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Welcome to the NYSCP February 2025 edition of our e-bulletin
Hello everyone,
As we bid farewell to the festive season and have made it through the (sometimes long) month of January, February finally greets us with a sense of renewal. As always, there’s lots to tell you about this month, including updates on the forthcoming Lunchtime learning events, and free training for partners.
As I write, partners are busily working with inspectors from Ofsted, the Care Quality Commission (CQC), HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) and HM Inspectorate of Probation (HMIP) undergoing a Joint Targeted Area Inspection (JTAI). The scope of the inspection is the multi-agency response to children who are the victims of domestic abuse including unborn children. JTAI is an inspection of the local area arrangements and how leaders, managers and practitioners work together to safeguard children and promote their welfare. For more information on JTAI, please see information on the NYSCP website – NYSCP. We will of course keep you up to date with the published findings and any future recommendations. A video presentation and slides can be accessed here JTAI Partner briefing – YouTube for more information.
In addition to the focus locally on the partnership approach to domestic abuse, and its impact on our children, 6th February marks the observation of the United Nations International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). This day is a crucial reminder of our collective responsibility to stand against this harmful practice, support the rights and health of women and girls worldwide, and violence from impacting children in all its forms. See also information on free mentoring for young women impacted by gender discrimination or violence.
On the same day, Time to Talk Day reminds us of the importance of open conversations about mental health and taking a moment to check in with those around us. This annual event is the focus of this month’s Do Your PART, which highlights the importance of how every conversation matters and provides mental health resources.
11th February brings us Safer Internet Day, for further information on this annual event and teaching resources see below.
The month of February is UK LGBT+ History Month. Founded by the charity Schools OUT UK, this annual event celebrates 20 years of History Months and focuses on the rich and diverse history of LGBT+ individuals. Read on for further information and links.
This month sees a new regular e-bulletin item outlining new additions to our website. Our first featured (and new page) covers national learning and reports, and summarises key national information for partners, to help you stay up to date and for sharing with colleagues see – NYSCP. As always, your feedback on this is appreciated, as are suggestions for future content on the site and e-bulletins. Please email us at nyscp@northyorkshire.gov.uk with thoughts and comments – thank you!
And of course, we can’t forget Valentine’s Day on February 14th! Whether you’re celebrating with a loved one, or friends, or indulging in some self-care, it’s a day to spread love and kindness.
We look forward to seeing you in March for more updates!
Stephanie Freeth, Policy & Development Officer (NYSCP)
Jump to…
- Do your PART
- Mental Health Services
- International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation – 6th February
- Safer Internet Day – 11th February
- LGBGT + History Month
- Support Scheme – Yorkshire Water
- Support Scheme – Energy Bills
- Cafcass (Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service) | Family Court Proceedings
- Training
- NYSCP Website Changes – NEW!
- Get Support – Child Sexual Abuse
- Women Unlocked- Free mentoring opportunity available for young women aged 16-24 in North Yorkshire
- CAPT (Child Accident Prevention Trust) – New Information Page
- Neurodiversity Celebration Week 2025 Events Schedule: 17th – 23rd March
This month’s Do Your PART focuses on mental health and the forthcoming Time to Talk Day – 6th February.
How to Get Involved.
Time to Talk Day aims to spark the nation’s biggest mental health conversation, and for people to come together to talk and listen and change lives. Organised by Mind and Rethink Mental Illness, there are resources and downloadable packs to share within schools, health settings, community groups, and offices to help get the conversation started, and lots of opportunities to take part, learn, share information, or check in with someone you know.
For further resources concerning Children’s Mental Health and Wellbeing, please see below.
Mental Health Services
Single Point of Access for Mental Health Crisis Services
Please note that the 0800 number which was formally used for those experiencing a Mental Health Crisis has now been switched off, the service is operated by NHS 111 and support is available by selecting option 2.
In a mental health emergency, call NHS 111 and select the mental health option 2.
Available 24/7, callers can speak to a mental health professional who can listen and help find the right support.
Please use NHS 111 – SignVideo if you are deaf or have hearing loss.
