The Safeguarding and Domestic Abuse Sector Podcast – Détails, épisodes et analyse

Statistics about the numbers of women who experience domestic abuse only takes us so far. How do we understand what’s really happening, especially for women in mid and later life?

The power of story telling shouldn’t be under estimated. Carrie Bower understands this and her blog, podcast and website are an amazing resource for anyone who wants to dive in. It’s probably not what you would expect. It contains many hopeful stories. There’s nothing else like it.

Expect to hear more about Carrie’s own personal journey & the effect her content has had on others. Carrie ‘feels lighter’ having expressed herself this way. And I felt lighter at the end of this conversation. I hope you do too.

About Carrie Bower:
Carrie is the Domestic Abuse Lead at Age UK, a national charity for older people. Her role includes leading Age UK’s domestic abuse policy, and providing training and resources to Age UK employees, volunteers and the older people using Age UK services. Carrie was instrumental in Age UK’s report No Age Limit: The Hidden Face of Domestic Abuse which along with other campaigning, resulted in the ONS removing the upper age limit, in the domestic abuse crime survey data collection. Outside her role at Age UK, Carrie writes a blog knowyourplace.uk and hosts a podcast Let's Get Visible which focuses on raising the visibility of women in mid and later life who are or have been affected by trauma and domestic abuse.

About Donna Ohdedar:
Donna has 16 years public sector experience, including her last role as Head of Law for a leading metropolitan authority. Now a safeguarding adviser & trainer, Donna is involved in serious case reviews in both children’s and adults’ safeguarding, domestic homicide and is a SILP Reviewer and Mentor. Donna offers ‘SILP School’ her university accredited training course, Momentum her space for reviewers & a free online network for leaders in review practice.

Find out more about SILP School here

Join the Facebook group here

Find Donna on LinkedIn here 

Engagement + proportionality + strengths = SILP

The need for specialist domestic abuse services is pressing & urgent. At this uncertain time with a brand new government it is unclear whether trauma informed support will be available regardless of postcode. Every penny must be well spent. When this is done properly, spending on the NHS & other services will reduce. Not to mention it has the potential to save lives.

So it is timely to understand what these services can and should look like. In this episode we focus on support for for mothers and children. they are the subjects of so many of our reviews.

May I introduce to you in this episode Sophie Bell, whose role is focused on prevention of abuse and neglect. Sophie walks us through services designed by the NSPCC for before, during & after domestic abuse.

In this episode we also speak about the effect of witnessing domestic abuse at various stages of a child’s life as well as the effect of short term funding as opposed to long term funding when providing a service.

Sophie Bell

Sophie Bell is the Associate Head of Development and Implementation, Prevention of Abuse and Neglect at the NSPCC. Sophie's role is focused on prevention of abuse and neglect and she walks us through services designed by the NSPCC for before, during & after domestic abuse.

Website: https://www.nspcc.org.uk

https://learning.nspcc.org.uk/services-children-families/dart

About Donna Ohdedar:
Donna has 16 years public sector experience, including her last role as Head of Law for a leading metropolitan authority. Now a safeguarding adviser & trainer, Donna is involved in serious case reviews in both children’s and adults’ safeguarding, domestic homicide and is a SILP Reviewer and Mentor. Donna offers ‘SILP School’ her university accredited training course, Momentum her space for reviewers & a free online network for leaders in review practice.

Find out more about SILP School here

Join the Facebook group here

Find Donna on LinkedIn here 

Engagement + proportionality + strengths = SILP

The last Triennial Analysis ‘Learning for the Future: Final Analysis of Serious Case Reviews’ analysed 253 cases. These were serious case reviews & local child safeguarding practice reviews completed in 2020 & 2021. Jonathan joins me in this conversation to give us an overview of the statistics & themes, which is super useful for those who undertake these reviews.



Jonathan also shares inspiration & thoughts from the chapters focused on specific themes. Many of these apply equally to Domestic Homicide Reviews or Safeguarding Adults Reviews. Listen in for an important debate about the use of terms such as ‘professional curiosity’ & ‘professional challenge’. Also if you are interested in generating learning for leaders or how recommendations translate to action plans this Is an episode you will enjoy. 


Click here for more information about SILP School.
Click here for an on the spot assessment of your eligibility for SILP School.
Connect with Donna on LinkedIn here.

Engagement + proportionality + strengths = SILP

How do we frame our analysis around 3 overlapping problems like intimate partner violence, suicidality & self harm when each of them presents us with a unique complexity of its own?  The way they manifest feels hard to predict.

We can look at contributing factors, use of language & stigma. And we can consider  solutions focused ideas for service delivery. What about if we each examined our role & made a conscious decision to take more responsibility?

