INTRO: Welcome to the NSPCC Learning Podcast, where
INTRO: we share learning and expertise in child protection
INTRO: from inside and outside of the organisation.
INTRO: We aim to create debate, encourage reflection
INTRO: and share good practice on how we can all work
INTRO: together to keep babies, children and young
INTRO: people safe.
PRODUCER: Welcome to the NSPCC learning Podcast.
PRODUCER: This episode of the podcast, recorded in January
PRODUCER: 2024, is all about pre-birth assessments.
PRODUCER: Assessments help health professionals to
PRODUCER: identify strengths, needs, risks
PRODUCER: and protective factors in the lives of expectant
PRODUCER: families.
PRODUCER: You'll hear from Sophie Bell, the associate head
PRODUCER: of development at the NSPCC, in conversation
PRODUCER: with Anna Squirrel and Nina Bell, social work
PRODUCER: professionals working in Blackburn with Darwen.
PRODUCER: The panel will be discussing what good pre-birth
PRODUCER: assessments look like, what social workers need
PRODUCER: to think about when conducting a pre-birth
PRODUCER: assessment, and how the NSPCC's pre-birth
PRODUCER: assessment tool, Graded Care Profile 2
PRODUCER: Antenatal, can be used to support expectant
PRODUCER: parents.
SOPHIE BELL: I'm Sophie Bell. I'm the associate head of
SOPHIE BELL: development at the NSPCC, and I'm
SOPHIE BELL: responsible for our early years portfolio,
SOPHIE BELL: which includes the Graded Care Antenatal
SOPHIE BELL: assessment.
SOPHIE BELL: And thank you, Anna and Nina, for joining us
SOPHIE BELL: today. Anna, can I hand over to you to
SOPHIE BELL: introduce yourself?
ANNA SQUIRRELL: Yeah. Hi, I'm Anna Squirrell, I'm the team
ANNA SQUIRRELL: leader in the pre-birth team in Blackburn
ANNA SQUIRRELL: with Darwen.
SOPHIE BELL: Nina.
NINA BELL: Hi. I'm Nina Bell, advanced practitioner here
NINA BELL: at safeguarding support team at Blackburn with
NINA BELL: Darwen.
SOPHIE BELL: Brilliant. Thank you both very, very much for
SOPHIE BELL: joining us today.
SOPHIE BELL: So, we're here to talk about pre-birth
SOPHIE BELL: assessments. So the first thing we're going
SOPHIE BELL: to talk about is: what is a pre-birth
SOPHIE BELL: assessment?
NINA BELL: So the pre-birth assessment is like any child
NINA BELL: and family assessment. We're looking at
NINA BELL: strengths. We're looking at risk.
NINA BELL: and within that assessment I split up to
NINA BELL: different parts.
NINA BELL: So we look at the unborn baby, health,
NINA BELL: development. We look at environmental factors
NINA BELL: and what that family's history is.
NINA BELL: And we also look at identifying the risks
NINA BELL: and what's going on for parents.
SOPHIE BELL: And in what types of situations might a
SOPHIE BELL: pre-birth assessment be needed?
NINA BELL: It can be many situations.
NINA BELL: It may be that siblings of the
NINA BELL: unborn baby are already open to us.
NINA BELL: So we would consider the unborn baby in that
NINA BELL: family assessment.
NINA BELL: Equally, we may have parents who have sadly
NINA BELL: had children removed previously.
NINA BELL: When they do become pregnant, referrals are
NINA BELL: then completed by midwifery confirming
NINA BELL: the pregnancy and need for a pre-birth
NINA BELL: assessment. There also could be many
NINA BELL: difficulties, parents and families that can
NINA BELL: equally self-refer to us as a service,
NINA BELL: for additional support as well.
SOPHIE BELL: And just as an additional question: at what
SOPHIE BELL: time frames do you do pre-birth assessments?
SOPHIE BELL: What time frame within the pregnancy would
SOPHIE BELL: you do a pre-birth assessment?
