PRESS RELEASE: Launch of Innovative ‘Tuned In’ Modules to Empower Safe Facilitation Skills with Young People

The National Association for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (NAPCAN) is proud to announce the launch of the ‘Tuned In: Building Safer Facilitation Skills with Young People’ online modules. Victim survivors and advocates have long argued for professionals to have these sorts of conversations and we are delighted that we will hear about some insights into lived experience at the launch.

This groundbreaking initiative has been designed to equip adults such as teachers and youth workers with the skills to create safer, trauma-informed environments for young people in group settings. Tuned In will fill a significant gap for facilitators working with youth.

Tuned In will empower safe conversations in an age where the safety and well-being of young people are critical. The six self-contained online modules provide a comprehensive training solution and cover essential evidence-based knowledge and techniques to ensure effective and safe facilitation in group settings, for example, building connections, trust and respect, and dealing with challenging behaviour.

Co-author Assoc/Prof. Tim Moore from Australian Catholic University emphasised, “We all need to not only be but also feel safe to reach our full potential, especially in environments where we are learning or interacting with others. This is particularly true for children and young people.”

Despite the increasing awareness and efforts towards respectful relationships education, such as NAPCAN’s Love Bites program, there remains a significant gap in providing support and training for adults facilitating group work with young people. As Kirrily Dear, Founder of Run Against Violence, which provided seed funding, points out, “Many adults are eager to engage in important conversations with young people, but they lack the training to do so in a safe and trauma-informed manner. The Tuned In modules address this critical need.”

Each module is intentionally crafted to ensure facilitators can confidently manage group settings. After completing the modules Leesa Waters, CEO of NAPCAN, stated, “I know I would have loved to have had access to these modules in my early career, and I hope that [everyone] can enjoy the opportunity and the learnings and above all build your facilitation skills to ultimately ensure we all provide better safety for young people when we are having these important and necessary conversations.”

We invite educators, youth workers, health professionals, and all adults involved in group work with young people to sign up and take an important step forward to creating safer spaces for our young people to learn, grow, and thrive. For more information visit the NAPCAN webpage: https://www.napcan.org.au/programs/tuned-in-online-modules/