This conversation applies to IMRs created for Domestic Homicide Reviews, Child Safeguarding Practice Reviews or Safeguarding Adults Reviews.

How does best practice look when we are commissioning an IMR & how regularly does this happen in practice? When the requirement lands it’s natural to want to produce the best quality, but there’s a supportive framework that facilitates that.


Clare & I separate foundational work from the work necessary when the requirement for the IMR lands in this conversation. We also cover systemic analysis, governance & transparency.

This conversation applies to IMRs created for Domestic Homicide Reviews, Child Safeguarding Practice Reviews or Safeguarding Adults Reviews. 

Find out more about SILP School here

For an on the spot assessment of your eligibility for SILP School click here

To book an informal discussion click here

Engagement + proportionality + strengths = SILP

Do we feel skilled up enough to analyse bias in the safeguarding response in 2023? Where does it leave us in terms of our duty to safeguard the most vulnerable people in society if we are answering this question with a ‘no’?

If we start a review without being explicit about exactly what we are looking for we know this weakness will permeate throughout & impact on quality. How do we do this well when we want the review to provide robust analysis about potential bias?

Today I’m sharing my thoughts gathered after a workshop in which we considered these questions & others. I will speak directly to the point about why we are so often silent, as there were many suggestions shared about this on the day. I will also share the ideas brought to the workshop about what this term ‘cultural competency’ really means. Can we ever tick that box?

This episode is for you whether you work in the world of Domestic Homicide Reviews, Child Safeguarding Practice Reviews or Safeguarding Adults Reviews. 

About Donna Ohdedar:
Donna has 16 years public sector experience, including her last role as Head of Law for a leading metropolitan authority. Now a safeguarding adviser & trainer, Donna is involved in serious case reviews in both children’s and adults’ safeguarding, domestic homicide and is a SILP Reviewer and Mentor. Donna offers ‘SILP School’ her university accredited training course, CPD for reviewers & a free online network for leaders in review practice.

Find out more about SILP School here

Find out if you are eligible for SILP School here.

Book a call with Donna here. 

Engagement + proportionality + strengths = SILP

The cost of living crisis has hit the headlines & affects us all. But some are working from a very different baseline. What we learn when we listen to their voice illuminates how much we all take for granted.

How do we support in a way that avoids imposing a solution we decide is best & offer what broadens choice or empowers this service user? When we are committed to coproduction how do we show how much we value their contribution? What role does the language we use play in reducing sense of stigma, shame or embarrassment?

Today’s episode allows you to access the latest thoughts on how all the overlapping problems are interfacing with poverty. Which are causes & which are effects? It’s time to value & utilise our relationship based skills & build the trust & confidence of those who will benefit most from poverty aware analysis.

This episode includes a summary of the workshop I offered alongside Joseph Howes which considers case studies, quotes & ideas for improving your poverty awareness levels. It will help if these skills are needed in your reviews or for the challenge for practice/service design.

This episode is important listening whether you work in the world of Domestic Homicide Reviews, Child Safeguarding Practice Reviews or Safeguarding Adults Reviews. 

About Joseph Howes:

Joseph is Chief Executive of Buttle UK and has 22 years of experience working in charities supporting children, young people and their families in the UK to build better futures. Joseph has been Chief Executive of Buttle UK for 4 years and has previously held senior fundraising, and communications roles at Depaul UK, Action for Children and The Prince’s Trust. He is also Chair of the End Child Poverty Coalition, a group of 80+ organisations dedicated to the cause of alleviating child poverty.

About Donna Ohdedar:
Donna has 16 years public sector experience, including her last role as Head of Law for a leading metropolitan authority. Now a safeguarding adviser & trainer, Donna is involved in serious case reviews in both children’s and adults’ safeguarding, domestic homicide and is a SILP Reviewer and Mentor. Donna offers ‘SILP School’ her university accredited training course, CPD for reviewers & a free online network for leaders in review practice.

Find out more about SILP School here

Find out more about Momentum here

Interested in updating your CV? Click here

Engagement + proportionality + strengths = SILP

What is needed in reviews in 2023? Today I’m sharing my thoughts on what we have been seeing & how I think we can improve. I will speak to the SILP Formula and clarify what I think a review with an Appreciative Focus can look like.

I’m outlining the reviewer competency framework we have developed & how it applies to all review professionals. 

I’m also sharing from experience in terms of the learning curve we all tend to experience in reviews & how this has helped me to frame personal development & support for anyone involved in a review.

