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CSE Training for Taxi

Drivers

Ian HarrisonTrading Standards & Licensing Manager

Hartlepool Borough Council

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Background

CSE training has not historically been a requirement for taxi drivers

Rochdale/Rotherham made us look at what the risks were – both to the public and the Council

Background

What did we want?

Scope of training – CSE or broader?

Purpose – prevention or awareness?

Appropriate for drivers

Affordable

Sustainable

Accessible

Credible – In house or external?

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What was Available

North Yorkshire County Council –Safeguarding Children’s Board

On Line CSE Awareness Resource

Developed in partnership with Barnardo’s

Available for use by anyone

Too academic

Very comprehensive but not relevant to taxi drivers

What was Available?

Barnardo’s have a number of freely available videos

They raise awareness of how CSE happens but ......

In the wrong hands could be seen as a grooming ‘toolkit’

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So….We Decided to Develop

Our Own! Scope?

In general new taxi drivers receive absolutely no training on how to do their job, deal with customers, respond to emergencies etc.

Great opportunity to address important issues in addition to CSE.....

Safeguarding – Older/vulnerable people

Drunken passengers

Very young children

Themselves!

Purpose

Purpose Are we trying to stop a perpetrator or are we

raising awareness?

Vast majority of taxi drivers are honest, decent people.

With the right knowledge they could spot signs of CSE and know where and how to report it

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Appropriate for Drivers

Many taxi drivers are not academic

English may not always be their first language

Needed to set at the right academic level

Needed to be relevant to their circumstances and experiences

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Affordable

New taxi driver licences are expensive

DBS check - £44

Medical - £100 to £150

DSA Taxi Test - £80

Licence - £145

Extras?

Any additional expenses need to be justifiable

Needs to be reasonable and proportionate

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Sustainable

Many authorities have provided face to face training for their existing taxi drivers

Sometimes this has been offered freely by Social Worker teams, sometimes it has come at a cost

Will the same training remain free for new drivers indefinitely?

What happens with the ‘drip, drip’ of new taxi drivers coming along?

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Accessible

A system was needed that could accommodate the constant and permanent stream of new applicants

Is it appropriate to keep new applicants waiting for the next training course?

Would an IT solution be an option? Could be done any time from anywhere. No need to wait.

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Credible

We needed something that would withstand the scrutiny of a Public Enquiry if the worst happened

If CSE is uncovered, we want to be able to say that our taxi drivers received the best possible independent training, provided by recognised experts

A Barnardo’s product fits that bill

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What We Have

The Tees Valley Licensing Group decided to design a web based CSE/Safeguarding training package (sounds easy!)

We approached Barnardo’s for support/endorsement

Barnardo’s decided to do their own – the TVLG Chair was asked to provide the taxi input

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What We Have

The result is a professionally designed website, aimed specifically at taxi drivers

Uses ‘real-life’ scenarios specific to taxi drivers

Covers CSE and Safeguarding

Uses plain English

Driver receives a completion certificate if they pass the ‘test’ at the end – 70% pass mark

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How it Works

Drivers log onto a website, providing their name, address and a reference number

The course takes between 45 and 60 minutes to complete

A ‘pass’ certificate is e-mailed to the driver once they have passed

The driver submits the certificate to the licensing authority as part of the application procedure

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Safeguards

What about cheating?

This is awareness raising.

Doing the course will not guarantee that a driver will report what they see

Attending a face to face course does not guarantee that they listened

The drivers Knowledge Test will include questions from the on-line training. If they haven’t done the course, they may fail their Knowledge Test (re-sit charge £20)

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Costs

Barnardo’s are making the package commercially available for all licensing authorities

£6000 for unlimited licences for one year

‘Pay as you Go’ option available – probably £15

Smaller authorities may be able to group together to reduce cost

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Tees Valley

All of the Tees Valley licensing authorities have committed to using the Barnardo’s product

Due to delays, some authorities have already trained some/all of their existing drivers

The unlimited licences in the first year will clear up all remaining drivers. After the first year, new applicants will be ‘Pay as you Go’

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