Latest News from Workforce Development

Effective Complaint Handling

DBC Staff Only - Children & Adult Services

The Local Government Ombudsmen's Effective Complaint Handling course shares best practice on accepting, investigating & deciding complaints. It is aimed at officers & managers who are responsible for investigating & making decisions about complaints.

The Effective Complaint Handling course is CPD Accredited and is delivered by experienced Ombudsman investigators. Sessions are held on line between 10.00-2.30pm. Dates available:

• Thursday 28 May 2026 - limited availability
• Tuesday 2 June 2026 - limited availability
• Thursday 4 June 2026 - fully booked - waiting list only
• Wednesday 10 June 2026 - limited availability
• Wednesday 17 June 2026 - fully booked - waiting list only
• Thursday 25 June 2026
• Monday 29 June 2026
• Wednesday 1 July 2026

Anyone wanting to attend should email Workforce Development with their preferred date.

*New Dates*

Neglect - NSPCC Graded Care Profile 2

Aims & Objectives/Learning Outcomes

The NSPCC Graded Care Profile (GCP) is designed to help practitioners spot when a child is at risk of neglect & get the right help to families earlier. The GCP2 is a practical tool which supports practitioners in measuring the quality of care delivered to an individual child from an individual carer or carers over a short window of time, & is designed to give a representative overview of the current level of care. The grades are based on observations & good quality evidence gathered during this window. All practitioners using the GCP2 will attend & pass a licensed 1 day training programme.

Target Audience

Any practitioner working with children & families in Darlington

Dates, Times & Venues

• Wednesday 17 June 2026 from 9.30-3.00pm at Tandem
• Tuesday 22 September 2026 from 9.30-3.00pm at Tandem
• Monday 12 October 2026 from 9.30-3.00pm at Tandem

*New Dates*

Relational Practice in Darlington - Day 1 (Awareness & Language)

Aims & Objectives/Learning Outcomes

This full day training course will:

• explore what we mean by Restorative Practice
• recognise the importance of building and maintaining relationships, connections and community and how ‘circles’ are one of the tools used to do this
• explain the ‘Four ways of Being’ and relate these to levels of challenge and support
• consider how to use Fair Process to help decision making and involve children and families in decisions
• reflect on own practice and share experiences with others for learning
• recognise the structure of an affective statement – in relation to how we can challenge or praise behaviours
• identify the components and features of restorative language and conversations
• explore how the language we use can affect relationships.

Target Audience

Any practitioner working with Children, Young People & Families in Darlington

Dates, Times & Venues

• Thursday 2 July 2026 from 9.30-4.30pm at Tandem
• Wednesday 15 July 2026 from 9.30-4.30pm at Tandem

*New Podcast*

Therapy Centre Services – Meet Our Partners

The counselling team provides a safe, confidential, and non-judgemental space for you to explore your thoughts, emotions, and challenges, they specialise in a variety of therapeutic approaches tailored to the individual needs. Further information for DBC staff can be found on the Intranet.

• Spotify [external website]
• Buzzsprout [external website]

*New Podcast*

Anti-Racism Podcast Series

Episode 5: Robina Gany - Newcastle Children & Families - Commitment

Welcome to the Anti Racism podcast series - developed by Danielle Farley & Linda Austin.

Each week they will be joined by partners to promote racially inclusive, culturally sensitive practices. Together, they will explore anti racist practice as a means of working collaboratively, to share learning and discuss ways to create meaningful changes within our service and delivery. Each podcast will delve into a different element of their ‘BREACH’ approach. 

To listen click on one of the following links:

• Spotify [external website]
• Buzzsprout [external website]

Further episodes are available on Darlington Xtra. To listen click on the following link: Darlington Xtra [external website]

• The Anti Racism Series Episode 1: Ngozi Lyn Cole - NEARC - Bravery
• The Anti Racism Series Episode 2: Monique Carayol - Your New Avenue - Leadership Special - Responsibility
• The Anti Racism Series Episode 3: Ola Tony-Obot - Together for Children - Empathy
• The Anti Racism Series Episode 4: Dr Christopher X - Durham University - Accountability

Contingency Planning

• Thursday 21 May 2026 from 9.30-12.00pm in Committee Room 2, Town Hall
• Wednesday 27 May 2026 from 9.30-12.00pm in Room 411, Town Hall

Click on the following link for more information: Contingency Planning

Neurodivergence - Supporting Children & Young People

• Tuesday 19 May 2026 from 9.30-12.30pm via MS Teams OR
• Wednesday 3 June 2026 from 9.30-12.30pm via MS Teams

Click on the following link for more information: Neurodivergence Supporting C&YP

Complaint Handling (Children)

• Wednesday 20 May 2026 from 10.00-12.00pm in Room 406, Town Hall

Click on the following link for more information: Complaint Handling

Understanding Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder

• Thursday 4 June 2026 from 10.30-12.30pm via MS Teams

Click on the following link for more information: Understanding FASD

Recording Procedures

• Friday 5 June 2026 from 9.15-1.15pm at Tandem
• Monday 22 June 2026 from 9.15-1.15pm at Tandem

