@article{ref1,
title="Speak out, stay safe: including children with special educational needs and disabilities in an evaluation of an abuse prevention programme",
journal="Child abuse review",
year="2023",
author="Kelly, Berni and Farrelly, Nicola and Batool, Farwa and Kurdi, Zain and Stanley, Nicky",
volume="32",
number="5",
pages="e2816-e2816",
abstract="This paper reports on the evaluation of an integrated violence and abuse prevention programme for children aged 5-11, focusing on children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). The Speak Out Stay Safe (SOSS) programme was delivered in mainstream primary schools across the UK. A small-scale study of children with SEND nested within the larger evaluation captured their understandings of abuse and harm and readiness to seek help. A specially adapted survey was completed by 76 children with SEND (aged 6-7 and 9-10) at baseline (31 intervention; 45 comparison schools), 12 in intervention schools post-programme and 37 (four intervention; 33 comparison schools) six months post-baseline. Qualitative data was captured through 16 teacher interviews. Whilst this nested study was compromised by the COVID-19 pandemic, it provides important evidence that with appropriate adaptations, a survey approach to investigating the learning of children with SEND can be effective. <br><br>FINDINGS indicate that awareness of abuse and help seeking strategies may improve over time, whilst interview data suggests that adapting the programme to be inclusive of those children may have a better effect. However, a much larger sample of children with SEND is required to confidently measure the effects of such programmes for this population.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0952-9136",
doi="10.1002/car.2816",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/car.2816"
}