Book your place on BraveBox Safety Planning Training today by emailing info@edshift.co.uk

At EdShift, we receive around 40 referrals every month. Behind each one is a child living in a high-risk environment, facing emotional and physical harm. These are children affected by domestic abuse, often scared, sometimes silenced, and always in need of urgent support. As a small, community-rooted organisation, we act quickly, creatively, and with compassion. But the reality is, we cannot always reach every child as fast as we want to. That urgency led us to create BraveBox.

BraveBox is a practical, trauma-informed resource designed with and for children, and the professionals who support them.

Working with trusted partners and with children themselves, we asked a simple but powerful question: “What would you need in that moment of crisis?” Their answers shaped BraveBox. The result is a creative toolkit, an accompanying booklet, and now a full-day BraveBox Safety Planning Training programme. This training equips professionals with the skills, confidence, and trauma-informed approaches they need to deliver effective child safety planning in real time. BraveBox is more than a resource. It is a response to a systemic gap in how we prepare professionals to deliver domestic abuse support for children and young people.

The Training Gap: Why Professionals Feel Under-Prepared

Teachers, social workers, police, health professionals, and safeguarding leads are often the first to notice when something is wrong. They are also the first to step in when a child is in crisis. Yet many feel under-prepared for what comes next. Research paints a clear picture. A recent BBC investigation found that up to 90% of a social worker’s caseload can involve coercive and controlling behaviour. Yet frontline staff often receive less than a single day of formal training on how to respond, sometimes as little as one hour.

That lack of preparation leaves professionals without the tools they need in high-stakes situations, where decisions can shape a child’s safety and long-term wellbeing.

Without proper training, professionals may miss opportunities to build trust, delay intervention, or struggle to safeguard effectively. For children affected by domestic abuse, this gap has real consequences. Delayed responses, missed opportunities for trust, and inconsistent safeguarding practices mean children are left vulnerable at the very moment they most need protection. BraveBox Safety Planning Training was created to close that gap, by offering structured, evidence-based safeguarding training for those on the frontline.

Discover how BraveBox can transform your safeguarding practice. Enquire now.

Bridging the Gap: The Creation of BraveBox

BraveBox is built on the principle that children deserve immediate, practical, trauma-informed support, and that professionals deserve the confidence to deliver it. It combines creative tools, activities, and guidance that children can engage with during or after moments of crisis. BraveBox Safety Planning Training goes further. It ensures professionals understand how to use the resource, and why it matters.

Delivered as a full-day session, this domestic abuse training for professionals provides practical tools for child safety planning that can be introduced immediately, alongside trauma-informed practice training that prioritise trust, choice, and safety. Participants also learn creative strategies to engage children when words are difficult to find, while gaining a deeper understanding of the dynamics of domestic abuse and the ways it impacts children differently. Above all, the training builds confidence, ensuring professionals feel fully equipped to respond with clarity and compassion in the moment. BraveBox Training is grounded in lived experience, built alongside children, and designed to be applied immediately in practice. It’s a vital step for any professional seeking effective child safety planning and stronger safeguarding training in high-risk environments.

Who It’s For: BraveBox Training in Action

BraveBox Training has already been delivered across schools, safeguarding teams, and frontline services. Participants consistently report that it leaves them with new tools and with a stronger sense of confidence and clarity. One professional described it as “the missing piece between wanting to help and knowing how to.” Others highlight the creative nature of the resource, which makes it easier to engage with children in supportive, non-threatening ways.

Because BraveBox is designed to be adaptable, professionals can use it flexibly, whether that’s during an immediate crisis, in follow-up sessions, or as part of ongoing safeguarding practice. The training is designed for any professional working directly with children affected by domestic abuse. It supports teachers and school staff, who are often the first trusted adults to notice when something is wrong, as well as social workers managing heavy caseloads where domestic abuse is a recurring concern. Police officers also benefit from the training, equipping them to connect with children in crisis during domestic abuse incidents. Health professionals, from GPs to mental health practitioners, gain tools to respond to hidden trauma, while safeguarding leads strengthen their ability to ensure effective protection within their settings. Charities and community organisations delivering frontline support for vulnerable families also find the training invaluable in enhancing their practice. Each of these roles carries unique challenges. What unites them is the need for tools, training, and confidence to act in a child-centred, trauma-informed way.

Why BraveBox Works: The Bigger Picture and the Power of Early Intervention

BraveBox Training stands out because it was shaped by professionals and by the voices of children themselves. They told us what helped in moments of crisis, what left them feeling overlooked, and what made them feel safe. Their insights showed that small, creative, and practical tools often make the biggest difference. The training is trauma-informed and creative, recognising that healing often comes through choice, trust, and imagination. At the same time, the training is highly practical and immediate, equipping professionals with tools they can apply straight away rather than after weeks of additional preparation. Above all, it focuses on building trust, helping children feel safer more quickly while giving professionals the skills to strengthen safeguarding practice in real time.

Domestic abuse remains one of the most significant issues affecting children and young people in the UK. The consequences are both immediate and long-term, impacting mental health, education, and future relationships well into adulthood. Despite this, child safety planning and early intervention remain under-prioritised in many safeguarding frameworks. Professionals are expected to respond to some of the most complex safeguarding situations with little or no formal preparation. This is where BraveBox makes a measurable difference. By combining trauma-informed practice training with practical, creative tools, we bridge a critical gap, empowering professionals to meet children where they are and act with clarity and compassion. Every referral we receive is a reminder of why this matters. The children on our waiting lists can’t afford delays. They need professionals who are ready now.

It’s Time to Act: Book Your BraveBox Safety Planning Training Today

The need is clear. Every month, children across West Yorkshire and beyond are living with the impact of domestic abuse. Professionals on the frontline want to help, but they need the right tools, knowledge, and confidence to do so.

BraveBox Safety Planning Training gives them exactly that. It’s practical. It’s trauma-informed. And it’s built to make an immediate difference to children’s lives. Because every child deserves safety, trust, and support when they need it most. And every professional deserves the confidence to provide it.

Discover how BraveBox can transform your safeguarding practice. Enquire now.

BraveBox Safety Planning Training – CPD for Frontline Staff

Who it’s for:
BraveBox Safety Planning Training is designed for frontline professionals working directly with children and young people affected by trauma from domestic abuse and violence.

Why it matters:
With a 48% rise in high-risk, complex referrals linked to the cost-of-living crisis, EdShift is committed to equipping staff with the skills, tools, and confidence to provide life-changing, trauma-informed support.

What it covers:

• Creative, practical tools for safety planning
• Developmentally age-appropriate approaches
• Risk and vulnerability assessment through case studies
• Guidance for difficult conversations
• Evidence-based, child-centred strategies drawn from international research
• Practical resources for creating individualised safety plans

Approach:
The training is rooted in research that highlights the lack of standardised tools for working with children affected by domestic abuse. It incorporates proven, child-centred strategies from Canadian, American, and Australian studies to build trust, resilience, and recovery.

Training options (2024–2025):

• Internal CPD Training – Full Day at EdShift YouthBase | £120 per person
• External CPD Training – 1 Hour at your premises (whole team) | £450
• External CPD Training – Full Day at your premises (10–20 attendees) | £1,130

Book your place on BraveBox Safety Planning Training today.