SaFest 2026 weeklong programme

09:00   Welcome to SaFest 2026 - Nick, Tina, Jackie and Anna (The SaFest Team)

09:20   Welcome from Becky Hopkins, Deputy Director, Head of Children's Social Care

09:30   Keynote to be confirmed

10:30   SaFest on the sofa 

A conversation with Sarah-Lou Glover from Parental Minds. 

11:30   Break

11:45  Devon Families and Domestic Abuse - Hannah Ashford, Chief Executive Officer of North Devon Against Domestic Abuse (NDADA)

This session will explore the support available to families in the Devon County Area, signs of domestic abuse in children, the impact on families and future service development plans. There will also be the opportunity to ask questions. 

12:30   Lunch break 

13:00    Speaker to be confirmed 

13:30   Using Social Pedagogy In Children’s Homes In The UK- inspired by Western European Practices - Emmanuel Akpan-Inwang, Lighthouse Pedagogy Trust

Presentation overview:

• • • Where the idea came from to set up children’s homes in the UK, and our first exposure to social pedagogy 

• • • Visits to European children’s homes that used social pedagogy and what we learnt 

• • • High level similarities and differences between social pedagogy practice in the UK and Western Europe 
    • How social pedagogy can help tackle the challenges we see across the UK care sector

Potential discussion points:

• • • How we are using social pedagogy in our homes e.g. focus on education, recruitment principles, training, autonomy of practice, etc.
    • What lessons we have learnt about setting up our first home

14:30    SaFest on the sofa 

15:00   Break 

15:30   Keynote to be confirmed - Amber Canham, NHS Trauma Informed Project Lead Practitioner

More information coming soon

16:30   SaFest on the sofa (North) | Wrap up the day

17:00   Close of day

09:00   Welcome to SaFest 2026 - Nick, Tina, Jackie and Anna (The SaFest Team)

09:30  Responding to technology assisted child sexual abuse - Lawrence Jordan, Marie Collins Foundation

Responding to online sexual abuse can be challenging when information is limited and there may be uncertainty around the tech or apps being used. This presentation will highlight current best practice when working with victims of online sexual abuse and provide practitioners with information that will support the assessment of online risk post sexual abuse.  

10:30  Speaker to be confirmed

11:15   Break

11:30  Preventing sexual harm before it happens -An exploration of Recovery Capital - Alex Burgess, Plymouth University

Alex will be presenting her PhD research into the prevention of sexual abuse via a strengths-based exploration into the capital possessed by people who may be at risk of committing a sexual offence. Framed by Granfield and Cloud's (2008) Recovery Capital model Alex will discuss how this model has been  applied to explore key development areas and areas of strength for people who may be at risk of harming others sexually with a view to enable primary and secondary prevention solutions.

12:30   Building safer communities: A place-based approach to the prevention of child sexual abuse - Learnings from Together for Childhood in Plymouth and Stoke

Together for Childhood is an NSPCC initiative that works in partnership with local communities to prevent child abuse and build safer, preventative communities. There are four Together for Childhood sites, each focusing on two impact goals. In Plymouth and Stoke-on-Trent, the focus is on the prevention of child sexual abuse. This talk will highlight what has been learned over the past 7 years about taking a place-based approach to prevention. It will also explore how Together for Childhood is working towards addressing the interconnected and systemic factors that contribute to the persistence of child sexual abuse.

13:30   Lunch break 

14:00   SaFest on the Sofa 

14:30   The new exploitation disruption toolkit - Lin Sands, NWG

A large proportion of Lin’s time has been to modernise and update the NWG Exploitation Toolkit that was one of the first to be developed in this country.

Lin has worked with the NWG team/members to make the toolkit more accessible for all partners/individuals working in this field; Lin will provide you with a demonstration of the resource and she will be explaining how the toolkit can help/support you in your work to safeguard children, young people and their families from Exploitation.

Lin will be sharing some real-life case examples of how creative, effective and collaborative thinking has enabled successful disruption to occur.

