and I would like these comments to be passed on to her company, so she receives the recognition. She covered very relevant material and her teaching style was accessible and engaging. She incorporated different learning styles which made the workshop very digestible and easy to follow. She has an in-depth knowledge of the topic and was able to signpost learners to information around modern day slavery which gave a richness to her session. I liked that the training was relevant locally as well as having a broader context. Aside from this, she was very approachable, humorous and considerate.”
Phil O’Hare, Principal lecture from UCLan’s Social Work Studies commented on child sexual exploitation training I delivered saying “Imperative information shared with practitioners, displaying vast knowledge and experience” where as a Safeguarding Officer from Manchester stated “excellent content, well presented, informative, relevant and useful.”
It’s great to receive comments like these as it makes all the preparation, research and engagement with participants worthwhile and meaningful. Training that is interactive and engaging that seeks to make a difference towards the trainee’s perspective and understanding is what it’s all about!
There are new projects and training initiatives in the pipeline for 2020 and I can’t wait!
Finally, thanks to all the people who have given me encouragement, opportunities and support throughout this challenging and progressive year.
Thank you so much – it means a lot! Karen Livesey X
