www.cedarnetwork.org.uk

What caught our attention?

• Supporting mother to support child

• Gendered analysis i.e. DA being a cause & effect of inequality

• Community – a shared responsibility and heightened awareness of complexity of DA

What we set out to do

• To pilot and evaluate an interagency support service for children & young people with experience of domestic abuse in Scotland

• To use the learning from this demonstration project to develop a toolkit that will assist other local areas to implement this type of services

Scottish Government

CedarNational Partnership Group

(SWA, Edinburgh, Fife, Forth Valley)

Edinburgh Local Advisory

Group Fife

Local Advisory Group

Forth ValleyLocal Advisory

Group

Cedar CoordinatorsMulti-agency activity

Cedar CoordinatorsMulti-agency activity

Cedar CoordinatorsMulti-agency activity

National Cedar Partnership

Objectives • To pilot the project in Scotland

• To develop a ‘toolkit for implementation’

• To develop a Monitoring & Evaluation Framework for the pilot

• To support the adoption of this approach across Scotland

Local Cedar Projects

Objectives • To achieve better outcomes for children, young people and women affected by domestic abuse

• To achieve better joint working by agencies when supporting children and young people affected by domestic abuse

• To improve agency responses to children and young people affected by domestic abuse

The Program• Mothers supported as they understand how to best help their

children

• Providing an opportunity for children to talk about their experience of being exposed to abuse

• Help children to understand that domestic abuse is not their fault

• Teach children how to develop and practice safety plans

Guiding Principles of Cedar Approach

1. Cedar curriculum, structure and strengths-based approach

2. Learning with and from peers

3. Mutual recovery

4. Assessment as engagement

5. Multi-agency professional learning and integration

Underpinning Principles

• Recognise that supporting mothers to support their children can be the most effective and sustainable way to protect and support children and young people with experience of domestic abuse

• Ensure that supporting children and young people with experience of domestic abuse is a shared responsibility amongst children’s service providers

The Cedar pilot in Scotland

Outcomes for children, young people and mothers

Positive group environment

Positive impact on mother-child relationship

Ability to manage their emotions and their actions in response to domestic abuse

Greater knowledge of safe behaviour

A greater understanding of domestic abuse

Families have a more positive future outlook

Assessment as engagement

• The Cedar assessment process brings ‘added value’ in its own right as a form of ‘assessment as engagement’ – it’s not just an entry route to the groups.

• Through non-stigmatising engagement, much-needed additional services can be secured for children and families.

• There is a clear potential to reach ‘hard or harder to reach’ families through personal recommendation.

Multi-agency professional learning and integration

Learning together in practice: co-delivery

• Very positive outcomes for co-facilitators

• The value of multi-agency co-facilitation

• Extending agency understandings of domestic abuse

Extending a strengths-based approach to broader professional practice

• Recognition of existing capacities of children and mothers

• Involvement in decision-making • Enhancement of resilience &

peer networks • Non-judgemental approach:

professionals share• ‘Facilitation’ of learning and

change

Valuing early intervention, prevention and partnership

Recovery focused work is a solution rather than a burden

• Very high numbers of children in Scotland have lived with, or are living with, domestic abuse.

• Cedar should have a place within wider social work provision - integrated into existing multi-agency and partnership work as ‘a way of working’

Can strengthen local responses to DA

• Cedar sits best within a local context where there are clear policies and partnership strategies to respond to domestic abuse

• Can tackle inconsistencies in addressing DA amongst practitioners

Ending the conspiracy of silence....

• “We thought they didn’t see” (Cedar graduate, mother)

• “It’s definitely through the eyes of a bairn, Cedar, isn’t it?” (Cedar graduate, mother)

• “You can’t put a price on happiness” (Cedar graduate, aged 17)