Testimonials and feedback

Please note- This is only a small selection of feedback – should you require further references, please contact me and I will send you latest feedback.

Dated July 2019 Typical feedback return

Hampshire Safeguarding Conference July 2019 County Lines and Child Criminal Exploitation

Professionals Work Shop – Hampshire Safeguarders funded by Active Communities Network, Community First and PCC Hampshire – Approx 200 delegates

 

Which of the following sectors applies to your organisations?

Percentage of participants were from the following organisations;

Local Authority                       35%

Police                                        1%

Education                               21%

Health                                       9%

Voluntary                               29%

University                               5%

There was no representation from Fire, Forces or Business.

As a result of this workshop, how would you rate your understanding of CCE and County Lines?

49% of participants rated their understanding of CCE and County Lines was now Excellent as a result of attending the workshop,

51% of participants rated their understanding of CCE and County Lines was now Good as a result of attending the workshop,

No participants rated the training as Fair, Poor or Terrible.

As a result of attending this workshop, how confident are you in identifying CCE within your current role?

100% of participants said that as a result of attending the workshops, said that they were more confident in identifying CCE within their current roles.

No participants rated their confidence at Less Confident, No difference or Not Confident.

As a result of this workshop, how confident do you feel in accessing appropriate support and interventions for children who are being criminally exploited?

96% of participants said that as a result of attending the workshop, said that they felt more confident in accessing appropriate support and intervention for children who are being criminally exploited.

4% of participants said that there was no difference in their confidence in accessing appropriate support and intervention for children who are being criminally exploited as a result of attending the workshop.

No participants rated their confidence at Less Confident or Not Confident.

How confident do you feel in applying the learning from the workshop to your current role?

60% of participants said that as a result of attending the workshop, said that they felt very confident in applying the learning from the workshop to their current roles.

40% of participants said that as a result of attending the workshop, said that they felt moderately confident in applying the learning from the workshop to their current roles.

No participants rated their confidence at Less Confident or Not Confident.

Other Comments                                                                                                            

“Dean is excellent – Very good for young people to relate to as well as adults, excellent trainer.” “GREAT presentation – well worth an OBE, really good and very informative, Excellent speaker.”  “After 20 years at PCC it’s the best delivery I’ve ever had.”

“Excellent way to improve my knowledge & ability to speak to both young people and parents.”  “Everybody young and old needs to see this.  Entertaining and energizing – excellent presentation.” “Dean is the best lecturer I have had the pleasure of engaging with.  He is clearly very passionate and makes you want to listen.”

“Many thanks, raw and gritty, honest, hard hitting – this will help retain the information.”

“Very informative, thank you.”

“Excellent.  Very engaging and Knowledgeable Thank you.”

“Excellent, should be on the curriculum and taught on the social work degree course.”

“This was brilliant, I recognize my naivety relating to county lines and modern slavery and will be doing more research.  Everyone who works with the general public or has young people in their lives must do this training.”

“Fantastic training, really made scenarios real, would be useful to have this training for the whole of the college.”

“Really engaging training, good real scenarios, EXCELLENT!”

“Dean is very relatable to young people, this would enable the support to be taken on board.” “Fantastic lecture hooked from the start.”

“Fantastic Workshop, Brilliant speaker.  Very Effective”

“Dean was brilliant!”

“Excellent Presentation.  I wish everyone could participate in it.”

“Excellent real training”

“Fantastic delivery”

“Dean engaged and delivered the workshop amazingly well.  I hope this awareness is delivered to more people.  Those in greater political and celebrity power should be delivered this to make further changes.”

“Excellent training. Thank you.”

“Excellent presentation, Thank you for organising.”

“Fantastic presentation & made real with examples.  Lots of knowledge learned regarding street lingo & help to recognise the signs & how easy it is for young people to be caught up in this.”

“This would be fantastic to deliver to student social workers at Portsmouth University.”

“Course was excellent.  Well deserved time.  Dean Coady delivered a knowledgeable conference – knew the subject inside and out.”

