Child protection training: wise practice rather than best practice

Increasingly community services are engaging their staff and volunteers in regular child protection training to develop practice skills and ensure appropriate responses. Child protection training is often grounded in western models of “best practice.” These approaches risk reinforcing colonial practice and Eurocentric bias in recognising and responding to harm within whānau Māori and Pacific families.

This presentation will share a social worker's journey in developing community child protection training to align with social work ethics of rangatiratanga, manaakitanga, whanaungatanga, kotahitanga and mātātoa. The concept of wise practice rather than best practice will be discussed along with reflections on the challenges and successes of developing this work in partnership with communities.

Presented by Ruth Browning from Te Whatu Ora (formerly of Safeguarding Children)