Rotherham Council and its partners have come together and developed a programme of learning events to support this year’s Safeguarding Awareness Week (SAW23), which runs from 20 to 24 November 2023.
Safeguarding Awareness Week is nationally recognised and has been marked in Rotherham for the last five years. This year’s theme is online safety as it is important that everyone should understand the risks of online scams, grooming and abuse including the ways in which they can stay safe.
Safeguarding is about protecting children and adults from abuse or neglect and educating those around them to recognise the signs and how they can report their concerns.
This year Rotherham will be hosting the South Yorkshire launch of SAW23 and will bring together safeguarding partners from across the region to begin a week of events, training and awareness in all aspects of safeguarding.
Both the Rotherham Adults' and Children's Safeguarding Partnerships have an array of online and in person sessions for professionals and the public to attend. The sessions cover a range of topics including suicide prevention, domestic abuse services and safeguarding a person’s rights.
The sessions have been planned for frontline workers and volunteers from adult and children’s services. They are run by motivational speaks who are experts in their field and have been designed to stimulate discussion and share best practice.
The Leader of Rotherham Council, Cllr Chris Read said: “Giving every child the best start in life and ensuring every adult is safe and healthy are our priorities for the council, and that means putting the safeguarding of all our residents front and centre. During Safeguarding Week everyone has the opportunity to take stock of where we are, the challenges being faced by some of our residents, and how we can all ensure we’re playing our part.”
Chief Executive of Rotherham Council, Sharon Kemp said: “Safeguarding is everyone’s business and we all have a duty to safeguard the wellbeing of children, young people and adults.”
To find out more about the sessions and book a place see the Eventbrite page.
For help spotting the signs of abuse in adults see the Rotherham Safeguarding Adults website.
Further information about spotting the signs of child exploitation and how to report concerns is available from the Rotherham Council website.
And a video presentation on spotting the signs of child exploitation is also available at the Rotherham Council YouTube channel.