15:30   Break

15:45  Equality, diversity and inclusions in exploitation - Sukhdev Rathore, NWG

Using Data to Drive Equality: This is a conversation starter about using data to explore disproportionality in responses to child exploitation.

Aims: We will explore how data can help us understand:

• • Who is over- or under-represented in services for child exploitation.
  • The influence of gender, ethnicity, and disability on these issues.

17:30   Wrap up of the day and what's to come!

09:00   Welcome to SaFest 2026 - Nick, Tina, Jackie and Anna (The SaFest Team)

09:30   Staying Safe in a Digital World: Helping Children Navigate Online Life - Amit Kalley, Founder, For working parents

From social media and messaging apps to gaming and online trends, the digital world is shaping how our children connect, communicate, and grow. But with new opportunities come real risks, as highlighted in the Netflix series, Adolescence, from exposure to harmful content and online predators to the pressures of social media and screen overuse.

In this practical, research-informed session, we’ll explore how children and young people are using the internet today, the language they use online (including emojis and acronyms), and the hidden dangers parents need to know about.

We’ll also look at the latest UK data on screen time and wellbeing, and discuss the role of platforms like Roblox, TikTok, and Snapchat. Most importantly, you’ll leave with simple, effective tools to help your child build a healthy relationship with technology. Learn how to start the right conversations, ask better questions, set boundaries that work, and strengthen your connection with your child in a digital age.

10:30  Sex is kind of broken now - Harriet Waldegrave, Head of Policy, Officer of the Children's Commissioner

A presentation on the Children’s Commissioner’s latest report on children’s exposure to online pornography, Ofcom’s response to regulation, and the wider impact the online world is having on childhood.

• Online safety in context – an overview of the Children’s Commissioner recent census of schools, detailing their concerns about online safety and misogyny
• Overview of children’s exposure to pornography prior to implementation of the Online Safety Act, including age and means of exposure, and exposure to violent content.
• Children’s views on the impact of seeing pornography
• The Children’s Commissioner’s views on the early days of the Online Safety Act – what is going well and what should we be worrying about?

11:30   Break

11:45   Personal, relational and societal implications of normalised pornography use - Gemma Kelly, Senior policy consultant

This presentation will focus on how pornography normalises violence against women and girls, shapes sexual scripts, grooms men and boys to perpetrate sexual violence, and has contributed to child-on-child sexual abuse. It will also explore the impact of consuming pornography on the human brain, and how users can escalate to consuming more violent and deviant content, including child sexual abuse material (CSAM).

It will also explore what legislative action has been taken in the United Kingdom to regulate the pornography industry, such as the introduction of age verification, and what more still needs to be done at every level of society, to curb the harms of this dangerous industry.

12:30   SaFest on the Sofa | Missing Young People- partnership responses to safeguarding children who go missing from home or care 

A conversation with Steve Parsons and Alan Thomas (Devon and Cornwall Police Missing Persons team)

12:45   Lunch break

13:30  Thriving not Surviving: An Educators Role in Early Help - Lewis Webb, Team Lead, Inclusion and Learning (Exeter/East)

As educators we know our families and children so well and are the masters of childhood development. But do we intervene early enough to lead change? Today’s short session is designed to empower leaders of safeguarding in schools to have impactful discussions early, respond to their gut swiftly and lead change at the source with families. We interact with children and families daily and it is our gift to make the most impactful change before it is too late.   

We will discuss how to ‘be more armadillo’ in our approach to family support. Dig beneath the surface with professional curiosity. Change challenging/ tricky conversations into impactful ones. Be part of the Early Help revolution and get families thriving not surviving… early!

14:30    SaFest on the Sofa | A conversation with Penny Goldsby-West and Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children (UASC) students from the Virtual School

At SaFest, Penny will be joined by some of the UASC and young people, who will be sharing their experiences of arriving in the UK and reflecting on how we, as a community, can make them feel safe, welcomed, and valued.

15:30   Break

15:45   Keynote to be confirmed - Jane Whiffin

More information coming soon

16:45   Wrap up of the day and what's to come!