For more information please visit: What to do in a mental health crisis – Tees Esk and Wear Valley NHS Foundation Trust.
Children’s Mental Health and Wellbeing
For further information on sources of help, the GoTo website has lots of information for children, carers and professionals, including the Marketplace directory of services, a young person’s resource for mental health created by young people for young people and a community directory to be found in What’s in North Yorkshire for me?
There is also information for professionals, parents and carers on the NYSCP website NYSCP.
International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation – 6th February.
The International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation is a United Nations-sponsored annual awareness day that takes place on February 6 as part of the UN’s efforts to eradicate female genital mutilation.
The theme in 2025 is “Step up the Pace” which encourages to continue to challenge harmful beliefs, gender stereotypes and discrimination.
For more information on what FGM is, practice guidance and support, the NYSCP website also has information relating to FGM for partners – NYSCP.
Safer Internet Day – 11th February.
Safer Internet Day is a great opportunity to reflect on our own online habits and how they impact the children around us and ensure we’re navigating the digital world safely and responsibly.
Whether it’s updating passwords or discussing online safety, or the pros and cons of our digital usage with children, let’s continue to educate and discuss these matters of importance, and show our support. For further information and resources, please see the links below, or our website at NYSCP using the keyword “online”.
The theme for Safer Internet Day 2025 is: ‘Too good to be true? Protecting yourself and others from scams online’ and the UK Safer Internet Centre has a whole host of information aimed from 3 years upwards to view and use. Official, free resources for Safer Internet Day 2025 are now live – UK Safer Internet Centre.
BBC Bitesize has information aimed at both primary and secondary school-aged children, focussing on the day itself as well as videos and links for learning, including live lessons and a discussion panel for teachers.
LGBGT + History Month
In the UK, LGBT+ History Month 2025 is celebrated in February to coincide with the abolishment of Section 28 of the 1988 Local Government Act, meaning that teachers were finally able to include LGBT+ figures or topics in the curriculum or provide support within schools.
Run and promoted by the charity Schools Out, the month of awareness empowers people in all learning settings to create environments where all LGBT+ people feel safe, seen, and supported.
Both Schools OUT and The Proud Trust have information and resources to use on their websites, with The Proud trust producing a free downloadable pack for schools to celebrate LGBT+ History Month, including engaging lesson plans and PowerPoints developed by their expert Training and Education team. The lesson plans are written with the National Curriculum in mind, with activities which can tie into History, Relationships and Sex Education, Media Studies and English lessons.
Support Scheme – Yorkshire Water
We understand that many people in North Yorkshire may be worried about bills, especially over the winter period. Partners are invited to attend one of the twice-monthly online sessions ran by Yorkshire Water to help increase sign-posting opportunities and help families, tenants, students, customers & employees access the support they need. The sessions give information on the schemes available to help reduce bills, and debts and provide additional support for those who need it.
The sessions are planned to last for up to one hour (usually 45 minutes) and delivers an insight to the financial and non-financial support schemes available at Yorkshire Water.
The financial support offers bill caps, payment breaks, payment plans and debt support through payment matching and charitable payments. Their non-financial support offers a little extra support to those who need it such as free bottled water delivery, bills in different formats and many other useful services and products.
Yorkshire Water holds business-to-business support scheme presentations through an online webinar platform, this allows many organisations to attend at the same time offering a choice of dates and times. The registration/meeting invite can be forwarded to your colleagues/volunteers in your organisation.
If the dates and times are suitable for you and your team, you’re more than welcome to join one of the free presentations. If these aren’t suitable and you’d like to book a session, you can get in touch and they can work with you to plan a suitable date and time.
The upcoming presentations are;
- 11th February 2025 (09:30-10:30) Click here to register for 11th February
- 26th February 2025 (15:00-16:00) Click here to register for 26th February
- 11th March 2025 (09:30-10:30) Click here to register for 11th March
- 26th March 2025 (15:00-16:00) Click here to register for 26th March
For more information contact Joanne Wilkinson, Community Engagement Officer on 07790 617248 or email at community.engagement.team@yorkshirewater.co.uk
Support Scheme – Energy Bills
With the recent rise in energy bills and the ongoing cold snap, many North Yorkshire residents may benefit from support from Warm & Well.