SOPHIE BELL: Does it vary, or is there a particular set
SOPHIE BELL: time frame.
NINA BELL: That's certainly changed over the last few
NINA BELL: years. We used to have to wait until the
NINA BELL: pregnancy was confirmed at least at week 12.
NINA BELL: However, we are working as soon as we,
NINA BELL: you know, the booking an appointment has been
NINA BELL: completed, and that allows additional
NINA BELL: relationship building.
NINA BELL: It allows for work to start sooner and
NINA BELL: certainly when we're using the Graded Care
NINA BELL: Profile, as soon as we start and use that tool,
NINA BELL: we're able to review that as part, you know,
NINA BELL: throughout the pregnancy as well.
NINA BELL: So, we've got that time to do that intervention
NINA BELL: with families.
SOPHIE BELL: Because I think — I know we can we're going
SOPHIE BELL: to come on to talking about challenges later
SOPHIE BELL: on — but I think one of the key challenges
SOPHIE BELL: that we faced for a long, long time is that,
SOPHIE BELL: because pregnancy is such a time-limited
SOPHIE BELL: period, how do we get that intervention
SOPHIE BELL: done? So assessments themselves take time
SOPHIE BELL: because you identified the need to build
SOPHIE BELL: relationships with people.
SOPHIE BELL: And that's really important.
SOPHIE BELL: And then by the time that assessment is
SOPHIE BELL: completed, there's often very little time
SOPHIE BELL: left to do that intervention and get the
SOPHIE BELL: parents in the right place, isn't there, for
SOPHIE BELL: the baby to have the best start in life.
SOPHIE BELL: So that's really great to hear that things
SOPHIE BELL: are starting earlier now, to allow that
SOPHIE BELL: additional time.
NINA BELL: And just to add to that, Sophie, I know,
NINA BELL: as part Blackburn with Darwen and the born into
NINA BELL: care research, a big part of that
NINA BELL: is for parents to understand what their child's
NINA BELL: plans are going to be by at least week 30.
NINA BELL: Pregnancy is stressful enough as it already is,
NINA BELL: and not knowing what the outcome is going to
NINA BELL: be, it's extremely traumatic
NINA BELL: and stressful.
NINA BELL: So the sooner parents are able to know what
NINA BELL: that outcome of that assessment is going to be,
NINA BELL: the sooner the better.
SOPHIE BELL: Absolutely. And if they don't know the
SOPHIE BELL: outcome and they're left with that unknown
SOPHIE BELL: and that stress, actually that can just add
SOPHIE BELL: to a parent's level of difficulty in terms
SOPHIE BELL: of thinking about how overloaded they feel.
SOPHIE BELL: And we know that parents who are overloaded
SOPHIE BELL: struggle more emotionally to connect with
SOPHIE BELL: their children. And even thinking about
SOPHIE BELL: bonding before birth and that bond with their
SOPHIE BELL: unborn baby, that actually, if they don't
SOPHIE BELL: know the outcome and the plan for the baby,
SOPHIE BELL: it's much more difficult for them to bond
SOPHIE BELL: with that baby.
SOPHIE BELL: What types of risks and protective factors do
SOPHIE BELL: you need to think about when conducting a
SOPHIE BELL: pre-birth assessment?
ANNA SQUIRRELL: Okay, so the protective factors we're
ANNA SQUIRRELL: looking for is what family support
ANNA SQUIRRELL: they have from the extended family,
ANNA SQUIRRELL: friends and network around them.
ANNA SQUIRRELL: We try and make sure that every family
ANNA SQUIRRELL: that is referred to us they have a family
ANNA SQUIRRELL: group conference, where all the family to
ANNA SQUIRRELL: sit around and we all try and decide what
ANNA SQUIRRELL: support they can offer for the family.
ANNA SQUIRRELL: We ask if the pregnancy is planned.
ANNA SQUIRRELL: Through the work that we do, we observe if
ANNA SQUIRRELL: the parents are showing that attachment to
ANNA SQUIRRELL: their unborn baby.
