August is Summer Sun Safety month. Your skin is your body’s largest organ. Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the UK, but most skin cancers can be cured if detected early. There are two main types of skin cancer; melanoma and non-melanoma. I was recently diagnosed with reoccurring malignant melanoma (you can read my story in full in the links below).

Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the UK and the rates continue to rise. At least 100,000 new cases are diagnosed each year, and the disease kills over 2,500 people each year in the UK – that’s seven people every day. 

Ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun can cause damage to the skin and lead to skin cancer. In fact, UV exposure is the main preventable cause of skin cancer. 

Experiencing severe sunburn, particularly in childhood, increases the risk of developing skin cancer in later life, so it’s very important to protect yourself and your family from the sun. (https://www.britishskinfoundation.org.uk/how-to-stay-safe-in-the-sun)

So, now in the process of receiving treatment, and lying in the shade with my factor 50 applied so I looked like a snowman, sunhat and long-sleeve top under the umbrella on the beach in Spain, I began to contemplate and Google (a lot) of things like… When was suntan location first invented? Why we do sunbathe? Why is being brown seen as beautiful? I discovered that when I was a child factor 50 sun lotion didn’t exist. Most of my sun damage was likely to be when I was a child when, unfortunately, we didn’t know then what we know now. Summer is here, we cheer, and we send children out to play, or go on holiday, and think sun, sand, sea or swimming pool. In fact, we actively engage in send our children out in the sunshine to play, wearing minimal clothing, and encourage them to stay outside, whether it’s at home in the garden, or on holiday on the beach. However, do we say ‘Hooray, it’s raining kids, get your waterproof’s and wellies, here is an umbrella, go and play out in the rain’? Yet, which is more dangerous or represents wilful neglect? After my experience, my daughter is not allowed out in the mid day sun, is made to wear a sun hat and carries SPF 50 in her bag at all times.

Tanning is actually a fairly recent idea and I believe this ideology of ‘brown is beautiful’ will eventually need to change to save ourselves and our children. Just like smoking… Once, nearly everyone used to do it because it was fashionable. This was until society acknowledged that smoking can cause lung cancer and legislation was introduced to protect children from the harms of passive smoking. It is now against the law to smoke with a child in the car.

Sunburn is a red, painful skin reaction from exposure to ultraviolet (UV) light. The skin absorbs UV light from sunlight, as well as artificial sources of light such as tanning beds. UV rays can also cause invisible damage to the skin. Excessive or multiple sunburns cause wrinkling and premature aging of the skin. Sun exposure is also the leading cause of skin cancer. 

Children often spend a good part of their day playing outdoors in the sun, especially during the summer. Children are more likely to develop skin cancer in later years if they have:

• Fair skin, moles, or freckles
• Multiple blistering sunburns
• A family history of skin cancer

Exposure to the sun during daily activities and play causes the most sun damage. Overexposure to sunlight before the age of 18 is most damaging to the skin.

These are the most common symptoms of sunburn:

• Redness
• Swelling of the skin
• Pain
• Blisters
• Dry, itching, and peeling skin 3 to 8 days after the burn

More severe cases may cause:

• Fever
• Nausea
• Chills
• Weakness, confusion, or faintness

So why on earth do we not see campaigns and educational tools in our early years settings, mid-wife literature, as well as schools? By allowing our children to be exposed to the sun’s harmful rays without appropriate clothing, sun hats, long sleeves and factor 50, then we are not protecting them from the harm that the sun can do.

Is it not neglectful if we allow children to get sunburnt once (remember, being sunburnt once as a child can increase the risk of skin cancer), or so badly burnt that they need to be taken to hospital? Should hospital and health practitioners not consider severe sunburn, or repeated episodes of sunburn requiring medical treatment, a safeguarding concern? Yes, there may be a variety of mitigating or risk factors as there may be with other safeguarding concerns, but I feel very strongly that, today, we know better, so, therefore, we should be more proactive. The old-fashioned saying in this case is ‘prevention is better than cure’.

