Ask the Expert: Bad staff attitudes

I ran a training course and was shocked at some participants’ attitudes towards the children they work with. Their manager was also on the course and didn’t say anything to challenge them. What should I do?

This needs to be fed back to senior managers. Were you clear in your working agreement that you couldn’t guarantee confidentiality? It is usual to discuss situations when you might need to breach this – such as if you feel a child is at risk, or if the values or language displayed contradicted the policies of the agency.

It is essential to unpick attitudes and values during training in order to ensure children don’t suffer any form of discrimination from staff.
 
For participants to feel that it was fine for them to air these views unchallenged in front of their manager is worrying too. Take the issue to your line manager and then contact a senior staff member to air your concerns. We owe it to all children and young people to ensure that they are treated with respect and not subjected to the negative views of those responsible for supporting them.

Answered by Jeanie Lynch, who works for Barnardo’s and has 25 years’ experience of working with vulnerable children and families

Email questions, marked “Experts”, to cypnow@markallengroup.com