We were delighted to be invited to deliver a live webinar for the Northern Ireland Social Care Council, the regulator of social care and social work professionals in NI.
The Links Group has been working more closely with allied professions involved in the health, care and safeguarding of people in Northern Ireland over the last few years; coupled with our ongoing work with the veterinary professions here.
This lunchtime session was a great way to speak to a diverse range of professionals on the frontline of health and care of children and adults about ‘The Link’. Between abuse of animals and abuse of people.
The Links Group trustee and Associate Professor in Social Work, Rebecca Stephens, was joined by Strategic Delivery Lead and NI-based vet, Andrea Lynch, and outlined how exercising professional curiosity can help us all in Protecting Animals, Protecting People.
It’s difficult to cover this topic in 90 minutes, but we touched on a number of key areas of ‘The Link’, including the NI context, and even had time for a bit of a Q&A at the end! Anyone interested in learning more can of course visit our virtual learning hub for free courses and resources including interactive pdfs and videos.
For those in NI who prefer in-person learning, we would be delighted if you could join us at our upcoming multi-agency training day in The Dunadry Hotel on Tuesday 17 February 2026. Speakers include Fermanagh Women’s Aid, the NSPCC, the PSNI, the specialist animal fostering services, The Executive Office and The Links Group; with delegates and guests joining from the veterinary professions, animal welfare, domestic abuse charities, children and youth services, DAERA, health and social care, policing and more, it promises to be an interesting day with some great hospitality! For more information, visit our training page or contact info@thelinksgroup.org.uk, and booking is available here.
We are very grateful to the team at NISCC for seeing the relevance and importance of this topic, and for sharing this information through their extensive CPD offering to their members.