Raising awareness is always a key factor. Whenever there is a heat wave in the UK, numbers of severe sunburn cases among children are reported to hospitals. Some parents have reported that school staff will not apply sunscreen because of risk of allergic reaction and won’t administer it without written permission from a parent, which, in my opinion is barmy. I believe sun hats, long sleeves and suntan cream should be given to children, just like we feed them breakfast, lunch and dinner. Why on earth do we fry ourselves under the burning sun? Why do we not acknowledge the power of the sun’s rays between 11am and 3pm and stay out of it? Just like during children’s sports day or playing out in the playground – sun safety should be part of the risk assessment for these activities and each child given the tools to be kept safe from the sun.

Why is sun safety not mandatory within nurseries and schools as part of the safeguarding agenda? I do not know, but what I do know is that there are some contradictions in this area, for example, the NICE guidelines and Cancer Research advocate sunscreen SPF15 and the NHS and the British Association of Dermatologists advocate sunscreen SPF30. How do we expect parents and professionals to know what is best if all the organisations behind public health guidance in this arena are not able to have a joined-up consistent policy nationwide? There needs to be the same consistent message for protection from the sun as we advocate for safeguarding in organisations and safer cultures. This should be the same for safer kids in the sun. This can be delivered under the PHSE for schools and in early years settings. With coherent policy and procedures, where accreditation, monitoring and regulation is undertaken on an annual basis, we can continue to safeguard our children from the sun.

I understand this conversation on sunburn and parental responsibility is one of severity and patterns of behaviour. However, I do believe and want to champion that sun safety is a public health issue and, with everything we know about today about the harmful rays of the sun, we can only want to protect our children. It’s not just skin cancer. Please just stay safe in the sun.

My story…

https://www.britishasianews.com/news/newsDisplay.aspx?newsID=92708

https://www.thesun.co.uk/fabulous/9606659/mum-skin-cancer-melanoma-twice-sunbeds-base-tan/

https://metro.co.uk/2019/07/29/woman-used-sunbeds-10-years-shocked-get-skin-cancer-twice-10478238/

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-7296763/Mother-45-battles-skin-cancer-twice-six-years-using-tanning-oil-sun-beds.html

https://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/news/17771008.business-owner-battling-skin-cancer-second-time-backs-north-west-campaign/

https://www.burytimes.co.uk/news/17771016.business-owner-battling-skin-cancer-second-time-backs-north-west-campaign/

Treating Sunburn

https://www.skincancer.org/prevention/sunburn/treating-sunburn-in-children

 Schools and sun safe nurseries

http://www.skcin.org/sunSafetyAndPrevention/sunSafetyInSchools.htm

http://www.skcin.org/ourWork/sunSafeSchools.htm#download

https://www.sunsafenurseries.co.uk/

NWCR Sun Safety Campaign

https://www.nwcr.org/our-work/campaigns/skin-cancer-campaign-2018/sun-safety-in-the-classroom/

https://www.nwcr.org/our-work/campaigns/skin-cancer-campaign-2018/sun-safety-pledge/

A LIFELONG lover of the sun and tanning, Sarah Carlick had no idea just how dangerous going without sun protection could be, or what a devastating impact it could have on her life.

Aged just 45, Dr Carlick is battling a serious form of skin cancer for the second time.

The Bury business owner is now backing a regional skin cancer campaign to raise awareness of sun safety.

She said: “It’s so important that people are educated on how to enjoy the sun safely because I know how much skin cancer can affect your life.”

Dr Carlick’s battle with cancer began in 2012 when she noticed an abnormal freckle on her right shoulder.

Encouraged by her mother, who was being treated for ovarian cancer at the time, Dr Carlick visited her GP.

She was called back for a biopsy and was diagnosed with malignant melanoma ­— a serious form of skin cancer.

Thankfully, an early diagnosis meant the cancer was fully removed in a successful operation, and Dr Carlick was given the all clear after a sentinel lymph node biopsy.

However, the surgery left her with a large scar across her upper back and neck, and under her arm and across the right side of her body.

