Working with Children Experiencing VAWDASV

Course: Working with Children Experiencing VAWDASV

Training Provider: Children In Wales

This engaging and interactive training course will equip practitioners with the knowledge, skills and confidence to recognise and respond to Violence Against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence (VAWDASV) and its impact on children, young people and families. Through a combination of presentations, case studies, practical exercises and group discussions, delegates will explore indicators of abuse and trauma, understand the impact on child development, attachment and family dynamics, and develop trauma-informed, child-centred approaches to safeguarding and support. The course will also strengthen confidence in managing disclosures, completing assessments, developing safety plans and working effectively within multi-agency settings, with access to comprehensive resources and tools to support ongoing learning and practice.

Learning Outcomes:

• Identify and interpret behavioural and emotional signs that may indicate a child is experiencing VAWDASV, differentiating trauma responses from “challenging behaviour” across age groups.
• Use trauma‑informed, developmentally appropriate communication techniques to respond to disclosures, validate children's experiences, and avoid re‑traumatisation or escalating risk.
• Create and adapt safety plans with children and young people, balancing immediate safety, emotional stability, and protective factors, and embedding child‑friendly tools.
• Understand how to support the non‑abusive parent to rebuild safety and stability, including addressing the impact of coercive control on parenting, enhancing protective capacity, and understand potential risks related to child contact with the perpetrator.
• Apply multi‑agency safeguarding duties confidently, using Wales Safeguarding Procedures, rights‑based approaches, and trauma‑informed principles to inform assessments, referrals, and collaborative interventions

Prerequisites:

Must be working within Gwent; Caerphilly, Blaenau Gwent, Caerphilly Monmouthshire, Newport, Torfaen

Target group:

• Professionals working with the public and those at risk of VAWDASV
• Those looking to increase their knowledge in the subject area
• In a role where the client group is likely to have experienced a form of VAWDASV
• Social Care Workers / Local Authority Staff / Health / Domestic Abuse Specialists / Police / Probation / Fire and Rescue Services / Other related Specialists