Understand The Rules Of The Game 2020 –
LawInSport’s Digital Annual Conference
We are pleased to announce that our Director Jennie Smith will be a panellist at the forthcoming Law in Sport International Conference, on 13th November 2020, 2 p.m.
Safeguarding – New Approaches and Lessons from Recent Developments
Jennie will be joining:
James Counsell QC, Barrister, Outer Temple Chambers
Tanni Grey-Thompson, Paralympian, Crossbench Peer in the House of Lords, Motivational Speaker and Broadcaster
Anne Tiivas, Chair, SafeSport International,
John Merzhad QC, Head of Sport, Littleton Chambers
We are looking forward to telling you all about in issue 7!
INTERVIEW WITH KEVIN MURPHY SAFEGUARDING IN SPORT LEAD, NWG
Our Director Jennie Smith had a catch up with Kevin Murphy, Safeguarding in Sport Lead, CSE Response Unit, NWG. Kevin talked to Jennie about the journey which led him to work in the National Working Group and the great work that he has been doing recently.
As a parent of a child who was diagnosed with SEND, Kevin was really well placed to be an Education Welfare Officer, one of his first roles in Social Care.
Moving on, working with the police and schools in one of the first CSE/Grooming gang prosecutions, Kevin saw all perpetrators receiving lengthy custodial sentences.
Through that Operation, Kevin met Sheila Taylor, who became the Chief Executive of the National Working Group (NWG), a national organisation providing advice and support to their 14,000 members, 300 organisations. The NWG has grown in magnitude, now working with European countries and Canada, and the UN Rapporteur for Missing Children. Kevin is the Safeguarding in Sport Lead at the NWG.
One of the issues Kevin is passionate about is the support offered to CSE Victims once the criminal justice process has ended. During the recent Rotherham trials, social workers with a Mental Health background were on call 24 hours a day to receive calls and give support to the victims. Following Professor Jay’s report into the Rotherham scandal, the Police launched Operation Clover which looked at how adult victims of CSE are supported. Kevin encourages organisations that work with the victims to provide better packages of support once statutory services have stopped their input.
Kevin talked to Jennie about the themes emerging from lockdown. One positive aspect was the success of ‘return to home’ interviews, all done online. More parents and children engaged in the online arena, children feeling more at ease, and parents not having to worry about the authorities
knocking at the door in front of their neighbours. Perhaps a way of working that will stay once we are back to normal? Kevin spoke of the importance of the new Safeguarding Leadership Programme® run by us at Safeguarding Today, highlighting the need for supervision for safeguarding leads. So important to improve outcomes for children, young people and adults!
Finally, Kevin spoke about this involvement with and support for the brilliant Voices for Truth and Dignity Project, an EU Funded project hearing the voices of those who have suffered from sexual abuse in sport.
http://voicesfortruthanddignity.eu
Thanks, Kevin!
If you would like any further information please go to www.nwgnetwork.org