For the next five years Dr Carlick was in remission and lived life to the full­— completing a doctorate at Lancaster University alongside running two children and adult safeguarding businesses.

But in August 2018 she found a lump on her collarbone, and just one day after her graduation doctors confirmed the cancer had returned.

Five months later Dr Carlick had another operation to remove the stage three malignant melanoma and she is now undergoing 12 months of targeted therapy.

She said: “I wasn’t aware of the seriousness of sun protection growing up and I regularly got sunburnt as a child, as well as being a user of sunbeds in the family home as a young adult.

“I wasn’t educated on the symptoms of skin cancer and had no idea after six and half years it could return.

“I was heartbroken when the doctor told me that the skin cancer had returned after so long in remission.

“The treatment has completely put my life on hold and I’m now enduring targeted therapy as a preventative measure to stop the melanoma returning.”

In a hope to save others from going through the same heartache, Dr Carlick is backing North West Cancer Research’s summer skin cancer campaign.

The campaign is encouraging people to to use protection from the sun and check their skin regularly for abnormalities.

Bury residents are four per cent more likely to be diagnosed with skin cancer than people anywhere else in the UK.

According to the latest statistics, 17.5 people in Bury out of every 100,000 are diagnosed with skin cancer each year ­— exceeding the UK average.

Alastair Richards, CEO of North West Cancer Research, said: “Skin cancer is one of the biggest cancer killers in the North West, but people aren’t often aware of the warning signs that could help catch this cancer early and improve prognosis.”

The charity’s campaign is also educating people about the early warning signs of skin cancer, such as changes in moles, as well as the appearance of new moles and blemishes.

People should also look out for itching, bleeding and crusting, and contact their GPs as soon as they spot any of these symptoms or have any concerns.

Mr Richards added: “By raising awareness of skin cancer, its symptoms and the associated risk factors of over exposure to UV rays, we hope we can encourage people to be sensible when spending time in the sun and reduce the number of skin cancer cases across the North West.”

For more information on the campaign visit https://nwcr.org/our-work/campaigns/skincancer/

The original article can be found at: https://www.burytimes.co.uk/news/17771016.business-owner-battling-skin-cancer-second-time-backs-north-west-campaign/

I have often thought that children who are obese could be a child protection concern and we know that people who suffer long term weight problems have a higher risk of diabetes… This has been debated in the area of child abuse and neglect for some time. A serious case review by East Sussex Local Safeguarding Board published last month found that the child’s death was associated with his type 1 diabetes, which he had developed at the age of 13 years old. Control of his diabetes was extremely poor and there was a long history of missed appointments along with poor school attendance. Diabetes UK research suggests that the UK is among the worst performing countries for blood glucose control. This in itself is a compelling reason to have the conversation about when diabetes triggers a safeguarding response.  On this occasion, the serious case review concluded that the child’s school did not address his health and support his needs adequately, wider issues were not taken into account and he was not assessed and, subsequently, it was not perceived as neglect or safeguarding.

Here are some other thoughts… 

1. Basic safeguarding training did not include diabetes and obesity as a part of understanding neglect as a part of child abuse.
2. Frequent missed appointments and poor compliance with medication for life threatening conditions must receive a robust response in managing risks.
3. If a child is morbidly obese from a young age, as well including other factors such as poor school attendance, or other predisposing vulnerabilities, professionals should take this seriously and consider safeguarding processes as they would with other health needs.
4. If a child’s weights drops significantly in a short space of time, this must be investigated and acted upon as a safeguarding concern.
5. If concerned about a child, make sure you check with the child if they know and understand about ’self care’, i.e. how to get changed from soiled clothing or bedding, eating habits, brushing their teeth etc.
6. You must consistently think and reflect on ‘am I hearing the ‘voice of the parent’ or ‘the voice of the child’’. Whose voice and words are you recording in your case notes?
7. Morbid obesity can affect a child’s outcomes, for example, academic achievement, emotional wellbeing, sustaining relationships, or sometimes life threatening.
8. Behaviours of parents or carers that may give cause for concern would be consistently failing to attend medical appointments, refusing to engage with professionals or weight management initiatives, or actively not following weight management programmes.
9. Obesity and diabetes may be part of wider concerns about neglect or emotional abuse and it is essential to undertake assessments of the child’s health and well being as well as parental capacity.
10. If not addressed and managed effectively, children can die from obesity and diabetes.

