… the lifelong process by which every individual acquires and accumulates knowledge, skills, attitudes and insights from daily experiences and exposure to the environment – at home, at work, at play: from the example and attitude of families and friends; from travel, reading newspapers and books; or by listening to the radio or viewing films or television. Generally informal education is unorganised, unsystematic and even unintentional at times, yet accounts for the great bulk of any person’s total lifetime learning – including that of a highly ‘schooled’ person. Coombs and Ahmed, 1974, p. 8
paying careful attention to the intent and content of an individual’s communications through use of a range of techniques (such as mirroring, paraphrasing, emotion labelling and use of open-ended questions) to demonstrate an understanding of their needs. College of Policing Mental Vulnerability and Illness, 2013
Assumptions: When you make [such] an assumption, you’re creating a conclusion based on partial information. No matter how tempting, refrain from speaking until the other person has finished. Then pause to show that you’ve absorbed what’s been said before offering your opinion. Defensiveness: If you seek to protect yourself from criticism you place barriers between yourself and the messages other people are sending. Instead of viewing comments and criticisms as personal attacks, use the messages as an instrument for self-assessment, improvement and personal development. Ego: If you think that you’ve nothing to learn from what someone else is saying, or that you’re better than the other person, you close yourself off and stop listening. Although you may not agree with what’s being said, keeping your mind open may allow you to discover something you didn’t know before. Environmental distractions: These distractions can be your own internal messages, including pre-judging the other person’s point of view, or issues that are concerning you that have nothing to do with the person speaking. They can also include electronic gadgets and the room temperature. Put away your toys, let go of unproductive thoughts and make yourself comfortable in order to listen properly to what the other person is saying. Intolerance: If you close your mind to the beliefs and opinions of others, you stand little chance of hearing what they’re saying and the messages beneath the spoken word. If you really want to understand other people and build a strong relationship with them, put yourself in their shoes and see how the world seems from their perspective. Kuhnke, 2012, pp 60-61
The ability to enter into and understand the world of another person and to communicate this understanding to him or her. Egan, 1986, p. 95
You never really understand another person until you consider things from his point of view - until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it. Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird
who is or may be in need of community care services by reason of mental or other disability, age or illness and who is or may be unable to take care of him or herself, or unable to protect him or herself against significant harm or exploitation. Lord Chancellor’s Department, Who Decides?, 1997
A vulnerable child… is one who is not within the social care system, but where there are warning signals that the child is becoming at risk of harm. The child and his or her family is likely to be receiving help from one or more agencies, and while no single agency has identified a significant risk to the child, when information from all agencies is pooled, the picture that emerges indicates that there are many factors having a negative impact on the child. While inter-agency data sharing to resolve child protection concerns is established, data sharing to identify these children who are earlier on in the process tends not to happen routinely in a similar way. ChiMat Identifying Vulnerable Children, 2013
The VAF is a simple tool to prompt identifying vulnerability in all circumstances where the police have contact with victims, suspects and witnesses. It enables officers to build a more detailed record of the circumstances and information that led them to identify someone as vulnerable and in need of assistance, arrest or referral. College of Policing Mental Vulnerability and Illness, 2013
Appearance and atmosphere: what you see first, including physical problems such as bleeding. Behaviour: what individuals are doing, and if this is appropriate behaviour given the situation. Communication: what individuals say and how they say it. Danger: whether individuals are in danger and whether their actions put other people in danger. Environment:where they are situated, whether anyone else is there and what impact the wider circumstances may have on the individual’s health and safety.
Brixton Splash is an annual free street music festival in Brixton, London, which started in 2005. It is organised by a community organisation and uses volunteer stewards on the day. It currently has funding from the Arts Council and has had funding from Lambeth Council in the past. Its aims are: To promote and celebrate African-Caribbean heritage and culture, and its influence in the local area and beyond. To promote equality and diversity for public benefit through an inclusive festival that will foster understanding and harmony between people of diverse backgrounds. To advance education in music, arts, heritage and culture through a festival and outreach programme that will bring people of diverse backgrounds together for the appreciation and celebration of African-Caribbean culture and Brixton. We celebrate our community’s diversity, its progress through the years and the fusion of numerous ethnic groups that now call Brixton home, by creating a cultural explosion proudly specific to our location and history. We successfully balance welcoming those who are just discovering Brixton with those who have always believed in Brixton’s unique identity, throughout the years. We remain loyal to and proud of our Afro-Caribbean heritage which has defined our community since the Windrush generation of the late 1940s and 1950s. The Festival is a celebration of community cohesion, vibrant inner city living and Brixton’s contribution to the wider world. Brixton is currently the go-to area in London to enjoy everything culinary and creative with big name businesses moving to the high street and entrepreneurs developing the markets. Lambeth is one of the most diverse boroughs in the country, with over 130 languages spoken. Brixton sits in the heart of the borough and is a bustling hive of activity. There is a strong history of music and the creative arts and numerous cultural groups are based in the area. Our Festival is free for everyone, operates between midday and 7 pm on the first Sunday in August every year and has become a premier event in the London Events Calendar. Each year we improve and enhance the content of our event to build on its success and broaden its appeal. Brixton Splash, 2015
The meaning of communication is the response you get. (O’Connor and Seymour, 1995, p. 18)
flat, unmodulated pitch can reflect a depressed mood, while high or fluctuating pitch can signal … anger, fear or excitement. (Thompson, 1996, pp. 83–84)
An important aspect of developing your communication skills then is conveying what you say in a manner appropriate to the circumstances. This may mean quickening or slowing your speech, projecting or calming your voice, and using gesture and body language appropriately. This will help you gain the confidence of the listener in what you say.
Increasingly, voluntary, community and public sector organisations are caught up in this frenzy about ‘partnership’, ‘multi-agency’, ‘inter-professional’ and ‘inter-agency’ working. Such terms are used almost daily without paying much attention to what they mean in reality … (Chauhan, 2007, p. 233)
I keep six honest serving-men (They taught me all I knew); Their names are What and Why and When And How and Where and Who. Rudyard Kipling, ‘The Elephant’s Child’
Man is not a rational animal; he is a rationalising animal. Robert A Heinlein
Verb | Mean Estimate of Speed (mph) |
Smashed | 40.8 |
Collided | 39.3 |
Bumped | 38.1 |
Hit | 34.0 |
Contacted | 31.8 |