Working Together
Signs of Safety was created in Western Australia by Andrew Turnell and Steve Edwards in the early 1990s . The approach is supported by Professopr Eileen Munro and Local Authorities are increasingly using Signs of Safety within Child Protection teams in England.
Signs of Safety was influenced strongly by the Resolutions approach of Bristol’s Susie Essex- giving inspiration and rigour and ideas for involving and informing children by using the ‘Words and Pictures’ process.
As the current CQC review of safeguarding moves into the next phase with Joint Inspectorate Inspections expected in 2015, we anticiate that health, local authority and third sector providers will increasingly incorporate Signs of Safety within their Early Help Teams and Universal Services.
After completing her training as a doctor at Addenbrookes Hospital, Cambridge, UK in 1986 Sarah returned to her childhood home of New Zealand to complete her first year working. She then travelled to Western Australia where she was commissioned by the Perth Coroner to work within the Child Protection Team of the Department for Community Services working with young aboriginals, ther families and communities looking for shared solutions to the growing issue of petrol sniffing. This experience of working with and learning from the aboriginal people of Western Australia has formed Sarah's thinking over her career and she is delighted to find a tool for transformation that has developed from work with the same groups.