The management of obesity can be complex and challenging. Obesity in childhood is a significant public health issue and is the greatest risk for type 2 diabetes. Weight management can be a very emotive issue and many families can struggle with the dietary requirements. Childhood obesity can become a safeguarding concern if a parent fails to provide their child with the adequate medical treatment, or when the parent actively promotes treatment failure. 

Safeguarding concerns may arise from parent’s and carer’s lack of capacity to engage, or unwillingness to engage with services. This includes not attending appointments, unwillingness to make changes to the child’s lifestyle, unwillingness to set and maintain boundaries with the child to manage lifestyle changes and allow further weight gain.  Disguised compliance by parents or carers where they play one agency or professional off against the other, such as appearing helpless or overwhelmed, aggressive, or over sensitive.

Safeguarding, as we know, is everyone’s business and therefore schools, colleges, key workers and volunteers should also seek information from health professionals and share concern’s they have for a child’s health. Although NICE guidelines place the emphasis on health professionals, all of us working with children and families should also take the initiative and responsibility. As always, a joined-up approach is essential. Non-health professionals should try to understand more about the impact of diabetes on children, including the links between mood and blood sugar levels and the wider emotional impact of the condition[1].

Today, in the BBC news, research states that obesity is the most common predisposing factor for 4 of the most common forms of cancers Bowel, Kidney, Ovarian and Liver – more likely than tobacco.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-48826850

http://eastsussexlscb.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/Child-T-SCR-Report-FINAL-25.06.19-5.pdf

https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng18/resources/diabetes-type-1-and-type-2-in-children-and-young-people-diagnosis-and-management-1837278149317

https://www.diabetes.org.uk/guide-to-diabetes/your-child-and-diabetes/schools/school-staff

https://www.rcn.org.uk/clinical-topics/diabetes

[1] Learning from SCR points 7 and 8.

I have watched Emmerdale since it was called Emmerdale Farm, a television programme initially broadcast around teatime, that all the family sat down to view the next story line. Over the past few months I have found myself getting pretty annoyed and shouting at the TV, as I have watched a young boy of 16 years of age, being groomed by his female teacher. A challenging storyline for a soap, however, it must be shared and as its one that is prevalent in our society.

I have been amazed as the story unfolds as to why some people do not constitute grooming of a young a male by an adult female as child sexual abuse. Furthermore, the storyline has lacked intervention and help to support the victim and his family. A poll lead by YouGov for Barnardo’s found that more than one third of the 2,000 respondents were not able to recognise illegal or abusive scenarios involving adults and children.

When someone in a ‘position of trust’, such as a teacher or a support worker, grooms a child (under 18years) for sexual activity, then this is abuse. As we have seen in Emmerdale, Maya – Jacob’s teacher – groomed him over several months, but then waited until a few days until after his 16^th birthday to have sex. If you are an adult with a ‘duty of care’ for a young person under 18 (for example a teacher, youth worker or social worker), it is illegal to have sex with anyone who comes under your care, even if they are 16 or 17.  The same applies to ‘sexting’ (sending or getting sexually explicit or suggestive images, messages, or video on a smartphone or through the Internet) and also to kissing and inappropriate physical contact. Sexual activity is illegal under any circumstances for under 13-year olds. Those aged 13 and under cannot give consent. Doing anything sexual with someone under 13 is automatically an offence, whatever the young person says.

In the case of the scenario in Emmerdale, where Jacob was 16 years when Maya had sex with him and was above the ‘age of consent’, under the Sexual Offences Act 2003, it is still a crime for an adult in a position of trust to engage in sexual activity with a child under the age of 18.

