 | Helping Children Learn About Domestic Abuse and Coercive Control: A 'Floss and the Boss' Storybook and Professional Guide Subjects: Behavioral Sciences; Education; Health and Social Care; Early Years; Mental Health; Childhood; Educational Psychology; Inclusion and Special Educational Needs; Social Work and Social Policy; Early Childhood; Counselling; Emotional & Behavioural Difficulties; Child and Family Social Work; School Social Work; Counseling; This beautifully illustrated and sensitively written storybook and accompanying professional guide have been created to help young children understand about domestic abuse and coercive control. Floss is a happy little puppy who loves going to Doggy Daycare and playing with her best friend, Houdini. The story explores how things change when her Mum's new friend, Boss, comes into their lives. Floss's story supports children who have experienced domestic abuse and trauma as they make sense of their feelings, teaching them to seek help and stay safe. The supporting guidebook helps adults to work through the story effectively, putting the professional in a position to have important conversations with children about what to do if something at home does not feel right. This set: Can be used to address the topic of domestic abuse and coercive control with individuals, small groups and whole classes, enabling dialogue around a sensitive issue Offers activities for supporting children, safety planning strategies and guidance for taking on a key adult role Can be used to support the PSHE curriculum, particularly around the topic of healthy relationshipsThis set is a vital tool for teachers, social care staff, therapists and other professionals working to teach young children about domestic abuse and coercive control. It provides an important vehicle for talking to children about staying safe and their emotional wellbeing. Catherine Lawler works as a training consultant for a Safeguarding Children's Partnership. She has extensive experience supporting children, young people and families. She has worked as a children's therapist, specialising in domestic abuse. She has developed resources on bullying, peer-on-peer abuse and children accessing sexualised imagery. Abigail Sterne is a Senior Educational Psychologist working in schools in Manchester and is a former teacher. She works closely with Central Manchester Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) and has worked with fostering and adoption services. Catherine and Abigail are co-authors of Domestic Violence and Children: A handbook for schools and early years settings (Routledge, 2010). They have developed domestic abuse and safeguarding training packages for education and social care services. They wrote and delivered initial training for key adults for Operation Encompass, whereby key trained adults in schools receive prompt police notifications about abusive incidents. For this they received commander's certificates from Devon and Cornwall constabulary. Nicky Armstrong, B.A.(Hons) Theatre Design, M.A. Slade School of Fine Art, has illustrated 30 books which have been translated and published in seven countries. She has achieved major commissions in both mural and fine art painting. |