ANNA SQUIRRELL: We also complete the ACE inquiry, which is
ANNA SQUIRRELL: the adverse childhood inquiry, early on in
ANNA SQUIRRELL: our involvement and support parents to
ANNA SQUIRRELL: access counselling for any trauma that
ANNA SQUIRRELL: they've experienced in their own childhood,
ANNA SQUIRRELL: which is really important.
ANNA SQUIRRELL: And the risk factors include substance
ANNA SQUIRRELL: misuse, Mental health that's not being
ANNA SQUIRRELL: managed, domestic abuse between parents
ANNA SQUIRRELL: and ongoing parental conflict, and also
ANNA SQUIRRELL: parents who have been previously separated
ANNA SQUIRRELL: from the children and have been through
ANNA SQUIRRELL: the court proceedings. They're really our
ANNA SQUIRRELL: risk factors that we are looking for.
SOPHIE BELL: You touched upon the impact of trauma there
SOPHIE BELL: Anna, and I think we know that lots of
SOPHIE BELL: families come to the attention of services
SOPHIE BELL: because of their previous childhood trauma,
SOPHIE BELL: because of their previous trauma that
SOPHIE BELL: sometimes occurred in adulthood as well.
ANNA SQUIRRELL: Yeah.
SOPHIE BELL: And actually pregnancy is a real opportune
SOPHIE BELL: time for them to be able to engage in some
SOPHIE BELL: interventions, isn't it, because it's before
SOPHIE BELL: the baby's here and present and has those
SOPHIE BELL: quite demanding physical needs of looking
SOPHIE BELL: after a baby? That's very intensive, and
SOPHIE BELL: parents are often so tired that are they in a
SOPHIE BELL: position to really engage in some
SOPHIE BELL: therapeutic counselling that might be needed
SOPHIE BELL: for that trauma. So, actually thinking about
SOPHIE BELL: that during pregnancy is such a strength,
SOPHIE BELL: isn't it, to be able to to offer those
SOPHIE BELL: parents that chance to overcome some of those
SOPHIE BELL: issues that may or may not impact on their
SOPHIE BELL: ability to be the best parent to their baby.
SOPHIE BELL: And thinking about some of the
SOPHIE BELL: risk factors: are you able
SOPHIE BELL: to signpost on to interventions through
SOPHIE BELL: recognising those risk factors?
ANNA SQUIRRELL: Yeah. We've got a really good relationship
ANNA SQUIRRELL: with our colleagues and we've got
ANNA SQUIRRELL: services like the Wish Centre that we can
ANNA SQUIRRELL: refer families on to if we're concerned
ANNA SQUIRRELL: regarding domestic abuse.
ANNA SQUIRRELL: We've got the Caring Dads programme, which
ANNA SQUIRRELL: is a brilliant programme for dads where
ANNA SQUIRRELL: there has been domestic abuse that they
ANNA SQUIRRELL: can be referred onto.
ANNA SQUIRRELL: And we've got really good relationships
ANNA SQUIRRELL: with our mental health services, to
ANNA SQUIRRELL: support families accessing that help that
ANNA SQUIRRELL: they need at the earliest opportunity.
ANNA SQUIRRELL: And we work alongside perinatal as well.
ANNA SQUIRRELL: So we support, you know, with parents
ANNA SQUIRRELL: getting that early help at the right time
ANNA SQUIRRELL: for them through the pregnancy.
SOPHIE BELL: And domestic abuse is something that very
SOPHIE BELL: often begins during pregnancy.
SOPHIE BELL: So, actually, going back to that relationship
SOPHIE BELL: building that we talked about earlier, it's
SOPHIE BELL: such a difficult thing to disclose because
SOPHIE BELL: it's such a huge safety issue and there's
SOPHIE BELL: so much stigma around, people experiencing
SOPHIE BELL: domestic abuse that to be able to recognise
SOPHIE BELL: it and have people talk to us as
SOPHIE BELL: professionals about "this is something I'm
SOPHIE BELL: experiencing in my relationship", is such a
SOPHIE BELL: strength as well for you to then have
SOPHIE BELL: services that you can signpost on to.
