Welcome to the Resolutions Consultancy website: Home of the Signs of Safety

This website is the home of the Signs of Safety approach to child protection case work.

Child protection practice around the world tends to be overwhelmed by anxiety and failure and agencies often fall into the trap of believing procedures and protocols will save the day. The Signs of Safety approach is grounded in actual, on-the-ground human practice that makes a constructive difference for professionals and families, and creates meaningful safety for children in high-risk cases. This approach recreates a purposive, positive focus for child protection work that is both energising and affirming for practitioners and agencies who take on this difficult work.

The Signs of Safety was first created in West Australia by Andrew Turnell and Steve Edwards working together with over 150 frontline practitioners during the 1990’s. Although the Signs of Safety approach can be used by individual practitioners and teams, the most effective use of the approach occurs through system-wide implementation. Such implementations are in place in at least 32 jurisdictions in 11 different countries. The Signs of Safety continues to evolve as the approach is used and further developed by increasing numbers of child protection professionals and organisations in countries across Australasia, North America, and Europe.

Resolutions Consultancy, headed up by Andrew Turnell and based in Western Australia, provides training and consultancy in safety-organised child protection practice across the globe. We are constantly developing new practice-based materials and resources (including constantly updating this website) to help agencies and professionals build their practice. We also organise International Signs of Safety Gatherings at least every 18 months, to enable professionals using the approach to learn from each other. If you subscribe to our periodic newsletter (right hand column toward the bottom of this page) we will keep you updated on all the latest developments. We hope this website helps you in your journey with child protection work.