The main focus of this story line is a female adult targeting a younger male child. I believe this is where people (whether the public, or fans) have misunderstood the message. It is in fact child sex abuse.  In this storyline the perpetrator, Maya, targeted the victim Jacob, gaining his trust, fulfilling her own needs, making him feel special, isolating him from friends and family, and then to sexualising the relationship and keeping control over him.

Barnardos polled more than 2,000 people and the figures showed:

In one sample, 17% of men thought that a woman in her 30s and a 16-year-old boy exchanging text messages containing explicit images was not concerning, compared to 2% of women. In the second sample, people were presented with the same scenario involving a 16-year-old girl and a man in his 30s instead of a woman and a boy. Only 7% of men said this was not concerning.

Likewise, one-in-10 men in the first sample thought that a female teacher and her 16 year old male student having sex was not concerning, compared to just 2% of women. When the genders of the perpetrator and victim were reversed for the second sample, only 4% of men were unconcerned.

(https://www.barnardos.org.uk/news/men-have-more-relaxed-attitudes-sexual-abuse-boys-women-emmerdales-maya)

Key facts include:

• Boys can be sexually abused and it has nothing to do with how masculine they are.
• Sexual abuse harms boys and girls in ways that are similar and different but equally harmful.
• Boys and girls can be sexually abused by men or women.
• Most boys and girls that are sexually abused will not go to abuse others.
• 23 year old teacher Alice McBrearty from London – Jailed in 2017 for 17 months for 7 counts of sexual activity towards her 15 year old male pupil.
• Ann Lakey former Headteacher from Durham Jailed in 2015 for 8 years – found guilty of 13 counts of indecent assault after sexual allegations concerning two schoolboys dating back to the 1980s.
• Caroline Berriman 30 years – teaching assistant from Oldham – jailed in 2015 for two years after ‘bedding’ a teenager up to 80 times.

In one of the latest episodes Bear Wolf (character) shares his views that it’s not the same for a female teacher to sleep with a male student, as it’s a ‘young lads dream’. Bear Wolf said “Oh what virile young lad doesn’t want to be taken advantage of” as David (Jacob’s father) walked into the Woolpack with his dad Eric. When David said to Jimmy and Dan (other characters) “He reckons Jacob was lucky to be abused” Bear turned around and said “It’s not exactly abuse now, is it?” David asked him if he had a daughter that was being preyed on by a middle aged teacher if that would be alright, Bear replied with “No, that’s different. Boys will be boys.” (https://www.entertainmentdaily.co.uk/soaps/emmerdale/emmerdale-viewers-furious-at-bear-wolf-after-his-comments/)

It is attitudes like these that contribute to myths and stereotypes. It is a myth that if a boy experienced sexual arousal during abuse, he wanted, and / or enjoyed it, and if he ever did partly want the sexual experiences, then they were his fault. Boys are not looking to be sexually abused or exploited. They can, just like girls, be manipulated and abused.

The further struggles for Jacob in the programme are that, as the victim, he is in denial and lacks the identification of being a victim of child sexual abuse.  It may be that viewers are gaining a misinterpretation of what happens in real life, as the protective services (i.e. police and social service) are unable to substantiate the crimes due to his denial. I am frustrated that there has been no therapeutic intervention with Jacob, as in my experience of working with young people in similar situations, there is a complex web of emotions and feelings that they need to explore safely. 

Being a safeguarding expert, when I see my favourite teatime soap runs a storyline like this, I think great, let’s talk about it. Let’s get it out in the open, lets dispel the myths and let’s help people understand the complexities of grooming and hope they can then recognise the signs.

I don’t agree with all aspects of the way it has been played out, but maybe that was me wanting someone (the other characters) to see what was happening and step in sooner. I wanted to protect Jacob, stop the abuse and let justice prevail.

The story line continues and evidences how damaging sexual assault on children and young people can be, but it also demonstrates how difficult it is to substantiate the evidence to bring those that abuse their power in a position of trust and are therefore not held accountable for their crimes.