“Brilliant”

“Dean Was absolutely brilliant.  Refreshing to have a facilitator that is down to earth with real life experience.  Really opened eyes to the issue and problems in Hampshire.”

“Very interesting and engaging, eye opening we will be passing on and working on training with our teams, thank you.”

“Brilliant”

“This was superb, blew away some myths and assumptions”

“The significance of the problem was well illustrated but solutions were less clear.  This was a hard hitting rather depressing / scary presentation.”

 “Excellent.  Thank you for sharing your experiences and knowledge.” “Loved the training and delivery style.”

“Fantastic training. Thank you.”

“Very engaging and informative.  Appropriate information.”

“Very good.”

“Amazing course learnt so much.”

“Great.”

“Fantastic Training!  Extremely engaging and real.  Dean is a fantastic trainer.  It has given me the knowledge of how to engage and work with young people.”

Webster’s Primary School, Moss Side, Manchester (2 days after the Manchester Attack)

Dean,
With regards to your training yesterday, where do I start? We are so grateful as a school that you continued to run the workshop after the tragic events in Manchester on Monday night. It was so important to us that our children were able to discuss their feelings around the subject and to understand the risks around radicalisation whilst in a safe environment and your project certainly allowed them to do this.

You instantly engaged our children by welcoming them to your session in many different languages, making the session personal and inviting to those who do not speak English as a first language. For me, this showed an instant respect for our children, which in turn gained their respect and investment into the session. The content of the workshop was direct, personalised for our school, whilst still age-appropriate and showed sensitivity to the topics that were being discussed. I felt that by sharing your wealth of experience, knowledge and achievement not only in Manchester but all over the world, you allowed the children to explore their own dreams and ambitions which again is invaluable for the children at Webster. The session was interactive and invited the children to discuss topics and ask questions which of course added to their learning experience and understanding. Your communication with myself before the workshops as well as your preparation and delivery on the day were extremely professional. We will certainly be inviting you back to Webster to work with other year groups and will continue to run this important project with you on an annual basis.

Thanks again Dean.

The children have written their own responses to you, please find a few below..

Note from Dean. I tell the children I am called Mr Dean and not Mr Dean, which they seem to thing is quite funny and I teach them the word Vigilance, pretending to get it mixed up with the word Vinegar. For some reason it works!

“Dear Mr Bean, oh no I mean Mr Dean! Thank you for all the things you have shown us and for showing us some meanings of the words I didn’t know. I will remember to be vinigar…I mean vigilant! From Raj”

“You have made a very serious topic very enjoyable. I have learnt about terrorism and how it affects others, who to speak to if something makes me feel uncomfortable, and how to be vinegar…I mean vigilant! Hope you come again very soon, from Sumaya”

“I learnt how to be vigilant and how to be a positive person. I liked how you spoke to us in different languages. The lesson was serious but you made it fun. From Khadija”

“I appreciated all the hard work you have done for our class and it will be good if you can keep in touch. I will keep my eyes and ears open and will be vinegar, oh no, vigilant! I will help the people that need help. If I need help I will go to someone that I trust. From Mohammed”

“Dear Mr Bean/Mr Dean, Thank you for your visit to Webster. It was a deep experience to learn about terrorism. Although it is a very emotional topic to learn about, you made it very fun. I learnt how to tell and adult that I trust if I feel uncomfortable, to be vigilant not vinegar and I learnt not to judge someone by how they look. Yours sincerely, Nusaiba”
Hope you enjoyed reading those as much as I did.

Please can you let me know of a date that you might be available to deliver the assembly we discussed to year 4 & 5 before summer holidays? I would also like to book you in for the same workshop as yesterday, for next academic year with all year 6 classes and year 5 also if that’s OK?

