Issue 3 - December 2023
What Has The East Dunbartonshire EDATC Aces And Trauma Collaborative Been Doing?
The EDATC has met on three occasions since the previous newsletter – August (due to a postponement of the planned July meeting), September and November to continue the discussions around learning from the in-person event held in May 2023, in addition to hearing about several new developments for services in East Dunbartonshire. A review of the membership occurred to ensure that the collaborative was representing the widest range of services possible and that all communication was meaningful. The group continues to benefit from over 40 members from services across the Council,HSCP, Community Planning Partners and the Third Sector.
The next EDATC meeting will be on 30 January 2024 and will take place as another in-person event to support the monitoring and evaluation of the aims, goals and focus identified in May 2023. This will again be facilitated by the Improvement Service. An EDACT ‘Meet the Services’ event is being planned by the Alcohol and Drugs Partnership (ADP) Coordinator Lynsay Haglington with involvement from Third Sector and Local Services.
The team has created a short life working group which aims to increase awareness of the services present across East Dunbartonshire that support individuals and communities affected by addiction issues. The event is planned for Spring 2024 and more information will be available in early 2024!
Should you have an interest in joining the EDATC and/or would like to present how your service is providing a trauma-informed experience for people, please contact the Trauma Informed Practice Coordinator Victoria.Bannerman@eastdunbarton.gov.uk for more information.
Trauma Informed Practice Coordinator
The national group of Trauma Leads continues to meet on a regular basis,with support from the Improvement Service. Victoria helped with the organisation of a Development Day that took place at the Edinburgh Training and Conference Centre. The event’s purpose was to provide the Trauma Leads with time and space to talk about the key strengths, challenges and goals of the group in progressing Trauma Informed Practice across Scotland. This was a really positive event and also the first opportunity that the Trauma Leads have had to meet each other in person as a full group.
Conversation focused on identifying national and local issues that intertwined and how we are going to approach them individually and collectively, as well as supporting communication with the Scottish Government around these issues. This has led to two Trauma Leads and two Trauma Champions presenting to the COSLA president and Scottish Government to highlight progress, challenges and what is needed to progress this work.
Victoria has completed a final draft version of the three-year Trauma Informed Practice Outcome and Improvement Plan for East Dunbartonshire –this is currently being reviewed by the EDATC and other key stakeholders. Once it has been agreed, the plan will be available across the organisation.
Victoria has also supported with the development of a Trauma Informed Wellbeing and Supervision Plan which will be part of a test for change within Justice Social Work Services, with
collaboration from Jonathan Bradley (Team Manager).Victoria is also part of a short life working group facilitated by the Improvement Service, looking at trauma-informed supervision from a national perspective.
Updates from East Dunbartonshire Services
Suzanne Greig (Children & Families Social Work Fieldwork Manager) has continued her role within the North Strathclyde Partnership, a collective group of Local Authorities within North Strathclyde, who have progressed with the implementation of a Bairns’ Hoose in partnership with Children 1st. This is a service which provides survivors of child abuse a safe and secure space to receive support, provide evidence and speak to all of the services involved in a child or young person’s journey from disclosure to recovery. The ‘wee house’, is now
open and functional and plans to develop a ‘big house’ are in place. You can find out more about the partnership at: North Strathclyde Bairns Hoose Evaluation Phase One Report, March 2023 [opens in a new window]
Michelle Dearie (previously the Child Protection Lead Officer) is now in post as the Child Protection Coordinator and Pamela Ormiston (previously a Children & Families Social Work Senior Practitioner) is the new Child Protection Lead Officer. Congratulations to both of you on your new posts! Michelle has been heavily involved in the newly launched local Child Protection Procedures for East Dunbartonshire and these can be found here: Child Protection Process - Public Protection (uk) [opens in a new window].
Subgroup Activity
The EDATC’s three subgroups have continued to progress their individual agendas over the last few months.
Environment Subgroup
Aileen Farrell and Jackie Sullivan (Homelessness and Rapid Rehousing Advisors) have been focusing on making small changes to the interview rooms at William Patrick Library where their team and other Housing Teams are situated. The rooms have been painted and decorated with pictures, with a small fridge installed for bottled water. Tenants have provided positive feedback around these changes. Questionnaires have been circulated amongst staff and tenants requesting their views on how the building feels and what could improve it, which will be collated and shared with senior leaders in early 2024 to support their understanding around how important trauma informed environments are for people when visiting services.
Policies and Systems subgroup
A focus is currently on supporting Lynsay Haglington (ADP Coordinator) with the review of the ADP Standard Operating Procedures and ensuring that East Dunbartonshire is improving its scoring relating to the MAT Standard 10 (Trauma Informed Care). A key focus remains the development and implementation of a Trauma Informed Supervision Policy to support the Wellbeing and Supervision Plan.
