Physical Intervention Skills Awards 2008 bestowed by Institute of Conflict Management

23 May 08

Leicester West MP Patricia Hewitt has taken time out of her busy schedule to present successful candidates Ian Fox and Allen Foster with the coveted Physical Intervention Skills Tutor Award. The presentation was made at Westminster on behalf of the Institute of Conflict Management.

The Physical Skills Tutor Award is the end result of ten years’ developmental work carried out by the Institute. A genuinely groundbreaking initiative, this award is the first national standard of its kind, and goes a long way towards ensuring that the right techniques are used in the safest possible manner to ameliorate conflict situations.

The award provides assurances that training in this sensitive area will be delivered by a qualified tutor who has demonstrated their knowledge and expertise. The Institute’s National Database of such qualified tutors will allow training commissioners and individuals alike to source this kind of training with absolute confidence.

Phil Hardy (chairman of the Institute of Conflict Management) told info4security: “This award is all about tutor competency. It requires a given instructor to sit before a panel of experienced assessors. The tutor must also return for two Masterclass Workshops each year as part of their Continuous Professional Development.”

Hardy concluded: “Physical intervention skills have the potential to injure, and they should only ever be considered as a last resort. The fact that this award relies on far more than merely making tutors pass examinations to demonstrate their competency is its core strength.”

Skills recognised at national level

Al Foster works for Premier Security Services in Leicester, while Ian Fox (of M3T, also based in Leicester) serves as the Institute’s communications director.

“It’s great to have your skills recognised at a national level,” explained Fox. “Indeed it is,” added Foster. “Having spent the past 26 years as a physical intervention skills tutor, it’s good to know that we’re making our mark and being recognised for what we do.”

Foster explained to info4security why conflict intervention courses are so important. “They’re for organisations fully aware that their people are, or may be at risk. Those individuals might be lone workers, security officers or home visitors such as representatives of the social services. Whatever their role, courses can be designed to suit the individuals concerned and their employers.”

Foster is adamant that the creation of a customised course saves time and money for the client. “Risk assessments and training needs analyses are a vital component here,” suggested Foster. “Once these have been conducted, it’s far easier to determine the core skills in which competencies are required.”

Ian Fox chipped in: “The Institute actively engages with all working sectors and sector Stakeholders to develop Best Practice techniques across the Prevention and Management of Work-Related Violence skills set. Thus, the Institute’s National Database of Approved Tutors and Quality Award Centres is an essential starting point for anyone interested in being trained in this discipline.”

For further information telephone the Institute of Conflict Management on 0116-269 1049 or send an e-mail to: icm@associationhq.org.uk

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