Thanks again,

Jess
Jessica Lane
Safeguarding & Welfare Officer
Webster Primary School
0161 226 3928

 

Feedback from Al Furqan Gang Awareness Talk- Sunday 23/10/2016
Dear Dean, We would like to thank you for your inspiring presentation for our youths and parents in Al Furqan Islamic Centre last Sunday(23/10/16). It was fantastic events.
We are grateful for your time and effort you took to share your thoughts and experiences with our community.Our youths and parents have benefited from the workshop and many parents have shared their positive remarks and happiness of the workshop.We are looking forward to work together in the future to make our community better. Kind regards

Abdilahi H. Sh. Muhumad
Alfurqan manager

Manchester PRU                                                                                                                                                                        Hi Tricia,                                                                                                                                                                                         I just wanted to thank you on behalf of all staff and students, for such a fantastic opportunity.All of our students at EdStart thoroughly enjoyed the sessions, and took away some really valuable knowledge and advice, that I’m sure they will put to good practice.The students feedback was excellent, and something they’re still taking about this afternoon.The structure and deliverance of the session, was both young person and PRU friendly.I feel everyone here benefitted from Dean coming over to EdStart Salford, and we would be delighted to work with him again.I am aware than Dean also delivers sessions around prevent etc, so if there are any further sessions or staff training available, please do keep us in mind. We would jump at the chance.Today was a real success!!!Kind regards (and a huge thank you to Dean for his passion with our students today),
Emma Harris
Centre Manager
EdStart Specialist Education
5 Gerald Rd
Salford
M6 6DW
01617364087

 

Words like ‘dry’ and ‘boring’ have been used by many teachers and Head Teachers who have used a variety of training packages when talking about the ‘PREVENT’ duty training.

I can honestly say that those words were very far removed from any that my staff or invited guests including Governors and others would use, whom attended training here at St Aidan’s led by Dean Cody OBE, on 4th April 2016.

From the first words Dean spoke,he had the audience held firmly in his grip. We were all entranced by the facts, figures, photographs, video clips and also the very ‘;real life’ situations that Dean spoke of from personal experience.

The hours flew by! People who had been anxious to ‘finish on time’ suddenly had ‘all the time in the world’, to ask questions and continue discussions of interest after the formal sessions were over.

One of our Governors who works at Manchester University, asked for his details to pass on to their Safeguarding Officer as she felt that this style of presentation would appeal to everyone at the University who would need to be trained up in this area of Safeguarding.

We would strongly recommend Dean’s training in the PREVENT Duty. It is pacy, informative, interesting, moving and most of all, flags up the very real need, for everyone involved with children and young people to be vigilant in the protection of their interests by staying alert and watchful in all areas of influence on their lives.

Kindest regards

Margaret McGee MSc

Head Teacher

St Aidan’s Catholic Primary School
The parents all really enjoyed the training. They learned a great deal and it made them think. They felt the delivery was superb and would like to do it again!. It was excellent 11/10!!!!!

Head Teacher, St Willabrord’s School, Manchester

Dean has an engaging, motivating and down to earth approach to safeguarding training. I know that myself and many other staff that were involved in the training felt immediately at ease with his humour, tact and honest approach to presentations. From the off, it was clear that Dean has a wealth of experience in the field of Prevent and the accompanying anecdotes contextualised the course fanatically which brought the subject to life. Overall, by the end of the session I think that all staff felt more comfortable and knowledgeable about Prevent. Furthermore, they had enjoyed the session and felt at ease throughout despite discussing some challenging topics along the way.

Finally, I would recommend Dean and his training programme to any school that wants to upskill staff about Prevent. It is one of the most engaging sessions that I have been involved in since becoming a teacher. Definitely – 10/10

Thank you

Mike Brown

Head of Year 7

Abraham Moss Community School
Dean delivered his presentation first to an individual pupil in KS4 and then the following day to a small group of KS3 pupils. The individual session was with a pupil who we identified as possibly being susceptible, in the right circumstances, to radical ideas. This session was excellent. The pupil was engaged throughout and his own understanding of current issues relating to the presentation enabled him to comprehend the subject matter. The pupil also related positively to Dean’s style of delivery. The pupil self –assessment reflected this engagement and he was very positive about the session.

