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Independent domestic violence advisor

Idva Specialist Course

APPLICATIONS FOR SPRING 2024 NOW CLOSED

          Click here to register your interest for future courses      

 

This course is for those who have completed either our Ypva or Outreach Foundation Course and looking to add the Idva qualification or work towards your Dipolma. You DO NOT need to take this course if you have completed a 12 day Idva Foundation.                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

Course Overview  

Learn about the essential topics for practitioners supporting people at high risk of serious harm or murder as a result of domestic abuse. You will look at the role of an Idva in the multi-agency response to domestic abuse, and hear from our guest speakers on: 

  • Police Response 
  • CPS 
  • High Risk Perpetrators
  • SARC
  • Stalking 

Assessment: 1 Worksheet 

Time Commitment: 55 hours* 

*The course comprises 4 days online training, delivered in 2 blocks; e-learning module which must be completed prior to attending block 1 of the training; and the completion of an assessed worksheet that is submitted online. 

Awards available: 6 credits

We are delighted to announce that, following an open competition, we have been awarded funding from the Ministry of Justice, under the Independent Sexual Violence Advisors (ISVA) and Independent Domestic Violence Advisors (IDVA) Training and Infrastructure Fund. 

With this provision, we are now able to offer the Spring 2024 courses at a reduced cost - please see new costing below.

Course Details

Price: £718.25*

*Subsidies:  We are committed to supporting smaller and specialist services to access our courses. To help facilitate this, we offer a fixed number of subsidies (on two tiers) for services with an annual income of less than £1 million (£60 per learner) and less than £500,000 (£35 per learner). We use information on the application form to determine who to award the subsidised spaces to.

Eligibility: Our four-day Idva Specialist course is OCN accredited. For those who have already completed a SafeLives Foundation course in a different subject area it will allow them to build towards a Diploma. For those who have completed Women's Aid Certificate in Tackling and Preventing Domestic Abuse or want to develop their practice experience, the course will contribute towards your CPD.  For those who haven’t had previous foundation training with SafeLives, the course is accessible as a stand-alone CPD course, but please bear in mind completing this course does not allow to call yourself a qualified Idva. To qualify as an Idva you will need to complete a foundation course.

Accessibility: In an effort to increase the accessibility of our Idva course, applications will no longer be selected on a “first come first served” basis. The application will be open for one week and following that, the Lead Trainer will review each individual application to check eligibility. If the course is oversubscribed, we will randomly select successful learners. We encourage you to be very detailed on your application as this information will form the basis of the decision. We welcome learners of all backgrounds and abilities. We encourage you to share with us any details on accessibility and diversity needs so we can ensure the right support is in place. You can also contact us if you have any queries idva@safelives.org.uk

 

Idva Foundation Course

APPLICATIONS FOR SPRING 2024 NOW CLOSED

Register your interest for future courses  

 

For our ‘Spring 2024’ courses, dates of which are listed below, we will be staggering applications and will only be taking applications for specific courses at specific times. As such, please only apply for courses, dates and locations that are suitable for you. 

 

Due to the large number of applications that we receive, we hope that this revised process will help to ensure we can offer a place that will suit you best. 

  

Course Overview:  

Our Idva training courses are for Idvas, domestic abuse practitioners and service managers who currently carry an active caseload or are about to start doing so. The course will enhance your practical knowledge, helping you provide the best possible support for domestic abuse victims, survivors and their children. 

The training is supported by relevant specialists from many different fields, including the criminal justice system, family law, child protection, sexual assault referral centres (Sarcs) and housing services. The training also includes modules on Multi-agency risk assessment conferences (Marac), Anti-racist practice, and working with minoritised groups experiencing domestic abuse or harmful practices. The content is designed to give learners the depth and breadth needed to support domestic abuse victims, survivors and their children in a multi-agency context from a whole family perspective. 

98% of learners told us they felt more confident in their role after receiving our Idva training

The course will support you to: 

  • help victims and their children feel safer through the provision of a quality Idva response 
  • develop your confidence and skills through group work, coaching and one-to-one feedback sessions 
  • share experience and best practice with other Idva learners while engaging in reflective practice 
  • improve practice within your service 
  • advocate for domestic abuse victims, survivors, and their children in multi-agency settings 

Eligibility:   

  1. Anyone with a current active caseload of adults in the community. This is to ensure that you have a varied range of case examples for your worksheets.  
  2. A line manager or equivalent role within an appropriate organisation, who can vouch for you for the entire time you are on the course and completing the worksheets. 

To promote diversity and widen our learners’ network, we will limit the number of successful applicants from the same organisation admitted to one course to two spaces. Please consider this before you apply to avoid any disappointment.   

Awards available: OCNLR Level 3 certificate in Domestic Abuse: Prevention and Intervention 

Format: 12-day training delivered in 4 blocks of 3 days 

Delivery Mode:  

  • Online training – this will take place via Zoom  
  • In-room training – locations are to be confirmed depending on learner preference for delivery and government guidance regarding Covid-19 
  • Hybrid training – this will be a combination of online sessions on Zoom and in-room training as above 

Assessment: 4 Written assignments 

Time commitment:  The course comprises 12 days (in-room, online, or hybrid) training, delivered in four blocks; e-learning modules which must be completed prior to attending each block of training; and the completion of four assessed worksheets that are submitted online. The list below provides guidance on recommended study time you should allow: 

  • Guided learning (training blocks, pre-course reading and e-learning modules) - 120 hours 
  • Worksheets - 50 hours  
  • Notional study** - 130 hours 
  • Total course time requirement - 300 hours 

We are delighted to announce that, following an open competition, we have been awarded funding from the Ministry of Justice, under the Independent Sexual Violence Advisors (ISVA) and Independent Domestic Violence Advisors (IDVA) Training and Infrastructure Fund. 

With this provision, we are now able to offer the Spring 2024 courses at a reduced cost - please see new costing below.

Course Details

Price: £2082.50*

*Subsidies:  We are committed to supporting smaller and specialist services to access our courses. To help facilitate this, we offer a fixed number of subsidies (on two tiers) for services with an annual income of less than £1 million and less than £500,000. We use information on the application form to determine who to award the subsidised spaces to.

  • Subsidised (£200) - Learners from registered charities with an annual income of less than £1million.  
  • Super Subsidised (£100) - Learners from registered charities with an annual income of less than £500,000.  

 

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

Idva In House Courses

AVAILABILITY FOR AUTUMN 2024

Our in-house Idva Foundation Training is 12 days. Learners would attend 4 blocks of 3 days each, with a month between each block so they can embed their learning with current clients. We may well have capacity to deliver this for you in Autumn 2024 and this can be online, via the Zoom platform, or face to face in room.

Our trainers, guest speakers, training content and accreditation process remain equivalent to the in-room programme. Accreditation is via OCN (Open College Network) and is achieved by completion of 4 worksheets. When these worksheets are assessed and passed, the learner receives their certification as an accredited Idva. 

We offer this training to groups, minimum of 16 learners and a maximum of 24 learners. We may be able to accommodate additional learners, but beyond the 24 we would also need to add on individual learner costs (OCN and assessing fees). 

For Further information on In House courses, please contact the Idva Team on 0117 403 3224 or email idva@safelives.org.uk 

#SafeLives is an equal opportunity training provider that is committed to diversity and inclusion. If you need any adaptations or support to complete an application form please email idva@safelives.org.uk or call 0117 403 3224

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Contact us 

For queries about eligibility, pricing or any other questions, call our training team on 0117 403 3224 or email idva@safelives.org.uk