Trafficking Along Migration Routes

The increased movement of children and families across Europe, the heightened vulnerabilities associated with this, and the variation in official and unofficial responses suggests the need for more consistent training among social workers and NGOs working with families on the move.

This e-learning module has been designed to help professionals and students understand the challenging policy and practical environments in which social workers and NGO staff must operate. It addresses the complexity of working with people from diverse cultural backgrounds with a variety of needs.

Learning Outcomes

• Describe international policy and practice frameworks relating to children on the move and the obligations they place on the member states
• Describe the main elements of the asylum process and reflect upon the role of professionals within this system
• Consider and appraise the practical issues facing professionals whose role it is to assess and support families on the move
• Understand and reflect upon the issues faced by families on the move
• Analyse and appraise the challenges of transnational child protection work.

This e-learning module is part of a wider Erasmus+ funded project in which colleagues from the Universtiy of Tirana, New Bulgaria University, University of Prishtina, University of Bucharest, University of Belgrade, State Pedagogical University of Chisinau, in partnership with Terre des hommes and the Universities of Kent and Stirling (UK), collaboratively developed child protection modules for qualifying social work programmes in each of the partner countries.

The Erasmus+ project ran from 2015 to 2018, and identified five core modules for which we developed training and educational materials to provide consistency of content, improving quality of teaching and assessment, enhance student learning and development, and ultimately, improve outcomes for children.

This e-learning module is the product of a collaborative process that builds upon the knowledge of the project partners, social work practitioners and academics included in this Erasmus+ project. It is available as a "stand-alone" resource for universities and organisations across the world. It poses questions and provides brief, prompt answers.

         

For further background on this subject we suggest reading:
Sarkin, J (2017). Respecting and protecting the lives of migrants and refugees: the need for a human rights approach to save lives and find missing persons. The International Journal for Human Rights. 22 (2), p 207-236

The development of this online learning course was financially supported by the European Union's Erasmus+ program.

This course is specifically for those professionals involved with assessments of a child’s safety and wellbeing. It may also be of interest to those wanting a broader understanding of assessments and how they support other efforts to protect children.

It is worth noting that some organizations and countries use other words to denote ‘assessment’, such as: ‘social report’, ‘social enquiry’ or ‘case study’.

 

Outcomes:

By the end of the course, participants should:

• Recognise the value of making an assessment, and the different types of assessments that may be carried out in connection with chid protection
• Understand the ethical considerations that need to be ensured throughout the assessment process
• Identify ways of promoting the meaningful participation of children and families
• Know the four key steps in an assessment process
• Identify the appropriate sources of information on which to base an assessment
• Be able to identify risk factors, strengths and protective factors
• Be able to Identify the main forms of abuse, symptoms and manifestations
• Appreciate the links between risk and vulnerability in terms of managing risk
• Understand the importance of analysing information, and have a model for doing so in a structured way.

This course is comprised of SIX modules which can be completed at your own pace; you do not need to complete all six modules at one time. After completing the modules you can take a short test that if you successfully complete, will allow you to receive a downloadable certificate of completion of the course. 

The six modules are:

Module 1: Introduction to Assessment
Module 2: Steps in the Assessment Process
Module 3: Dimensions to be Assessed
Module 4: Understanding & Assessing risk
Module 5: Analysing Information
Module 6: Skills for Assessment

Each module is self-directed using a variety of exercises, such as quizzes and case studies.  Links are provided for additional information and resources. In total, the course should take approximately 6–8 hours to complete.

PLEASE NOTE: When taking these modules, it is important that you complete every task fully. All links must be followed, and actions must be undertaken. If you miss some items, the module will not be marked as complete.

Welcome to this online training course on multidisciplinary approaches to child abuse.

This training is designed for professionals working in multidisciplinary teams within the field of child protection against abuse, neglect, violence and exploitation. 

Such professionals may include:

• Social workers
• Child Protection Workers
• Psychologists
• Staff working in children’s NGOs
• Counsellors
• Coordinators working in the field of domestic violence
• Staff working in residential institutions for children
• School Psychologists
• Doctors and Nurses
• Teachers
• Police Officers specialising in domestic violence or children's issues
• Lawyers and prosecutors
• Judges

This course may also provide valuable background information to other allies, such as inspectors of social services and policy.

The course take roughly two hours to complete, although it does not need to be done in one session or sequentially.

Welcome to the ChildHub course on supporting children’s participation. This course is designed for all child care practitioners and child protection workers who want to learn more about helping children to participate in the decisions which affect them.

As frontline practitioners, we have much power in the lives of children. But how much of our decision making and advocacy is truly informed by them? This course is designed for frontline practitioners who wish to make participation a reality, no matter what the challenges are.

There is a difference between participation of children in the wider community, and participation of children in relation to individual issues which affect their individual lives. While this course will focus on how to empower children individually, it will also contribute to an understanding that participation is a wider process for which all frontline practitioners must fight.

 

What is the structure of the course?

The course is divided into 9 short modules which build on each other. The modules are a mixture of reading and interactive exercises, case studies, scenarios and short film clips. You will be guided through the module and at the end of each module, there is a short list of additional reading and references, if you wish to explore the topic in more detail.

There will be three FOUNDATION modules which every participant MUST complete.

FOUNDATION MODULE ONE: Introducing participation

 

This basic starter module will help you to think about what we mean by children’s participation and why it is so important.

 

 

 

 

FOUNDATION MODULE TWO: The importance of values and attitudes in promoting children’s participation

 

 

This module will help you to examine the crucial values and attitudes which must underpin practice when encouraging children’s participation. Enabling participation means that you need to have the correct attitude and values underpinning your work. This module helps you to revisit some of these and introduces some highly relevant concepts which will assist meaningful participation.

 

FOUNDATION MODULE THREE: Practice skills for participation

 

This module will focus on the key skills which you need to implement to ensure that you can communicate well with children and encourage participation. These practical hints and tips will look at the real ways in which you should relate to children and their families, underpinned by the principles of psychosocial practice.

 

Once you have completed the three foundation modules, you will then be able to choose from six PRACTICE modules. 

You can choose to do as many of these practice modules as you wish, but you must complete at least four of the practice modules to be awarded the certificate.  The first five practice modules will look at different groups of children for whom participation could be a problem. The final practice module will be about working with parents. Each of these modules will look at why participation for this particular group is problematic.  They will also examine some tools and strategies for practice. You can work your way through each module or you can access a particular module depending on if you are working with a child from that group at the moment. The practice modules are

1: Working with children with disabilities

2: Children in conflict with the law

3: Children in institutions

4: Children affected by mental ill health

5: Working with Roma children

6: Working with parents

If you complete the three foundation modules and four of the six practice modules, you will receive a certificate of completion from the Centre of Excellence for Looked After Children in Scotland (CELCIS) at the University of Strathclyde in Scotland.