This episode is for you whether you work in the world of Domestic Homicide Reviews, Child Safeguarding Practice Reviews or Safeguarding Adults Reviews. Domestic 

About Donna Ohdedar:
Donna has 16 years public sector experience, including her last role as Head of Law for a leading metropolitan authority. Now a safeguarding adviser & trainer, Donna is involved in serious case reviews in both children’s and adults’ safeguarding, domestic homicide and is a SILP Reviewer and Mentor. Donna offers ‘SILP School’ her university accredited training course, CPD for reviewers & a free online network for leaders in review practice.

Find out more about SILP School here

Find out more about Momentum here

Engagement + proportionality + strengths = SILP

How do you avoid creating frustration for a family member or significant other who contributes to your review? The starting point is being conscious at every stage of the process. But the details are important. How late is too late to speak with the perpetrator? Who would you speak to first?

Today’s episode allows you to access the thoughts & principles that work in 2023 with all the choices we have about how to offer this. It’s designed to help you to get most out of the contribution available to the review whilst at the same time a summary of the workshop I offered alongside James Rowlands and Dr Elizabeth Cook, which considers these challenges. 

This episode is important listening whether you work in the world of Domestic Homicide Reviews, Child Safeguarding Practice Reviews or Safeguarding Adults Reviews. Domestic 

About Dr Elizabeth Cook:

Dr. Elizabeth Cook is a Senior Lecturer in the Violence and Society Centre, City, University of London, which she joined in January 2020. As a sociologist and criminologist, her principal areas of research expertise include homicide, family, and gender and their intersections with harms to society, specifically: analysing pathways between gender, inequality, and homicide; improving statutory fatality review systems; and accounting for the impact of family advocacy and activism on crime, justice and punishment. Her expertise forms part of a large UKRI-funded Prevention Research Partnership (PRP) Consortium Award on Violence, Health and Society, of which, she is a Co-Investigator. This Consortium engages with multiple public, governmental and third sector bodies who generate data on violence with the aim of developing a theory of change of violence, health and society.

About James Rowlands:

James comes from a practice-based background in the domestic and sexual abuse sector, having originally trained as a Social Worker and then becoming an Independent Domestic Violence Advisor (IDVA). Before commencing his PhD in 2018, he spent 14 years working in the voluntary and statutory sector in a variety of roles. Most recently he was the Strategic Commissioner for Domestic Violence and Abuse, Sexual Violence and VAWG at Brighton & Hove City Council and East Sussex County Council.

About Donna Ohdedar:
Donna has 16 years public sector experience, including her last role as Head of Law for a leading metropolitan authority. Now a safeguarding adviser & trainer, Donna is involved in serious case reviews in both children’s and adults’ safeguarding, domestic homicide and is a SILP Reviewer and Mentor. Donna offers ‘SILP School’ her university accredited training course, CPD for reviewers & a free online network for leaders in review practice.

Find a link to James Rowlands & Dr Elizabeth Cook research paper here

Find out more about SILP School here

Find out more about Momentum here

James & Lizzie published paper

Consider the CV Re write offer here

Engagement + proportionality + strengths = SILP

Are you ready to discuss the topic that is guaranteed to feature in every review you will undertake? This might be where you are highlighting multi agency collaboration as strong practice or considering where & how it could improved

In today’s episode I’m joined by Nick Frost who will share his ideas, including those based on a communities of practice model.

This episode will be useful whether you work in the world of Domestic Homicide Reviews, Child Safeguarding Practice Reviews or Safeguarding Adults Reviews. 

About Nick Frost:
Nick Frost is Emeritus Professor at Leeds Beckett University, UK. He was a local authority social worker and an adult educator, before joining Leeds Beckett University in 2009. Nick has over a decade of experience as Chair of three different Local Safeguarding Children Boards. He has addressed conferences on child welfare issues in many countries and acted as a consultant to a number of governments and voluntary organisations. Nick has produced over 20 books including 'Understanding Children's Social Care' (with Nigel Parton, Sage, 2009) and 'The Routledge Handbook of Global Child Welfare' (with Pat Dolan, Routledge, 2017).

Find Nick's latest book 'The Myth of Measurement' here.

About Donna Ohdedar:  Donna has 16 years public sector experience, including her last role as Head of Law for a leading metropolitan authority. Now a safeguarding adviser & trainer, Donna is involved in serious case reviews in both children’s and adults’ safeguarding, domestic homicide and is a SILP Reviewer and Mentor. Donna offers ‘SILP School’ her university accredited training course, CPD for reviewers & a free online network for leaders in review practice.

Find out more about SILP School here

Find out more about Momentum here

Find out how to work with me one to one here

Would you like me to re write your CV? Find out more here 

Engagement + proportionality + strengths = SILP