Last Wednesday (16/03/2011) saw the Safeguarding Children e-Academy head down to Brighton for our first regional event of the year. The half day introduction to safeguarding children and domestic violence, with guest speakers Reg Pengelly and Julie Rimington, was one of the most well attended yet with over 80 attendees.

Reg Pengelly kicked off proceedings with a short introduction to domestic violence in general. Julie Rimington then followed up with a thought provoking presentation on the effects of domestic violence on children.

After the Coffee break Reg gave a presentation detailing the legislation, agencies and procedures that relate to children and domestic violence including links between domestic violence and child protection and the role of Multi Agency Risk Assessment Conference (MARAC).

The audience contained representatives from many different agencies and professionals which meant that Reg and Julie's question and answer session brought up some very good topics and a lively discussion ensued.

One delegate commented"This has been an incredibly informative session, I found Julie's section on the effects of domestic violence on the unborn child particularly moving"