The partnership project brings together organisations from the public, private and charity sectors with the aim of reducing the number of cold homes and cold people and gives advice, guidance, and hands-on support to residents, including access to emergency funds.
To contact the energy advisers on the Warm & Well team, call on 01609 767555 or call the FREE Adviceline on 0808 278 7900.
Who is eligible for help?
- Anyone who is unable to afford their energy bills or worried about heating their home.
- People on low incomes or benefits.
- Families with young children.
- Anyone with physical or mental health issues.
Support for individuals –
- Advice on how to save money on energy costs, switching suppliers, grants and priority services.
- Home visits to advise on how to make your home warmer and more energy efficient, or for help with minor repairs.
- Access to emergency funds for those in urgent need.
Support for organisations –
A range of support is available for frontline workers, organisations, groups and parish councils including:
- Training and awareness on fuel poverty, energy efficiency, and how to apply for the Warm Homes Discounts scheme.
- Advice on how to set up winter schemes to keep communities safe.
- Campaigns, resources and top tips for providing guidance.
- Talks and information sessions.
If you are a partner agency and want to make a referral for someone, please use the Warm and Well referral form.
You’ll find a wide range of information all in one place in relation to the Cost of Living at www.northyorks.gov.uk/costofliving.
Cafcass (Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service) | Family Court Proceedings
Cafcass has recently published a short animation, informed by lived experience, to help children and young people better understand the family court. You can view it here.
Cafcass prioritises the leadership of, and support for, Family Court Advisers (FCA) and Children’s Guardians in the work it does to help children understand the advice that is being given to the family court about current and future arrangements for them. In order to help explain this to children, their families and carers, Cafcass is releasing a second animation in its ‘Taking me seriously’ film series. The animated film was developed in collaboration with members of the Family Justice Young People’s Board (FJYPB), Cafcass leaders and practitioners and is produced by the production company My Pockets.
If you would like to watch the first Taking Me Seriously video, it is available to view here
Training
Local Training
NYSCP Developments in Safeguarding: Learning Sessions
The NYSCP Business Unit is delighted to announce Lunchtime Learning Sessions for the remainder of 2025.
Sessions are free, and delivered as virtual events and are designed for anyone working or volunteering with children and young people and take place between 12:00 noon and 1:00 pm on the first Wednesday of each month. Each session covers a different safeguarding theme and allows participants to simply listen and learn (with resources shared afterwards) or participate as much as they are able.
Should you be unable to join sessions, most are recorded and available on our YouTube channel.
Sessions over the next few months include.
- Reducing Parental Conflict
- Being Young in North Yorkshire Strategy Launch
- Harmful Sexual Behaviour
- Learning from Case Reviews (Record Keeping and Information Sharing)
- Voice of the Child
- Sharing Intelligence
There are Early Years twilight sessions planned also.
To book your place, and a full list of Lunchtime Learning Events for 2025, as well as other training opportunities, please go to – NYSCP Training Pages.
National Training
PAPYRUS offers a range of suicide prevention training, which is available to individuals, organisations and communities who want to create a suicide-safer society.
From the free* 30-minute SPARK session to their CPD-accredited SPOT and SPEAK sessions, to LivingWork’s comprehensive two-day ASIST course, the array of training equips you to make a difference and gives you the confidence to help keep people around you safe from suicide.
To book, please browse the upcoming suicide prevention education and training sessions at Active Training | Papyrus.
For further information about courses and what can be offered – please contact the training team: training@papyrus-uk.org.
For resources, help and advice, including dealing with anxiety, distraction methods and conversation starters for young people who have worries, or are thinking about suicide, please see Help and Advice Resources | Papyrus UK for practical support and signposting.
NYSCP Website Changes – NEW!
National Learning and Reports
This new section of the e bulletin will bring you the latest in website updates and changes, and this month features our new National Learning page. NYSCP.
The National Learning and Reports page on the North Yorkshire Safeguarding Children Partnership (NYSCP) website offers essential resources and summaries from national reports for partners. These resources offer insights and guidance to improve safeguarding practices and keep up to date with national themes and learning and will be updated regularly.