People and Training subgroup
A Trauma Informed (NTTP Level 1) e-learning module,currently being developed by Glasgow City Council and the Clyde Valley Learning & Development Subgroup is near completion. The aim will be to upload this to Moodle when the package is available and this will facilitate the delivery of Trauma Informed learning across East Dunbartonshire Council. The timeline for this is early 2024.
Five Transforming Connections: Trauma Skilled (NTTP Level 2) training events have taken place with one more event due to take
place on 6 December 2023;delivering sessions to Children & Families and Justice Social Work Teams and Unpaid Work in order to support learning. The sessions have been positively received and all those in attendance have noted how important the training is for their practice going forward. Monthly training sessions are now in place from February 2024 and dates are available on the Joint Learning & Development Calendar. Please email: cpc@eastdunbarton.gov.uk to reserve a space on any of the dates.
As part of our ongoing commitment to the ‘Grow Your Own’ training model, we also welcome enquiries from colleagues who would like to apply for further Training for Trainer courses run by NHS Education for Scotland and/or co-facilitating sessions alongside our trained members. Please contact Victoria Bannerman to discuss this: Victoria.Bannerman@eastdunbarton.gov.uk.
Trauma Informed Justice: A knowledge and Skills Framework for working with Victims and Witnesses
Fair access to justice must be underpinned by a justice system which allows victims of any crime to fully participate and give evidence, without this process contributing further trauma or harm.
To meet this vision, we must not only ensure that our justice system does not introduce new trauma into people’s lives, but that where at all possible, it avoids re-traumatisation.
Recent reports have highlighted the considerable and multiple ways in which victims and witnesses experience the criminal justice system as exacerbating the impact of their prior experiences of trauma,and the negative impact this has on their ability to effectively participate in the process, and to recover.
The recommendations of the recent Lord Justice Clerk’s review of the management of sexual offence cases recognised the critical importance of staff across all organisations who work with witnesses consistently having a shared understanding about the impact of trauma, and the additional knowledge and skills appropriate to their role in order to minimise risk of harm and re-traumatisation, support recovery,and maximise participation to gain and interpret the best evidence from witnesses affected by trauma, within this context.
Victims and witnesses (as well as accused and those convicted of crime) are more likely than others to have been exposed to traumatic events.
Based on the Transforming Psychological Trauma: Knowledge and Skills Framework for the Scottish Workforce. The aim was to create a shared language and understanding around what a trauma informed and responsive workforce looks like.
The need for an additional framework for witnesses and the justice system has evolved from our understanding that there are additional knowledge and skills required to minimise re-traumatisation and maximise effective participation where witnesses affected by trauma are asked to recall and talk about traumatic events within an adversarial context largely governed by the constraints of gathering, presenting, and evaluating evidence.
The purpose of this framework is therefore to identify the knowledge and skills necessary for a justice workforce to achieve these aims without compromising the fairness of the trial and within the constraints of existing evidential requirements and processes.
The framework is designed to apply across the lifespan and enable any organisation that has contact with witnesses in the criminal justice process to identify the knowledge and skills that different members of their workforce will require
- Trauma Informed
Foundation knowledge and skills for all justice workers
- Trauma Skilled
Anyone in direct contact with witnesses. Includes the shared knowledge and skills that anyone working at any of the enhanced levels will need.
- Trauma Enhanced
Additional knowledge and skills required by:- Evidence Gathering
- Advocacy and Support
- Evidence Presentation and Interpretation
- Leadership and Management of Systems
Upcoming Events
Scottish Trauma Informed Leadership Training Webinars 2023-24
The next 2 STILT webinars are scheduled for the following dates.
Registration for all STILT sessions is now open, please click the associated links below.
- Thursday 25th January 2024, 1-4pm [opens in a new window]
- Tuesday 26th March 2024, 1-4pm [opens in a new window]
What Resources Are Available?
Relaunched National Trauma Training Programme as National Trauma Transformation Programme:
Homepage - National Trauma Transformation Programme [opens in a new window]
Who To Contact?
Victoria Bannerman
Victoria.Bannerman@eastdunbarton.gov.uk
(TIP Coordinator)
Alex O’Donnell
Alex.ODonnell@eastdunbarton.gov.uk 
(Trauma Champion & EDATC Chair)
Alistair McDonald
Alistair.mcdonald@eastdunbarton.gov.uk
(Trauma Champion & EDATC Vice-Chair)
Councillor Susan Murray
Susan.Murray@eastdunbarton.gov.uk
(Trauma Champion)