1. Building Safety Network Exercise T&C Application Process
Presenter:
Venue:
Date:
I introduce this exercise speaking about the fact that getting families to involve support people/safety networks is always challenging. I suggest there are both organisational challenges and challenges that the family bring. If I have time I ask people to discuss and/or to just call out the challenges professional systems face or create in involving support people around parents and children (for example, research says professionals rarely engage with the absent father’s side and we often require significant background checks to involve support people). I make the point that there are many structural issues our organisations face in working with networks but this exercise is designed to help children’s services teams and practitioners work with the objections they hear from parents and children/young people when practitioners ask them to involve a support network.

2. Working With Objections to Involving a Safety Network
Working individually write the objection or challenge you or your colleagues most commonly hear from parents about finding support people.
With three other people near you share these common objections
The point here is that parents and families will almost always raise objections to involving others and these are exactly the issues that need to be addressed if we are going help a family build a safety network. The trick here is to approach these objections not as a problem but as the perfect opportunity to think through with the family what it would take to involve others.
Follow steps one and two above
Invite the group to call out their most common objections and the trainer records them in a list
Then make the teaching point: The point here is that parents and families will almost always raise objections to involving others – these are exactly the issues that need to be addressed if we are going help a family build a safety network. The trick here is to approach these objections not as a problem but as the perfect opportunity to think through with the family what it would take to involve others.

3. Working With Objections to Involving a Safety Network
Objection/Challenge:
Past
Present
Future
Instructions
Take a blank sheet of paper and set it up in the following way >>>>
Negative
Positive
Have everyone in the group prepare a blank piece of paper following the format shown in the slide ‘blue’ sheet of paper

4. 15 year old Pakistani: I can’t tell anyone in my family I’m pregnant . . .
Negative
Positive
Past
Past
What’s the worst thing that’s happened to you in your family when you or one of your siblings did something your parents weren’t happy with?
What’s the worst thing you know of that’s happened to a pregnant single young woman in your community?
When something embarrassing that no one wanted to talk about has happened in your family who helped get it sorted out?
Who has been the best person for you to talk to about secrets and big problems in the past?
Present
Present
The person who’s closest to you what would they say about how they want to find out your going ot have a baby?
What’s the best reaction you’ve had so far from anyone who knows your pregnant?
Who would be the best person in your community to talk to? What do they do that makes them the best person? What do you like about your relationship with them?
Does anyone know you are pregnant and what’s the worst reaction you’ve had so far from anyone?
Who would be the absolutely worst person to tell in your community or your family? What do they do that makes them the worst person?
The person who knows you best what would they say is the worst way your family could find out?
Future
Future
Suppose when your family and others find out you’re surprised to find it turns out okay, what would happen that would make you feel actually that went okay? How would people be supporting you if it went well? If this did go well how would you be different? What would be the absolute best way for your family to find out? Who’s most likely to have the best reaction? What’s the best way for the worst person to find out?
Suppose your family and others find out you’re pregnant and the worst happens what would be the worst thing that could happen? What would be the absolute worst way for them to find out? Who are you most afraid will have the worst reaction? If they react in the absolute worst way what will they do/say?
This slide presents an example of questions created into this matrix in the case of a 15-year-old Pakistani young woman who was adamant that she could not tell anyone in her family or community she was pregnant. In this case workers became anxious that this might lead to severe violence or even an ‘honour’ killing and had started to talk about taking the teenager into a place of safety. would be in huge trouble if she did. I explain the objection first and then take people through the questions.
I ask people to reflect in pairs on how it would help them if this was their case and this was the objection they were dealing with and then take their feedback. The trainer can then ask does the process make sense and take any questions. Then its time to get the participants to use the tool.

5. Working With Objections to Involving a Safety Network
Objection/Challenge:
Past
Present
Future
Working individually for 7 minutes:
Write the objection/challenge you have been asked to think through at the top of the page
Write down as many questions you can think of about that issue under each heading and both columns in the worksheet
Form in groups four, share your questions, then share your learnings from doing this exercise.
Negative
Positive
At this point the trainer has a range of options about what issue or challenge to get participants to practice with. Here’s a two options:
1. If the training group is looking at a particular case ask the worker in that case what is the biggest objection the parents in that case have or are likely to make to inviting others to support and help. Once the worker identifies the issue have everyone in the group work individually for 7 minutes use the matrix to write questions to each three headings in both columns. Have people create one question under each heading then move on to the next so that in their individual working time they create at least one question for each of the six headings.
2. Use the list of objections created through slide two and identify the top three or four most common ones. Divide the training group into three or four and have people work 7 minutes individually as above on the issue they have been allocated.
Have people share their work in groups of four and discuss their learnings.

6. Write issue here… Negative Positive Past Present Future …
While participants are working on the exercise presented in slide 5 the trainer uses this slide to to write their best thinking about questions for the objection/struggle from the case or they choose form the list. After the trainer gets feedback from the groups they can then read their own work.
Conclude the exercise by asking for learnings form the exercise. If the training is using a learning document they should record participants answers in the learning document.