Social Worker Training - Find a freedom of information request

1. How many children's social workers are employed within the County Council (agency & permanent)

2. Do you provide training for children's social workers to understand how to deal with online/non-contact child sexual exploitation and abuse?

a. If so, how is this training delivered? (Online, face to face, etc.)

b. If so, is this in-house or outsourced?

c. What are the costs of delivering the training per person or per course if delivered to groups (please specify size of group if relevant)

d. Is it mandatory for children's social workers? If not, is it mandatory to children's social workers, working in a specific area i.e. child protection?

e. How many children's social workers have undertaken this training, if it is provided?

3. Do you provide training for children's social workers to understand how to deal with physical/contact child sexual exploitation and abuse?

a. If so, how is this training delivered? (Online, face to face, etc.)

b. If so, is this in-house or outsourced?

c. What are the costs of delivering the training per person or per course if delivered to groups (please specify size of group if relevant)

d. Is it mandatory for children's social workers? If not, is it mandatory to children's social workers, working in a specific area i.e. child protection?

e. How many children's social workers have undertaken this training, if it is provided?

4. What mandatory training is provided to children's social workers and how frequently (if at all) do social workers need to repeat this?

5. On a year by year basis, over the last 5 years, how many cases have you dealt with where child sexual exploitation and/or abuse was a factor?

1. In a social worker role (position title of social worker) we have: 171 employees 10 Agency

2. All training is available to most roles and agencies, not just social workers (police, health, education, charities etc.)

a. Via online and face to face courses

b. In house and via training provided by the Lincolnshire Safeguarding Children's Partnership

c. Not applicable as provided internally or via the LSCP

d. Safeguarding training which covers online CSE and specific CSE training is mandatory for social workers

e. Lincolnshire County Council (LCC) does not keep records of social workers' attendance separately from other roles which require this training. There are, however, 15 separate training courses provided around the issues mentioned, which are regularly completed by Children's Services professionals. There are over 1,700 places taken up on these 15 courses alone each year.

3. LCC follow the LSCP six year safeguarding training pathway (attached is the most recent version) and embed that within their own training programme.

a. Online and face to face training is available.

b. In house and also via the LSCP

c. Not applicable as provided internally or via the LSCP

d. Yes

e. Social Workers follow the LSCP 6-Year Training Pathway: a structured skills progression of workshops, forums and supervision sessions to ensure practitioners are appropriately skilled for their level and role. We are currently rolling out some training to all front line staff on CE and missing. Managers attended earlier this year and the expectation is that all staff will attend this.

4. The four induction courses that are mandated for all CS staff are:

• Safeguarding Everyone - Protecting Children, Young People and Adults at Risk
• Introduction to Safeguarding Children
• Domestic Abuse Awareness – short course
• Working with children with disabilities (if applicable)

5. This response has been collated by looking at the number of children that were involved in an Assessment, which was completed during each reporting year, where the Assessment Factors "11A Child Sexual Exploitation" and/or "19A Abuse Or Neglect – Sexual Abuse" were included.