09:00   Welcome to SaFest 2026 - Nick, Tina, Jackie and Anna (The SaFest Team)

09:30  Supervision Superpowers: Embracing Solution Focused Supervision - Alice Ayres, social worker within the Therapeutic Fostering Team and Paul Wiggins, Practice supervisor, DBIT, Essex Solution Focused Centre

In this dynamic and interactive workshop, we invite you to explore the art of Solution-Focused Supervision. Our goal is to equip you with practical tools, empower your supervisory skills, and enhance your ability to guide and support supervisees effectively.

Key Workshop Components:

• • • Dive into foundational concepts of Solution-Focused Supervision.
    • Understand the unique power of solution-focused approaches in the supervisory context.
    • Engage in interactive practice exercises that reinforce learning.
    • Practice solution-focused techniques to enhance your supervisory toolkit.
    • Q&A Session, ask questions, share insights, and learn from fellow participants.

Remember, this workshop is not just about theory—it’s about practical application and empowerment. We look forward to sharing this transformative experience with you! 🌟

11:00   Break

11:15 Increasing Safety Through Our Questions - Greg Oberbeck, Practice Supervisor, Essex Solution Focused Centre

Whenever we are faced with a risky situation, we often ask a lot of questions to understand what happened, how it happened and the impact this has had on those involved. This is an essential part of our work. What we are often left with is a very clear description of things that we want to have less of or even remove completely in an effort to keep people safe. 

In this workshop, we will be looking at some questions from a Solution Focused perspective that will help us balance our curiosity and help us to work with people to find ways to increase safety in situations of risk.  You will leave this workshop with a framework to apply in your work as well as some questions that you will be able to start using the next time you find yourself managing a risky situation.

12:30   Safeguarding on transport - Joe Clay, Railway Children 

The presentation will focus on safeguarding and the railway. It will explore the safeguarding issues that arise on a daily basis, what the rail industry is doing to respond to these issues and how you can support the ongoing work to make the railway a safer place. 

13:30   Lunch break

14:00   Safeguarding Without Boarders...Contextual Safeguarding Across TheSouth-West Peninsula - Nick Meller (Devon CC), Katie Buckley (Torbay CC)  and Natasha James (Cornwall CC)

More information coming soon

15:00   SaFest on the Sofa 

A conversation with Emma Phillips, Head of the Devon County Council Virtual School

15:30   Break

15:45  The harmful impact of online misogyny - Natasha Eeles, CEO, Bold Voices 

An overview of key definitions and terms relating to online misogyny including; the ‘manosphere’, incels, misogyny influencers, algorithms, red pill, blue pill, the 80-20 rule and more.
An understanding of the key harmful ideas and messaging that young people are being exposed to online and an exploration of
the root cause of these harmful ideas.
Tips and tools for starting conversations about, and challenging, the influence of these individuals and movements within the
classroom focusing on a 'call in' and 'call out' method of challenge that promotes opening up conversation and providing space for
discussions that centre empathy and critical thought.

16:45   Wrap up of the day and what's to come!

09:00   Welcome to SaFest 2026 - Nick, Tina, Jackie and Anna (The SaFest Team)

09:15   Places to go and things to do - Claire Richardson, Devon Participation team and Devon Youth Council 

More information coming soon

09:45   Safe isn't simple - talking about safety to young people with SLCN - Emma Black and Elinor Pepperell, Bridges

Talking about safety with young people who have Speech, Language and Communication Needs (SLCN) isn't easy. This session explores the complexity of the language and concepts that crop up in conversations about safety.  We'll share some practical strategies for making these tricky conversations more accessible and meaningful.

11:00   Break

11:15   Young people and homelessness - Jenny Lynch and James Simpson - Young Devon

More information coming soon...

12:00  Where's the Line?: A Comprehensive Continuum of Sibling Sexual Behaviour - Maria Socolof and Brandy Black are cofounders of 5WAVES

This session will be based on our collaborative work, led by Maria, to come up with a useful tool for assessment and evaluation of potentially harmful sexual behaviour that is specific to siblings.

13:00   SaFest on the sofa

A conversation with Jack Newton, Deputy Director for Devon Inclusion and Learning

13:30   Wrap up of the day and week