SOPHIE BELL: Because we know that all children who
SOPHIE BELL: experience domestic abuse, regardless of
SOPHIE BELL: their age, are impacted by it.
SOPHIE BELL: And thinking about during pregnancy, the
SOPHIE BELL: impact of living with domestic abuse as the
SOPHIE BELL: physical risk, if some of the
SOPHIE BELL: physical domestic abuse is targeted at the
SOPHIE BELL: abdomen area, but also just the stress of
SOPHIE BELL: living with domestic abuse for the expectant
SOPHIE BELL: parent and the changes in the cortisol levels
SOPHIE BELL: that that baby would then directly
SOPHIE BELL: experience, is quite significant as well.
SOPHIE BELL: What challenges can present themselves when
SOPHIE BELL: conducting a pre-birth assessment?
ANNA SQUIRRELL: Well, myself and Nina were just talking
ANNA SQUIRRELL: about this earlier. And we were saying
ANNA SQUIRRELL: we're really lucky in Blackburn with
ANNA SQUIRRELL: Darwen that we rarely have parents who
ANNA SQUIRRELL: don't consent to the offer offered by our
ANNA SQUIRRELL: specialist team.
ANNA SQUIRRELL: However, if parents have been previously
ANNA SQUIRRELL: open themselves as a child, maybe to
ANNA SQUIRRELL: children's social care, or they've been
ANNA SQUIRRELL: through proceedings themselves, then they
ANNA SQUIRRELL: can often be apprehensive about working
ANNA SQUIRRELL: with children's social care again.
ANNA SQUIRRELL: But in Blackburn with Darwen we're working
ANNA SQUIRRELL: in a systemic way. So, we very much build
ANNA SQUIRRELL: on our relationships with our families,
ANNA SQUIRRELL: which is around trust and transparency and
ANNA SQUIRRELL: good communication. And like Nina said
ANNA SQUIRRELL: earlier, we want to make sure that parents
ANNA SQUIRRELL: are fully informed of the plan the whole
ANNA SQUIRRELL: way through. And that's what we like about
ANNA SQUIRRELL: the Graded Care, because while we're doing
ANNA SQUIRRELL: it, we're doing it alongside parents.
ANNA SQUIRRELL: We're not doing it to them, we're doing it
ANNA SQUIRRELL: with them. And we're looking all the way
ANNA SQUIRRELL: through that it's a strength based tool.
ANNA SQUIRRELL: We want to help. You want to know where
ANNA SQUIRRELL: you need that help and where your
ANNA SQUIRRELL: strengths are, and if there are any areas
ANNA SQUIRRELL: where you need that specific help, we can
ANNA SQUIRRELL: get that help for you in the right time
ANNA SQUIRRELL: and review it and see the progress that
ANNA SQUIRRELL: you've made.
SOPHIE BELL: So Graded Care Antenatal, or GCP2A
SOPHIE BELL: as we call it for short, is a tool designed
SOPHIE BELL: to help professionals working with expectant
SOPHIE BELL: parents to identify areas of strength and
SOPHIE BELL: areas where they may benefit from support
SOPHIE BELL: within their assessments.
SOPHIE BELL: The tool's split into three different
SOPHIE BELL: sections, so sections one and two focus on
SOPHIE BELL: the antenatal period, while section three
SOPHIE BELL: looks at the early postnatal period; so from
SOPHIE BELL: birth up to three months old.
SOPHIE BELL: Section one is designed to be used at the
SOPHIE BELL: earliest point in pregnancy when the
SOPHIE BELL: expectant parent comes into contact with
SOPHIE BELL: services, but it can be completed later on if
SOPHIE BELL: concerns don't arise until further down the
SOPHIE BELL: line. Section two is completed when
SOPHIE BELL: the areas of vulnerability or concern have
SOPHIE BELL: been identified in section one.