SA PHSE CoOrdinator SEN School
Dean Coady has delivered several sessions at St Anne’s as part of our PREVENT training; Staff, Year 6 and Parent Workshops. The first session was a staff training workshop; this was very interactive and encouraged staff to discuss their perceptions and understanding of the PREVENT strategy and how it impacts our daily lives. Staff found the workshop challenged many of their preconceived ideas about radicalisiation and terrorism. The relaxed atmosphere and peer discussions gave them the opportunity and confidence to discuss ideas and concerns within a supportive environment. Feedback at the end of the session was very positive; staff felt more confident in what signs to be aware of and the procedures they should go through as and when concerns arose.

St Anne’s Junior School
I was really impressed by the PREVENT training for the following reasons. Dean clearly demonstrated his extensive knowledge around extremism, radicalisation and safeguarding. His approach and delivery of such a sensitive subject was excellent. He began by greeting us in more than 6 different languages which showed that he recognised the diversity of our school and his commitment to offering a fully inclusive workshop. I believe his training will help parents identify and support vulnerable children, especially those at risk.

Parent Governor at St Anne’s RC primary School.
An excellent session, very informative and in an interesting and relaxed down to earth manner- thank you Year 6 parent
I found this morning extremely helpful as it explained what some key words mean; extremism, radicalisation and terrorism.. This has made me more aware of what is going on; i feel safer now – Year 6 pupil.

I learned about radicalisation and how it can affect everyone. radicalisation can persuade people to become terrorists (even at a young age). His workshop was full of really good information and delivered in an interactive way – Year 6 pupil.
St Anne’s School

Moss Bank, Crumpsall. Manchester. M8 5AB

Point of Contact- Headteacher Karen Orrell
Manchester Young Lives Testimonial Dean Coady: Tuesday 12th May 2016

Dean came in to Manchester Young Lives Independent School to deliver his ‘Citizen Project – Working together to keep ourselves safe’ to 12 students in year 10 and 11.

The focus was on extremism, radicalisation and terrorism but highlighted the local issue of far right wing extremism.

Prior to the session, he made contact with the school to ask if this could be tied in to our curriculum offer so that students could understand the educational value as well as the social value.

Dean was extremely good at building a rapport with students and held their attention for in excess of 2 hours. He was personable and relatable but also authorative enough to stop any low level disruption before it escalated.

The workshop was designed so that it was easy to understand, teaching was differentiated to match the needs of students within the group and a number of assessment methods were used to check understanding and learning.

Dean used visual aids and discussions predominantly throughout but changed pace and got through a good amount of content during the session.

The staff and students who attended the session have all reported that they learnt a good amount about extremism, terrorism and radicalisation,

how to recognise if somebody is trying to groom them or somebody they know and where to go for help and support.

Kellie Simmons
Deputy Headteacher

Manchester Young Lives Independent School
The Addy Young People’s Centre
Woodhouse Lane
Wythenshawe
Manchester
M22 9TF
Gang Training 3/6/2016

Wa Alaykum assalaam dear Brother Dean,

We are most grateful for your visit. Both parents and young people found

your presentation well-structured and very informative.

We had people come from Cheetham Hill, Chorlton, Moss Side and Didsbury.

It is the first time that we do something like this and the feedback has been excellent, in fact they asked for more similar talks.

Parents that talked to me were impressed, they have been telling each other about it so far.

We look forward to being more active with you in the future and seeing you

amongst us more often so that you can hopefully give valuable talks and

advice to our young people and parents.

We are very proud that we have kind, helpful, understanding and very

supportive people like yourself in our community.

Your talk was presented fantastically and I can’t find any way in which to improve it. The parents agreed with me on this as well.

I talked briefly with the trustees (some of them were amongst us during the talk yesterday) and they too were impressed and want to keep in contact with you in the future so you can deliver important advice to our people.

I truly hope to see you again so that we can help to inspire and advise our

youth. Thank you so much for your hard work and great effort.

Kindest regards

Mustafa Graf

The Imam of Manchester Islamic Centre and Didsbury Mosque