Wendy Bateman, BA (Hons) Crime & Criminal Justice Prog Lead, University of Bolton commented: ‘As a crime and criminal justice lecturer / safeguarding consultant , I fully concur with your article statements.  Historically, I worked with domestic violence offenders and after fighting off many debates, was finally allowed to widen my gaze to address female offenders who were using sexual abuse to control partners.  Currently, in a class of ‘wannabe’ police / probation & prison officers, we explore the problems of ‘a narrow perspective’ and how this can cause the recognition of an offence / safeguarding of a victim… challenging the myth through debate demonstrates some interesting (if not worrying) views’. 

The Athena Programme are seeking to make an appointment for a Business Manager to cover maternity leave. You will be joining a small team of managers and six associates.

You will undertake all aspects of business administration for the effective running of the company. This is a home-based position, over three days, with flexibility of working hours. Good communication skills are essential and previous experience of organising training and managing contracts would be an advantage, as would experience of working with different sector organisations.

We are forward thinking, ambitious and have a strong commitment to continuous improvement. We are a people focused, can-do organisation, which strives for excellence in all we do and operates with mutual respect. If you share these values and behaviours and have the necessary skills, then we look forward to hearing from you.

For an application pack and further information, please contact: lucy.dixon@theathenaprogramme.co.uk
Closing date: 28^th June 2019
Interviews week beginning: 8^th July 2019

Do you know that county lines are masked in a web of an underworld of abuse of children and the vulnerable? County lines offers a model of offending behaviours within the UK. “County Lines” is the term used to describe a form of organised crime where criminals based in urban areas pressurise vulnerable people and children to transport, store and sell drugs in smaller county towns. It takes its name from the phone lines used by organised crime gangs to communicate between towns.

Do you know why this happens?

So, for example, think of the motorway networks, think of areas where there are shipping ports, think of areas where there are high rates of gang culture, think of areas of high deprivation… Where there is easy access to multi motorway networks, or busy shipping ports, gangs or traffickers can move drugs or people more easily with less attention. This can also cause confusion to the person whom is being trafficked, so they have no geographical sense of where they are. In areas where there is high deprivation criminals can more easily entice youngsters, or adults at risk, into earning ‘easy money’ or ‘exploit or recruit’ them into a sense of belonging.  This is a serious issue that often gets missed when we discuss safeguarding and how it can affect children and adults at risk. Gang warfare can often appear in the news, as it has again this week.

County Lines supply class A drugs (primarily crack cocaine and heroin) from an urban hub, into rural towns or county locations. This is facilitated by a group who may not necessarily be affiliated as a gang, but who have developed networks across geographical boundaries to access and exploit existing drugs markets in these areas. (County Lines, Violence, Exploitation and Drug Supply, National Crime Agency, 2017). However, the map of county lines is a national issue, not just localised to one geographical are.

Police are losing the battle – As soon as one gang is taken off the street, another steps into their shoes.

1. The greatest number of county lines for moving people, exploitation and drugs and using people such as children in low level criminality is the London Boroughs, West Midlands, Manchester and Merseyside.
2. Think that any vulnerability of our young, or old, is exploited and a potential target.
3. County lines includes mobile phone lines, violence, drugs, child sexual exploitation, economical crime, modern slavery and human trafficking, firearms and criminal exploitation (includes children and adults).
4. Gang members involved in County Lines can come from any race, ethnicity, or background.
5. Involved mostly young people aged between 14 and 25 years old.
6. Exploitation of adults that have large debts, substance misuse or alcohol problems, mental health issues and female relationships with gang members that can lead to some form of domestic violence.
7. Exploitation of children could be children missing from home, truant or poor school attendance, come from a deprived background or suffered abuse, history of offending behaviour, looked after children or experiencing difficulties at home.
8. ‘Cuckooing’ is the term used to describe the practice where drug dealers take over the property of a vulnerable person and use it as a place from which to run their business. Vulnerable tenants will be targeted, potentially as a result of substance abuse, mental health issues, or loneliness. Drug dealers will target these individuals and offer them free drugs, sexual favours, or their company, for use of their property to sell drugs from. As the victims of cuckooing are vulnerable, they are often fearful of going to the police and worry that they will be incriminated in the criminality.
9. Young adolescent males travel by coach, train, or taxi using a ‘burner’ or disposable mobile phone with a stash of drugs. It starts off with a small payment to go missing for a few days and then the risks become grater from arrest to rival attacks from other gangs.
10. A child or young person who is affected by gang activity or serious youth violence can be at risk of significant harm.