NYSCP – Practice Guidance
New Practice Guidance on Children of Parents with Mental Health Problems has been published and aims to give practitioners advice and guidance on this topic – please see Children of Parents with Mental Health Problems for further information.
NYSCP Website Walkthrough
NYSCP business unit have produced a short video ‘walkthrough’ of the NYSCP website, the video shows partners where to access key information and is a great resource for new starters (or for anyone wanting to know their way around the website a bit more). NYSCP website walkthrough
Get Support – Child Sexual Abuse
If you have concerns for someone related to child sexual abuse, some places and people can help. The Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse, (CSE) has developed and launched a new directory of support services in England and Wales, containing the details of over 350 support services, bringing them together into one easy-to-navigate list. Users can search using a postcode, or by clicking on their region on the map.
Each support service listed has the necessary details so that users can get in touch quickly, whether that be through the website, helpline number or email address.
There is specific support tailored to supporting children, adults, parents and carers, as well as services offering focused support for women and girls, men and boys, LGBTQ+ people, disabled people and for people specifically from ethnic minority backgrounds.
Women Unlocked- Free mentoring opportunity available for young women aged 16-24 in North Yorkshire
This is a brand-new opportunity for young women & girls in North Yorkshire. The Women Unlocked Mentoring Programme (WUMP) will provide individual and group mentoring to support young women to reach their goals in education; careers; and beyond.
Participants will also have the opportunity to work on a special campaign across the county to raise awareness of a gender equality or Violence Against Women & Girls (VAWG) issue that’s important to them.
This project will focus on Gender Inequality, with mentees working in partnership with the Deputy Mayor; North Yorkshire Police; North Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service, Leaders Unlocked and women’s organisations to represent young people’s voices and ensure services meet their needs.
We are particularly seeking applications from young women who have lived experience of gender inequality or VAWG.
This is a fantastic opportunity to develop confidence and new skills; and set and achieve personal goals while tackling gender inequality.
We would appreciate it if you could share the opportunity amongst your networks and encourage any eligible young person who you feel would benefit from this experience to apply.
Documents can be accessed here – https://www.northyorkshire-pfcc.gov.uk/for-you/young-people/youth/women-unlocked-mentoring-programme/
The application deadline is: Friday 28th February 2025
If you have any questions or want to chat further about Women Unlocked, please contact:Amber@leaders-unlocked.org
CAPT (Child Accident Prevention Trust) – New Information Page
New Information Page on Child Safety
CAPT has launched a new information page to help raise awareness about the risks associated with laundry capsules and the simple steps we can all take to keep children safe.
Resources Available:
- Animation Video: Watch our short animation that illustrates the dangers of laundry capsules and explains why they are so appealing to small children.
- Fact Sheet: Share bite-sized facts and safety tips to help spread the word.
- Translated Fact Sheets: Helpful fact sheet is available in five community languages: Arabic, Bengali, Polish, Punjabi, and Urdu.
Please read and share these resources to help keep children safe.
Washing pods and capsules: Keep children safe
Neurodiversity Celebration Week 2025 Events Schedule: 17th – 23rd March
With about 6 weeks to go until Neurodiversity Celebration Week 2025, their events schedule is now LIVE!
Get ready for a mind-blowing week of 24 FREE EVENTS from March 17th to 23rd, 2025. And absolutely everyone is invited to join us for this incredible line-up.
Over 80 inspiring speakers (including some from the Lexxic team!) will share their unique perspectives on neurodiversity. You’ll hear from experts with lived experience, top professionals, and passionate advocates. Don’t miss out! Check out the schedule below, grab your spot(s), and celebrate the amazing diversity of minds!
You can register for the events at – 2025 Events Schedule | Neurodiversity Celebration Week
You can also download the interactive calendar of events here – NCW 2025 Events Schedule v1.0
If you haven’t done so already, make sure to sign up to support the campaign on their website and get involved!
Useful Links
- Worried about a child?
- NYSCP Website, including
- NSPCC – CASPAR Weekly updated
- CEOP – Think U Know
- CYPS info
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