Education & Training Awards 2024 | 11 Kapasun Training & Development offers programmes across a full spectrum of safeguarding topics. Our courses cover training in leading safeguarding teams, safer recruitment, mental health & resilience, child-on-child abuse, harmful sexual behaviour, and more, providing clients with the knowledge and skills they need to protect and educate children and young people. This training is delivered through a variety of formats: videos, discussions, group activities, all contributing to an engaging learning environment that more clients attest to year-by-year. Dave set up Kapasun after witnessing first-hand the decline in government and local authority support for youth and community work. He had the original combined goals of providing specialist Personal, Social, and Economic Education, for children and young people, whilst also facilitating bespoke training for those working in the youth sector. However, it became clear, over the course of his work, just how much Safeguarding Teams were struggling. “During visits to organisations, I would regularly have Safeguarding Leads approach me in distress. The common theme was one of feeling that there just wasn’t enough support for the work they were doing.” He goes on to talk about the effect this was having on industry professionals, speaking of “the considerable impact that dealing with issues around child abuse and neglect was having on both their professional role and, more importantly, their own health.” A common theme was emerging: these professionals shared a passion for the goal of protecting children from harm but often lacked the resources to do so. It soon became Dave’s mission to empower these teams and play a role to enhance UK safeguarding. As well as delivering professional training for those supporting young people, Dave is also mindful of the need to address the Dave Blake is a qualified teacher, trainer, youth worker, consultant, and speaker. More than thirty years of experience working with children and young people have prepared him to be instrumental within the field of safeguarding in the UK. To date, he’s worked with a vast range of institutions: governments, international organisations, local authorities, schools, youth groups and charities have benefitted from his tailored educational programmes. Here, we speak with Dave to understand just what makes him so effective. Best Safeguarding Training Provider 2024 – UK wellbeing of those responsible for safeguarding. He is trained in DSL Supervision and Mental Health First Aid, for this very reason, and is keen to ensure his clients don’t “become overwhelmed and burn out.” Providing first-class support to young people begins with committed and well trained professionals who themselves feel supported. “My hope is that the combination of both of these things can give Safeguarding Teams the best support possible so they, in turn, can offer the best support to the children and young people in their care.” Dave’s core value is simple, to do everything he can to protect children and young people form harm. He recognises that this means delivering the most impactful child protection training possible, which has driven the evolution of his services. The commitment at Kapasun is not just to provide training, but to craft engaging experiences. This means including games, role plays, quizzes, a sensitive degree of levity and meeting in person whenever possible. The appropriate culmination of these elements results in a bespoke approach suited to any client. Numerous training participants report that Dave made heavy topics easier to explore and learn about. Kapasun predominantly assists those safeguarding children in Surrey, but also travels to London and has even travelled abroad when required. Throughout his experience of various environments and needs, Dave notes that the “goalposts, priorities, and processes” are always shifting. As numbers of vulnerable children rise, he acknowledges the need to stay ahead of the game and adapt to this quickly shifting landscape. This commitment to excellence and relevant course content places him at the forefront of the industry, informs his careful selection of training partners, and ensures that he has “never had a client that has only used his services once.” 2025 is set to be an exciting year for Kapasun, potentially the biggest in its 12 year history. As more clients rely on Dave’s services, he plans to roll out a Relationships, Sex, and Health Education initiative which will support schools and colleges. “We want to help young people explore who they are,” he says, “as well as all kinds of relationship, but to stay as safe as possible while doing so.” Dave also intends to bolster his already thorough skillset by undertaking a counselling qualification to offer clients therapeutic support. As impressive as this sounds, to Dave it’s just par for the course in the mission to do everything he can to ensure children’s safety. Contact: Dave Blake Company: Kapasun Ltd. Web Address: www.kapasun.com
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTY1MjI4