Significant harm comes in many guises when we reference county lines. Exploitation can manifest itself in a way that gets other people to commit crimes such as selling drugs, stealing phones etc. This can lead to retaliatory violence. Psychological harm due to the trauma gang members experience and witness. Physical harm and violence suffered whilst committing a crime or due to drug debts. Gangs may inflict violence on others to assert authority in the local area.

If you are not familiar with the term ‘cuckooing’, then the signs to look for include a multi-occupancy or social housing property. There may be an increase in the number of comings and goings, including new vehicles outside the property. An increase in anti-social behaviour in and around the property, as well as unknown people in possession of keys to the property.

Girls can be targeted as victims for specific ‘jobs’, such as being used to hold or transport drugs or weapons. They are more likely to be asked to move drugs, as thought to be less likely to be stopped. Girls or young women may be in a relationship with, or linked via family, to a male associated with gangs and/or organised crime networks. The risk of child sexual exploitation is increased to themselves and possibly their children. Sex has been used by some gangs as part of the initiation process, as a way to control, humiliate and demonstrate group loyalty.

If resources were plentiful and anything was possible, I would advocate for a simultaneous nationwide targeting of gangs, so they were all taken from the streets at once. As this doesn’t seem feasible, the issue continues as one gang is removed another fills their space!

As a professional or volunteer, know what to look for…

• Presenting with physical injuries and / or refusal to seek / receive medical treatment.
• Associating with peers who are involved / suspected to be involved in gang related activity.
• Refuses / scared to enter certain areas.
• Expressing aggressive or intimidating views towards other groups of young people (some of whom may have been friends in the past).
• Multiple mobile phones / frequent change of phone number.
• Frequently missing, or missing for significant periods of time.
• Travelling around a lot – Seen in taxi’s regularly / being seen in cars (often hire cars), possibly with unknown adults, on a regular basis.
• In possession of large amounts of unexplained money.
• New clothes / trainers.
• Drug related or violent offending involving weapons.
• Sibling involvement.

Further information can be found at:

• https://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/what-we-do/crime-threats/drug-trafficking/county-lines
• https://nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/news/nca-publishes-annual-assessment-of-county-lines-as-over-600-arrested-as-part-of-national-coordinated-activity-targeting-drug-dealing-model
• https://nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/who-we-are/publications/257-county-lines-drug-supply-vulnerability-and-harm-2018/file
• https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/may/12/the-county-lines-drug-dealer-once-get-in-hard-to-get-out

Dr Sarah Carlick, 07927 549 499

As The Athena Programme goes from strength to strength, we are pleased to welcome Lucy Dixon and Ruth Lawton to our team.

A warm welcome back to Lucy as our Business Manager

Lucy is a familiar face at Athena. Some of you may recall that Lucy was our MD, Dr Sarah Carlick’s original right-hand women as she was instrumental in setting up Athena. We are all very grateful she is back! Alongside ensuring the smooth running of Athena, Lucy will also be working on an exciting new business which will be led by Dr Sarah Carlick. The new business, MeSafe, will offer digital safeguarding services and will launch over the coming months.

For those of you who haven’t met Lucy yet read more about her here – http://www.theathenaprogramme.co.uk/about-us/meet-the-team/lucy/

Ruth joins our team of expert associates

We are delighted to welcome Ruth Lawton to our team of associates. Dr Sarah Carlick worked with Ruth when she originally managed Wigan’s Safeguarding Children Board and Ruth was part of her multi-agency training pool. At the time Ruth was key in helping Sarah to establish a new creative way to deliver multi-agency training for child protection case conferencing. We still use some of the techniques that Ruth and Sarah originally created today within Athena’s creative delivery style. Not only is Ruth fun to work with but she also strives to be the best she can as a team member.

