Watching Samantha’s speech followed hard on the heels of my reading a lot the previous week whilst away on holiday in Madeira. Not only was I nourished by sunshine, daily swimming, visiting art exhibitions, and seeing the bright bougainvillea; I was inspired by “Newborn” by Kerry Hudson, “Poor” by Katriona O’Sullivan and “Everything is Everything” by Clive Myrie.
These are different and distinct contributions to the art of memoir. They all demonstrated resilience, intelligence, curiosity, and the value of relationships and humanity. Kerry and Katriona have triumphed over neglect, poverty, and low expectations. They have broken the cycle of disadvantage. Clive Myrie has also achieved great success, not without racism and danger as a backcloth to his triumphs as a journalist, presenter and now Mastermind host. Through their different stories, they amply illustrated to me why partnership working is so vital to prevent, identify and alleviate want, neglect and discrimination. Their stories validated my passion for public service and partnership.
Birmingham Against FGM Awareness Campaign
When discussing those who have overcome trauma and adversity, I am reminded of Sarian Karim Kamara. Sarian went through female genital mutilation (FGM) at age 11 and is a leading campaigner and activist based in Peckham who works to end the practice both at home and abroad. Sarian collaborated with Birmingham Against FGM, a group comprised of multi-agency safeguarding professionals from across the city, to launch a video campaign on International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation to raise awareness of the practice and how to report it. In the video campaign, Sarian talks about her own experience and encourages anyone who is worried about FGM, or knows someone who may be at risk, to report it. You can watch the campaign videos on the BSCP’s FGM webpage.
Ivora Ferreira-Bean
Last week I was at One Avenue Road for a day of meetings as part of my role as Independent Chair. As well as meetings with senior colleagues in West Midlands Police, Birmingham City Council, Health and Birmingham Children’s Trust, I bumped into Ivora Ferreira-Bean, Locality Early Help Team Manager, who generously shared her little piece of protected space in the open plan office. We have met virtually several times over the last couple of years post-pandemic, but not in person. How lovely it was to congratulate her on her recent MBE and to see her sparkling enthusiasm for supporting children and their families through early help, through supporting motivated staff. Ivora is one of the regulars at the Practitioner Forum I Chair quarterly, she joins increasing numbers who come along in a spirit of openness, generosity and eagerness to learn. If you haven’t been before, do come along! Our next session is on Wednesday 20th March 2024, 2.30 PM – 4 PM. Email BSCP.ContactUs@birminghamchildrenstrust.co.uk to join our mailing list.
Publication of Serious Case Review and upcoming Practitioners’ Webinar
On the topic of learning, last week we published an important review, the last of our legacy Serious Case Reviews. Fortunately, the child survived, but now requires significant support due to their disabilities, which is being provided to the family. Please read and share the learning within your teams, you can find all the review documents on the Serious Case Review’s webpage. We will also be hosting a Practitioners’ Webinar on Thursday 7th March, 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM, where we will explore in more detail the emerging learning from this review and tips for improving safeguarding practice. Book your place on Eventbrite.
The case is a vital illustration of the complexities and challenges that practitioners in all settings face daily, and it underlines the importance of working together across boundaries of place and profession.
Through reading these various stories, I have come to understand a crucial and valuable lesson that they all seem to convey: the significance of perseverance in the face of adversity. No matter how difficult the situation may become, never give up!
Cartoon by Jacky Fleming
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