Click on the following link for more information: Recording Procedures

Access 27 Ltd - The Issues Impacting LGBTQIA+ Youth and Young Adult Mental Health: ‘Still Fighting’

• Thursday 11 June 2026 from 10.00-12.30pm at Tandem

Click on the following link for more information: Still Fighting

Access 27 Ltd - Barriers that Trans* People Face when Accessing Services: ‘Not Optional’

• Thursday 11 June 2026 from 1.30-4.00pm at Tandem

Click on the following link for more information: Not Optional

Neglect - NSPCC Graded Care Profile 2

• Wednesday 17 June 2026 from 9.30-3.00pm at Tandem

Click on the following link for more information: Neglect

North East Regional Quality Assurance Training Day Offer

The NE12 ADCS Subgroup for Quality Assurance are delighted to invite you to the very first North East Regional Quality Assurance Training Day offer.

This focused & interactive programme is designed to strengthen the consistency, confidence & impact of quality assurance activity across children’s services in our region.

These full day sessions will equip auditors & practitioners with the tools, techniques & shared regional expectations needed to get the very best out of our collective QA activity.

Training Dates & Venues:

• Monday 11 May 2026 from 9.30-3.30pm at Linskill Centre, North Shields (North Tyneside)
• Friday 22 May 2026 from 9.30-3.30pm at Bensham Grove, Gateshead
• Tuesday 16 June 2026 from 9.30-3.30pm at GLOW, Newton Aycliffe
• Monday 6 July 2026 from 9.30-3.30pm at Inspire 2 Learn, South Bank

Registration from 9.00am. Lunch & refreshments will be provided throughout the day.

What to Expect:

• a high-quality, interactive regional training programme
• practical guidance to enhance audit quality, impact & consistency
• shared regional learning & networking with peers
• a supportive space to strengthen your practice & confidence.

Book Your Place:

Spaces are limited, so early booking is encouraged. DBC staff should email: [email protected] to book your place

Please click on the following link for further information: Flyer [pdf document]

Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse

 
Recently, the Government has renewed its efforts on reducing child sexual abuse. Shaping the Government response are the report findings and recommendations from the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel’s report, “I wanted them all to notice.”, and most recently the Casey review on Group-based Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse.  
 
We are aware that organisations and services are currently working to address these recommendations, and so we wanted to get in touch to tell you about the free resources and events that we offer at the CSA Centre.  The reports above highlight the need for all professionals working with children to be better informed about: 

• the prevalence of child sexual abuse
• the signs and indicators of child sexual abuse
• the effects of child sexual abuse
• how we can respond when we have concerns about child sexual abuse.

This is because conservative estimates suggest that at least one in ten children or young people will experience some form of sexual abuse before the age of 16. All professionals working with children should have the skills, knowledge and confidence to talk to children when there are concerns about child sexual abuse.  

Free Resources

This suite of resources aims to directly inform practice and provide guidance on what steps can be taken to support children and families. These practice resources will help to improve your knowledge, skills and confidence in identifying and responding to child sexual abuse. These practice resources can be found here: CSA Centre Practice Resources [external website]
 
Free Webinars

Throughout the year, we run a series of free webinars to introduce practitioners to our resources. These hour-long sessions guide professionals on how to navigate our resources and consider how it can support and inform their practice. The webinar dates can be found here: Events [external website]
 
Free E-Learning Course 

Identifying and responding to intra-familial child sexual abuse. This is a free 90-minute, accessible and certified eLearning course for all professionals working with children.  This can be easily added as part of your organisation’s safeguarding induction and refresher training. This free e-learning course can be found here: CSA Centre’s E-Learning Course [external website]
 
Further Training Opportunities 

Our additional training sessions for professionals in a range of aspects relating to understanding and responding to child sexual abuse. These training courses can be found here: CSA Centre's Training Programme [external website]
 
The CSA Centre is a not-for-profit organisation whose mission is to improve the response to child sexual abuse. 

Rape Crisis Centre

Did you know that as your local Rape Crisis Centre in Darlington & Co. Durham, RSACC delivers a range of specialist training workshops that are suitable for all types of workplace? 

With a range of CPD-certified, half day and 2 hour workshops on a variety of topics (including Sexual Violence Awareness, Sexual Harassment Prevention and Responding to Disclosure), our trainer can inform and allow you and your teams to understand more about sexual violence and its impacts, as well as how to access or signpost to appropriate support locally. 

Find out more about our workshops: RSACC Training - RSACC [external website]

Suicide Bereavement Training

PAPYRUS-UK & Suicide Bereavement UK have been contracted by the North East and North Cumbria (NENC) Integrated Care Board, to provide fully funded Suicide Prevention trainings to Primary Care, Emergency responders and NHS staff in the North East and North Cumbria & Social Care Staff. Please click on the following links for more information:

Papyrus-UK [external website]

Suicide Bereavement UK [external website]