Meet Ruth – http://www.theathenaprogramme.co.uk/about-us/meet-the-team/ruth-lawton/

Good Luck Susan!

We sadly said goodbye to Susan over the summer period as she has moved onto other career opportunities. We thank her for her contributions.

Safeguarding expert Dr Sarah Carlick (PhD Applied Social Science, 2018, Social Work,1997) has big ambitions to create the world’s first digital platform to protect children and young people, as well as the international auditing tools to back it up. She’s not afraid of doing something different.

Basking in the pride of a newly-awarded PhD (which looked at the use of creative technologies in the safeguarding field), Sarah attributes her go-getting stance to the attitudes she absorbed during her two periods of study at Lancaster – as an undergraduate and for her doctorate completed in summer 2018.

“Lancaster University gave me the confidence and aspiration to believe in myself,” says Sarah. “They allow you to be different and that’s how you can challenge the status quo.”

Now the Founder and Managing Director of the Athena Programme, which helps organisations to be safeguarding compliant, Sarah could not have predicted the career path, which started the day she arrived at Lancaster as an undergraduate powered by the conviction that she was going to change the world as a social worker.

The 21-year-old from Bury, Lancashire had originally wanted to join the police, but her family deemed it was not the job for a Jewish girl, so she developed a passion for social work instead. Having flunked her A levels the first time round, she stuck to her guns and took an HND in Public Administration at De Montfort University which gained her a place at Lancaster. “I was in awe,” she remembers. “Lancaster was where I wanted to be. I was like a sponge sucking up the knowledge.”

She did two probation service placements in Cumbria as part of her course which she says, ‘set me up for life.’ They made her realise the diversity of paths available in social work and that she was never going to dedicate her life to being a local authority social worker. She worked hard, swam regularly in the university pool, partied and made friends she has retained until today. She says: “I had the best time of my life.”

When she emerged from Lancaster with a 2:1 (despite her dyslexia), she walked straight into a job with Greater Manchester probation service, tackling high-risk cases, visits to families living in desperate circumstances and involving being an officer to the courts. These were the days shortly after the Maria Caldwell enquiry and she asked herself then – as now – why do some children die?

Her career took her overseas to Australia and Canada and into work for the NCH Children’s Charity and Rochdale Youth Offending Team, during which her passion for safeguarding children, young people and vulnerable adults was ignited.

The Athena Programme came about after Sarah had set up the Wigan Safeguarding Children Board and completed a Masters in Arts-Health. She then gradually became weary of the constraints of working in publicly funded organisations, despite having obtained a brilliant OFSTED report. Here was her chance to encourage organisations of all sorts to look at more creative ways to tackle safeguarding issues, and now using the most up-to-date digital technology to do so.

Sarah continued to run the Athena Programme when she decided to go back to Lancaster to do a PhD. ”I felt I needed to finish my education,” she explains. “The hardest challenge for me was working back in systems that you think have so many constraints, but I received immense support from the University. I felt that they championed me because I was doing something different.”

Second time round, Lancaster University was a very different experience – much of it involving hours of solitary research. On her days at the university she often had flashes of memories of her undergraduate years as she walked through the campus: “It was very comforting,” she confesses. “It was like putting on an old pair of shoes.”

During her four years of PhD studies she also went through a divorce, the death of her mother, the restructure of her business, a house move and three operations, alongside looking after her daughter (now aged nine). She feels grateful that the University allowed her an eight-month intercalation and a three-month extension, to enable her to complete her research, given the adverse circumstances she faced.

Sarah is still getting used to the fact that she can now call herself ‘Dr Carlick’ and hopes that she may be able to remain involved with the University, perhaps in a research capacity. She has also recently set up a new business called MeSafe, which is developing safeguarding apps and digital platforms for individuals and organisations.

Sarah says: “My belief is that technology can be used as an enabler to create digital platforms to keep vulnerable children and adults safer, working with them as partners.”

http://www.lancaster.ac.uk/alumni/news/creating-a-digital-platform-to-protect-children-and-young-people