Safeguarding Children:

Useful Links - For Professionals

Useful Links for Professionals working with children and families

Local
National and Government
  • Association of Directors of Childrens Services - The Association of Directors of Children's Services Ltd - ADCS - is the national leadership association in England for statutory directors of children's services and other children's services professionals in leadership roles. 
  • Department for Education - The Department for Education is responsible for education and children’s services in England
  • Department of Health - The Department of Health (DH) helps people to live better for longer. We lead, shape and fund health and care in England, making sure people have the support, care and treatment they need, with the compassion, respect and dignity they deserve.
  • Home Office - The Home Office leads on immigration and passports, drugs policy, crime policy and counter-terrorism and works to ensure visible, responsive and accountable policing in the UK. 
  • Ofsted - Ofsted is the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills. We inspect and regulate services that care for children and young people, and services providing education and skills for learners of all ages. Ofsted is a non-ministerial department. 
  • Social Care Institute of Excellence (SCIE)
Voluntary Organisations and Charities
  • Barnardos - Barnardo’s works to transform the lives of vulnerable children and young people. 
  • CAFCASS
  • Childsafe - Child-Safe is unique as the only child protection charity that aims to safeguard and prevent the abuse of children and young people away from home, particularly in the global youth travel sector 
  • Childline - ChildLine is a private and confidential service for children and young people up to the age of 19. You can contact a ChildLine counsellor about anything -no problem is too big or too small. Call free on 0800 1111, have a 1-2-1 chat online or send an email.
  • Counselling Directory - A service bringing together the information required to help individuals find a qualified counsellor or psychotherapist in their local area. Counselling Directory is a confidential service that encourages those in distress to seek help. The directory contains information on many different types of distress, as well as articles, news, and events. To ensure the professionalism of our website, all counsellors have provided us with qualifications and insurance cover or proof of membership with a professional body. 
  • Fylde Coast Women's Aid - Fylde Coast Women’s Aid promotes and encourages survivors of domestic abuse to make their own choices about their future. 
  • iHop - This national one-stop information service is run by Barnardo’s to support all professionals to work with children and families of offenders. The i-HOP website (www.i-hop.org.uk) lists all available training, services and interventions, resources, events and practice examples to help you work with these families.
    • i-HOP’s free set of Quality Statements and Toolkit enable your service to assess their work with this group and develop a realistic action plan.
  • NSPCC - NSPCC are the leading children's charity in the UK, specialising in child protection and dedicated to the fight for every childhood. NSPCC are the only UK children's charity with statutory powers and that means they can take action to safeguard children at risk of abuse.
Health
Education

Sexual Abuse

  • Trust House Lancashire - a service based in Preston offering support and counselling to Children and Young People who are victims of sexual abuse

Child Sexual Exploitation

  • Barnardos - CSE Information
  • Wud U? App - Wud U? is a free educational tool that aims to show young people the behaviours that could put them at risk of being sexually exploited, through illustrated, interactive stories