SOPHIE BELL: The tool includes areas of known risks that
SOPHIE BELL: are linked to safeguarding concerns in
SOPHIE BELL: babies, so it will help professionals to
SOPHIE BELL: build a picture to identify where concerns
SOPHIE BELL: emerge in relation to the impact on the
SOPHIE BELL: developing baby.
SOPHIE BELL: And it can also be used as an indicator for
SOPHIE BELL: potential safeguarding concerns after birth
SOPHIE BELL: within section three.
SOPHIE BELL: Each of the three sections uses a grading
SOPHIE BELL: scale of one to five, where one
SOPHIE BELL: indicates no concerns and five indicates high
SOPHIE BELL: concerns.
SOPHIE BELL: So, how can GCP2A help when conducting
SOPHIE BELL: a pre-birth assessment?
NINA BELL: So I know, particularly with the Graded Care
NINA BELL: Profile, one thing that we have missed for a
NINA BELL: long time is tools to assist us
NINA BELL: in looking at identifying strengths, risks
NINA BELL: and doing that work with families.
NINA BELL: So, particularly visual tools as well, for
NINA BELL: families that may have cognitive issues,
NINA BELL: may struggle with reading and writing.
NINA BELL: So the Graded Care Profile Antenatal tool
NINA BELL: really assists a lot of professionals
NINA BELL: in working with families to understand what
NINA BELL: we're concerned about.
ANNA SQUIRRELL: The Graded Care Profile gives us a perfect
ANNA SQUIRRELL: opportunity to look at the strengths that
ANNA SQUIRRELL: the family have and their network a
ANNA SQUIRRELL: support around them, in preparation for
ANNA SQUIRRELL: the birth of the baby.
ANNA SQUIRRELL: The Graded Care can give evidence of the
ANNA SQUIRRELL: current situation for the family.
ANNA SQUIRRELL: It considers the history, but will look at
ANNA SQUIRRELL: what's happening here and now for them.
ANNA SQUIRRELL: For example, are they in a new relationship?
ANNA SQUIRRELL: Maturity and the support network around
ANNA SQUIRRELL: them. Have they had support for substance
ANNA SQUIRRELL: misuse? And through the Graded Care we can
ANNA SQUIRRELL: evidence that, what's happening now with
ANNA SQUIRRELL: the family, and we can also look at the
ANNA SQUIRRELL: risks present in the pregnancy, which
ANNA SQUIRRELL: helps us make early decisions for the
ANNA SQUIRRELL: unborn baby if the risks are not being
ANNA SQUIRRELL: addressed for parents throughout that
ANNA SQUIRRELL: assessment. So it informs that early
ANNA SQUIRRELL: decision making for us as well.
NINA BELL: I just want to add, in terms of — particularly
NINA BELL: with the Graded Care Profile Antenatal — I
NINA BELL: like the way we're able to really focus on the
NINA BELL: family strengths and that family support and
NINA BELL: wider support network, because I think,
NINA BELL: particularly for a lot of our families, sadly,
NINA BELL: some parents are very isolated and do have
NINA BELL: very limited support networks.
NINA BELL: And if we can identify that as early as
NINA BELL: possible as part of relationship building,
NINA BELL: really supporting parents to access the
NINA BELL: community, and build those
NINA BELL: relationships within children's centres and
NINA BELL: know where to turn to as well.
SOPHIE BELL: And I think the other thing that we really
SOPHIE BELL: try and do through the Graded Care Antenatal
SOPHIE BELL: is acknowledge that some of those
SOPHIE BELL: risk factors aren't necessarily within the
SOPHIE BELL: control of the parents.
SOPHIE BELL: So things like for families living in poverty
SOPHIE BELL: who might be living in inadequate housing,
SOPHIE BELL: actually, we still need to recognise that for
SOPHIE BELL: the unborn baby and to try and support the
SOPHIE BELL: parents to have the right housing that's
SOPHIE BELL: suitable for their baby.
