As a result of Quality Assurance and Improvement work, the Forth Valley GIRFEC Working Group have reviewed and updated the form used to share a concern about a child or young person. Following a test of change, this has resulted in the launch of the new Notification of Concern Form. This new form will replace the Forms 2a and 2b as of Monday 1st December 2025.

The intention of this change is to make it simpler to share concerns regarding a child or young person and to ensure that sufficient information is provided to determine next steps. All practitioners are asked to phone social work first to discuss a concern.

We have also developed new practice guidance to assist in the roll out of the Notification of Concern form.  As on 1.12.25, the new form will be available here: Reporting a Concern.

Where a named person is seeking support from social work due to an accumulation of concerns or increase in risks, or because of a decision made at a Team Around the Child meeting, they may be asked to complete a Wellbeing Assessment Form to ensure that the information shared is as full as possible.

New Team around the Child Guidance has also been developed, which we hope that you find helpful and would encourage you to refer to Team Around the Child (TAC) Guidance & Information Leaflets.

Please ensure that the new notification of concern form and guidance are circulated widely across your agency for use from Monday 1st December 2025.

Date	Theme	Activity/Event	Notes
Monday 6th October	Social Security	Young People & Families One Stop Shop The Hive, Alloa 10am – 12pm	Marketplace-style drop-in to advise young people and their families on benefits and educational & employment support pathways.   Young people and families can drop-in with no need to book a space.   If your organisation would like to have a stall at this event, please contact Rachel MacLean – rmaclean@clacks.gov.uk
Tuesday 7th October	Jobs	Stirling & Clackmannanshire Employer Engagement Forum Paton Suite, Alloa Business Centre 9.30am – 12pm	This Employer Engagement Forum event has been planned to align with Challenge Poverty Week. Presentations and discussions will centre on implementing fair work practices and better supporting staff.   Invitation-only event.
Wednesday 8th October	Life’s Essentials	Clackmannanshire Knowledge Exchange Alloa Town Hall 9.30am – 12.30pm	Marketplace-style networking event with four break-out workshops for practitioners providing support services in the community, aiming to raise awareness of key services and supports and encourage joined-up working.   Bookings for stalls, networking tickets and workshops can be made on Eventbrite.
Thursday 9th October	Communities & Volunteering	Roundtable: Violence Against Women & Girls and Poverty – Exploring Intersections Online (Teams) 10am – 11.30am	Roundtable discussion for professionals in Clackmannanshire and Glasgow, themed around the intersections between violence against women & girls and poverty, hosted jointly between Clackmannanshire Council and Financially Included.   Invitation-only event.
		‘Community Visions’ Art Exhibition Launch Spiers Centre, Alloa 2pm – 3pm	Launch event for a week-long exhibition of art pieces created by community groups, themed around aspirational visions of a better Clackmannanshire. A one-week long exhibition will follow, which is open to the public until 17th October.   Bookings for the launch event can be made on Eventbrite.
Friday 10th October	Climate	Climate-themed outdoor activities for young people and families running throughout the week at Gartmorn Dam and integrated into October Holiday activity programme.	For enquiries, please contact Julie Haslam jhaslam@clacks.gov.uk

 

Download the Challenge Poverty Week Timetable.

 

Alcohol Awareness Week is dedicated to raising awareness, advocating for change, and more.

Organised by Alcohol Change UK, this year’s theme is Alcohol and Work.

To support this campaign, Alcohol Change UK has created a digital resource that includes information sheets, posters, social media materials, and much more! Whether you’re interested in launching a social media campaign, hosting an event or workshop, or simply initiating a conversation about the connection between alcohol and work, click the link below for plenty of ideas to help you get started.

For further information, please see following leaflet: Alcohol Awareness Week 2025

The National Suicide Prevention campaign launched on Wednesday 16^th April 2025. The aim of this campaign is to start Scotland’s biggest conversation about suicide.

Here is a link to the home page of the website, and a link to the professional’s page, where you are able to order free assets (both digital and ready to print). There is already a lot of content on the website, including information about supports for yourself or someone you are worried about, but this will continue to be added to in the coming weeks and months.

• Home – Suicide Prevention Scotland
• I work in suicide prevention – Suicide Prevention Scotland

In addition to that, all of the related films are available to view on the Suicide Prevention Scotland YouTube channel, linked below. I hope you’ll agree that these are very personal and very powerful conversations.

• Suicide Prevention Scotland’s YouTube Channel

Please have a look and share with your networks.

* To download, click the three dots button.

Scottish Government launched a new child protection resource on 20th February called Keeping children safe in Scotland.

‘Keeping children safe in Scotland’ is an online resource that provides guides to child protection processes for children, young people and families who may become involved in the child protection process either directly as a child or parent/carer or as a member of the wider family, and for those who may be supporting a child.

More details on this resource can be found in the launch briefing paper.

Sextortion in Scotland | Crimestoppers

What is Fearless? Fearless enables young people to pass on information about crime 100% anonymously. This Crimestoppers campaign highlights sextortion and what adults, young people and children should do if they are a victim.

We would be delighted if you were able to attend our 16 Days of Activism Launch Event at Alloa Town Hall on Monday 25 November to kick off Forth Valley’s 16 days campaign.

The 16 Days of Activism is an annual international campaign to end Gender-Based Violence. Clackmannanshire’s Violence Against Women and Girls Partnership has the exciting opportunity of hosting the 16 Days of Activism launch event for Forth Valley this year.

The 16 Days of Activism Forth Valley Working Group has met monthly to plan activity for the duration of the campaign. The working group consists of support organisations, emergency services, council services and more. This year’s theme is ‘Imagine a Scotland without Gender-Based Violence’. In Forth Valley, we are adopting an arts focus to make the event more community friendly.

Our launch event will focus on community, lived experience and the concept of youth safety and happiness. In attendance, will be White Ribbon alongside other guest speakers who aim to engage our councillors and the community to sign the pledge to never commit gender-based violence. The launch event will be concluded with an interactive workshop created and taken by our school pupils and will end with a youth led march out of the Town Hall to complete a short circuit in Alloa town centre. All attendees and members of the public are welcome to join us on the march at 12pm.

To secure your space, please register via the Eventbrite link: Clackmannanshire’s 16 Days of Activism Launch Event

We hope to see you there.

Invitation to Forth Valley’s 16 Days of Activism Launch Event

Forth Valley, 16 Days Programme of Events – 2024

FINAL Schedule of events Challenge Poverty Week 2024

 

Rent Review Survey Poster Oct sessions

Challenge Poverty Housing support Poster