Warwickshire News Mine

The ‘Feeling Safe’ pack, published by Pavilion Press, has been developed by practitioners from Warwickshire County Council’s Children’s Services and Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership NHS Trust.

Historically support services have been aimed at the adult victim, but the ‘Feeling Safe’ programme was developed specifically to include both children and women who have experienced domestic abuse.

More than a hundred children in Warwickshire have already benefited from the project, alongside their non-abusing female carers attending the women’s group.

The ‘Feeling Safe’ pack is sponsored by the Ragdoll Foundation which quickly recognised its potential, enabling the pack to be published and used more widely by organisations working with children and young people nationally.
Karen Newell from the Ragdoll Foundation, said: ”I have seen the Feeling Safe project grow over a four year period from an inspirational idea to the publication of the pack.

“At first hand, I have seen the positive experience that the Feeling safe group has on the participants and congratulate everyone involved in enabling families to reconnect.”

The programme was created by two of Warwickshire County Council’s Domestic Abuse Social Workers - Kate Burns of the Bedworth Children Team and Linda Paine of the Stratford Family Support Team - and Victoria Hill, Clinical Psychologist (CAMHS) at Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership Trust (NHS).

The ‘Feeling Safe’ programme involves 10 weekly sessions for women and children to explore their own experiences of being a victim and look at positive ways of dealing with their feelings. 

Cllr Richard Hobbs, Warwickshire County Council’s portfolio holder for Community Protection, said: “Experience of this type of group work shows that children, young people and women are better able to ‘break’ the secrecy surrounding domestic abuse and rebuild their own confidence and self esteem.

“This is a result of being supported in recognising where the responsibility for the abuse rests; the abuse was not their fault and they are not to blame.”

Sandy Taylor, chief executive of the Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership NHS Trust, said: “We know the Feeling Safe Group have done excellent work and support people in often very difficult circumstances.

"We believe the materials now produced by the Group will help make sure they continue this good work - and it will help other teams across the country tackle abuse and the consequences of that abuse in the future."

The Feeling safe pack is available in three formats: Children and young people’s group facilitator’s resource only; Women’s group facilitator’s resource only; or Complete set of facilitators resource – available to order from Pavillion Press on 0870 890 1080 or http://www.pavpub.com/trainingmaterials.

The Ragdoll Foundation set up by Anne Wood is dedicated to developing the power of imaginative responses in children through the arts.  It owns 15% of Ragdoll Productions and springs from the same philosophical roots. 

The Foundation is governed by a Board of Trustees, chaired by Katherine Wood and administered by one Ragdoll member of staff with some additional professional support from Ragdoll the company. It is funded entirely by Ragdoll Productions.

For more information on The Ragdoll Foundation please visit website http://www.ragdollfoundation.org.uk

Link to WCC