News

I’ve decided to write a new blog, despite these days preferring to use Twitter to connect, share ideas and learn from others, because I’ve just discovered that there’s another Sally Ann Hart who seems to be attracting rather a lot of attention on the run up to the December 12th General Election. My thinking is I can use this blog to reassure anyone who already knows me, in either the real or ‘virtual world’, that I’m not the person standing as a candidate for the Tory party in Hastings and Rye! And I definitely do not want the UK to leave the EU!!!

I then got to thinking about how I felt, knowing some people might mistake me for someone with the same name and who may or may not have the same values as I do. During Protective Behaviours training we discuss ‘Are names important?’ and people always comment on how the name we choose to use as adults is very much linked to our ‘identity’. We also reflect on how this might be for children who are given names they may or may not like and how as adults we need to ask them what name they prefer us to use. This is a really simple way to demonstrate how to build a respectful relationship with children and young people.

For those of you who have stumbled over this blog post thinking it was another Sally Ann Hart, why not stay a couple of minutes longer and listen to a very simple explanation of what the Protective Behaviours process is?

PS Depending on how the time between now and the General Election goes I may choose to use my pre-married name of Sally Ann Dempsey, although I much prefer not having SAD as my initials

Oh my word, just realised the last time I sat down and updated my blog was way back in July and now it’s only one more sleep ’til Christmas! I don’t know where this year has gone although I am well aware of what a truly awful and yet, at the same time, awesome one it has been. Those of you who either delight or despair at the deluge of Tweets that are constantly delivered to various devices will know only too well news of heart-wrenching and heart-warming events. perhaps before your nearest and dearest. And I wonder if this is one of the reasons my attention has been diverted from blogging and choosing instead to employ 140 characters at least daily via Twitter. This is also the platform that has provided some inspiring ‘short stories’ as well as a Network of ‘strangers’ who I may never meet, but feel like I know.

Thank you for all the follows, retweets, likes and direct messages – already looking forward to lots more informative ‘conversations’ in 2017. So with eyes well and truly set on all the hopeful opportunities the next 12 months could bring and in an attempt to build healthy and safe networks that both inform and inspire I heartily recommend the following ‘Tweeters’ to you: @jcstaff_, @ivy1428ivy, @madblack65 @bellathebestdog.
You can also find out what I’m feeling and thinking on a more regular basis by following @sallyannhart

One final thought courtesy of @bellathebestdog:

Oh my – what a busy start to 2016 and apologies for not finding the time to even wish A Happy New Year!

All good in my world which feels like it has become PB-land with so much training, practice and network development going on. All fab in my opinion and feel so privileged to be doing so much of what I believe in and know makes a difference to people both professionally and personally. So just time to say a BIG ‘Thank You’ to all that have attended recent courses including those that focus on how Protective Behaviours can be used as a Child Sexual Exploitation intervention and also with children in their earliest years to support well-being and enable their voices – more information to follow….

I’d also like to thank Judith Staff and Ann Seal for being on my PB Buddy network and sharing some of the load in delivering courses. Great to have people who really know their stuff and so generously share their energy, enthusiasm and expertise with others which demonstrates so well what people can do to make a difference.

More soon I promise. In the meantime you might like to follow us on Twitter as this way updates will definitely be more regular 😉

I’m certainly feeling a bit confused at the moment and think this is because there is so much ‘stuff’ going on and I’m finding it difficult to decide where to start. This could also be to do with the fact it’s all fairly good ‘stuff’ in my opinion and I want to do it all!  So how fortunate is that apart from the fact that there are still only 24 hours in each day and I really like sleep?

I’m also aware that due to the abundance of ‘stuff’ I may well have not done some of the things I said I would, so if you’re one of the people waiting on me to do something, perhaps an email or information following on from training, please persist and remind me – I really won’t mind and I can then move it to the top of my ‘stuff’ pile.

So what is all this ‘stuff’ and where is it coming from?

Well, it’s mainly to do with Protective Behaviours which seems to have suddenly appeared on a number of people’s radar. Training courses and conference appearances are being requested from as far afield as Cornwall and Edinburgh and across all educational key stages. Local Authority projects geared at raising awareness of Child Sexual Exploitation and using Protective Behaviours as both a preventative tool and intervention have generated lots of interest and are currently being delivered by a team of three trainers. And all this is on top of existing commitments to provide regular training for a growing number of agencies and develop new courses with Protective Behaviours at their core. So it’s no wonder I’m finding it hard to decide where to start because I love it all!  And why wouldn’t I? Being able to share a process that helps people feel empowered and discover safer ways forward is such a healthy antidote to all the negativity and scaremongering that accompanies news bulletins and most media articles. So despite feeling confused, I also feel honoured and excited about being surrounded by so much ‘stuff’. And I’m trying really hard to remember the advice often offered by some of my dearest friends: ‘Don’t sweat the small stuff!’