SOPHIE BELL: But actually through the Graded Care
SOPHIE BELL: Antenatal, we're looking very much at that
SOPHIE BELL: unborn baby's needs and not focusing on who
SOPHIE BELL: is to blame for this problem.
SOPHIE BELL: And some of that needs to be unpicked,
SOPHIE BELL: absolutely, through the wider pre-birth
SOPHIE BELL: assessment.
SOPHIE BELL: But it's really just an opportunity for us to
SOPHIE BELL: highlight where some of the risk areas are
SOPHIE BELL: and where some of the concerns are, but
SOPHIE BELL: actually by saying, "and now we need to
SOPHIE BELL: support you to find the right housing, to be
SOPHIE BELL: able to access the right benefits" and all of
SOPHIE BELL: those kinds of things if that's an issue for
SOPHIE BELL: families. And thinking about my
SOPHIE BELL: experiences as a practitioner, going out and
SOPHIE BELL: working with families when that was my role,
SOPHIE BELL: one of the things that families would often
SOPHIE BELL: say is "we know there's a problem, we know
SOPHIE BELL: that things aren't great, but actually we
SOPHIE BELL: just don't know how to pinpoint those
SOPHIE BELL: issues." And often it can feel so
SOPHIE BELL: overwhelming, particularly if you've had
SOPHIE BELL: services involved before.
SOPHIE BELL: And so I think to have a tool which not only
SOPHIE BELL: helps the families to pinpoint those issues,
SOPHIE BELL: but also helps them to see that there are
SOPHIE BELL: strengths as well can be really empowering
SOPHIE BELL: for families, can't it, and can really
SOPHIE BELL: support that conversation.
ANNA SQUIRRELL: It opens up those difficult discussions as
ANNA SQUIRRELL: well, and the parents are part of that
ANNA SQUIRRELL: discussion. So there's no surprises along
ANNA SQUIRRELL: the way with them. They're very much aware
ANNA SQUIRRELL: of what our concerns are right from the
ANNA SQUIRRELL: beginning, and we're working towards a
ANNA SQUIRRELL: goal which is looking at those identified
ANNA SQUIRRELL: areas and making those improvements.
ANNA SQUIRRELL: So I agree, it just really does open up
ANNA SQUIRRELL: those good conversations.
NINA BELL: Yeah. Just to add to that, I think it allows
NINA BELL: for a lot of reflection as well.
NINA BELL: Particularly for parents who have had previous
NINA BELL: involvement with social care and haven't used
NINA BELL: this tool with workers before.
NINA BELL: I think it allows for a lot of reflection
NINA BELL: and this tool allows that to happen
NINA BELL: in a less threatening way.
NINA BELL: I know I've had a lot of parents feedback to
NINA BELL: me, it's been a really nice experience
NINA BELL: for them to do it with us because they've
NINA BELL: always had assessments and work written,
NINA BELL: you know, about them and never with them.
NINA BELL: And it is about their life, isn't it?
NINA BELL: So it's, you know, I think this tool really
NINA BELL: helps with that.
SOPHIE BELL: And I think by having the information laid
SOPHIE BELL: out in a tool with the different gradings and
SOPHIE BELL: the fact that it's colour-coded and parents
SOPHIE BELL: can see, so I might be an amber now and I
SOPHIE BELL: want to move up to a yellow.
SOPHIE BELL: The yellow always will tell them what that
SOPHIE BELL: next step is so they can see then what am I
SOPHIE BELL: working towards? What's the next step up on
SOPHIE BELL: that ladder? So rather than us saying,
SOPHIE BELL: "actually this is an area of concern, you
SOPHIE BELL: need to do better." What we're saying is
SOPHIE BELL: "this is an area of concern, and what we'd
SOPHIE BELL: like to see is this", which might be a green,
SOPHIE BELL: but the next step isn't.
SOPHIE BELL: You know, we don't expect you to get from
SOPHIE BELL: nought to 100 by next week.
SOPHIE BELL: But we can see the stepping stones for
SOPHIE BELL: families to move forward, so that if there is
SOPHIE BELL: an opportunity within the pregnancy to
SOPHIE BELL: reassess or regrade the Graded Care
SOPHIE BELL: Antenatal towards the end of the pregnancy,
SOPHIE BELL: what we can do then is say, "okay, so we can
SOPHIE BELL: see that in these areas, things have improved
SOPHIE BELL: by this much, and what we'd like to see now
SOPHIE BELL: is this next step."
ANNA SQUIRRELL: I think it complements the pre-birth work
ANNA SQUIRRELL: that we do in the team as well, because we
ANNA SQUIRRELL: get referrals as early as ten, 12 weeks.
ANNA SQUIRRELL: Nina will know this because obviously we get
ANNA SQUIRRELL: these referrals through from CADS
ANNA SQUIRRELL: (children's advice and duty service). And
ANNA SQUIRRELL: as soon as we get that referral through,
ANNA SQUIRRELL: we start the programme, which is looking
ANNA SQUIRRELL: at healthy eating and the importance of
ANNA SQUIRRELL: antenatal appointments, bonding and
ANNA SQUIRRELL: attachment with the unborn baby.
ANNA SQUIRRELL: And so that work really complements the
ANNA SQUIRRELL: Graded Care as well. So they kind of work
ANNA SQUIRRELL: aligned with each other, which is really
ANNA SQUIRRELL: good.
SOPHIE BELL: I think one of the challenges I recognise in
SOPHIE BELL: pre-birth assessments is about that voice of
SOPHIE BELL: the child and how we can... It's difficult
SOPHIE BELL: when you've got a baby or a pre-verbal child
SOPHIE BELL: or a non-verbal child to really include the
SOPHIE BELL: voice of the child. But actually, when you
SOPHIE BELL: can't even see that child, that can again
SOPHIE BELL: be even more difficult to try and, within the
SOPHIE BELL: assessment, articulate the voice of the child
SOPHIE BELL: in that lived experience of that unborn baby.
SOPHIE BELL: Do you have any ways or any tools that you
SOPHIE BELL: try and bring through the voice of the unborn
SOPHIE BELL: baby within your pre-birth assessments?
NINA BELL: I know, particularly for me, I write
NINA BELL: to the unborn baby as if he or
NINA BELL: she was, you know, was here.
NINA BELL: Really talking about what
NINA BELL: the current worries are, the strengths, what
NINA BELL: parents are doing to move things along
NINA BELL: and get the right help.
NINA BELL: And it seems to bring that unborn baby to life.
NINA BELL: And, you know, if they were to be born
NINA BELL: tomorrow, what what their lived experiences be?
NINA BELL: And I know family support will do that as well
NINA BELL: on home visit notes, and it does really
NINA BELL: help bring the unborn baby and that unborn
NINA BELL: voice to life.
SOPHIE BELL: Oh, that sounds fantastic.
SOPHIE BELL: And I think that's a really nice place to end
SOPHIE BELL: our discussion.
SOPHIE BELL: Anna and Nina, thank you for joining me today
SOPHIE BELL: to talk about early years assessments.
SOPHIE BELL: If you've listened to this and you want to
SOPHIE BELL: find out more about the NSPCC's Graded Care
SOPHIE BELL: Antenatal assessment tool, please visit
SOPHIE BELL: nspcc.org.uk/GCP2A.
INTRO: Thanks for listening to this NSPCC Learning
INTRO: podcast.
INTRO: At the time of recording, this episode's content
INTRO: was up to date, but the world of safeguarding and
INTRO: child protection is ever-changing.
INTRO: So, if you're looking for the most current
INTRO: safeguarding and child protection training,
INTRO: information or resources, please visit
INTRO: our website for professionals at
INTRO: nspcc.org.uk/learning.
We recommend upgrading to the latest Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or Edge.
Please check your internet connection and refresh the page. You might also try disabling any ad blockers.
You can visit our support center if you're having problems.