Vol 4| Issue 2 (2016) | pp. 48-55 © 2016 Journal of Perspectives in Applied Academic Practice 48 Collaborative Outcomes Learning Tool (COLT) – A Multi-agency Educational Resource to Support Complex Public Protection Understanding and Practice Inga Heyman, Gavin Innes and Kate Goodhand, Robert Gordon University, UK ABSTRACT Multi-agency public protection practice has received significant media and government scrutiny in recent years, in response to failings to protect those most vulnerable people in society. Despite an appreciation by agencies that there are resource and outcome benefits to collaborative practice, how safeguarding public protection policy may be integrated into practice and education is often challenging. Public protection legislation directs core agencies to co-operate and work together with governmental direction setting out key shared safeguarding responsibilities and arrangements for individuals, professional groups and teams. Despite this there still remain difficulties between organisations to understand each other’s priorities and responsibilities. This can then transpose to an individual level where entrenched professional divisions can compromise joint working. Many health and social care curricula invest in inter-professional education to encourage exploration of information sharing, reporting and case management. However, when public protection issues are considered, uni-professional and inter-professional education tends to focus on single silos of harm, for example child and adult protection, radicalisation or domestic abuse. This paper discusses the development, application and future possibilities for innovation of a unique educational tool to address this gap in public protection multi-agency education. The tool aims to support understanding of key public protection issues in Scotland by encouraging learners within undergraduate and practice environments to recognise risk, explore overlapping and ‘grey areas’ of harm and understand partner agency best practice and response whilst encouraging cross-sector working, appreciation and support. Through gaining insight into other agencies safeguarding roles the learner has the opportunity to gain a deeper insight and broader perspective of the complexities of interventions beyond their own discipline whilst recognising opportunities for joint resource management. Keywords: public protection, multi-agency, immersive, flexible learning, collaborative Introduction In response to failings to protect those most vulnerable in society, multi-agency public protection practice has received significant media and government scrutiny (Braye, Orr, & Preston-Shoot, 2011). Public protection legislation directs core agencies such as police, education, health, social care and fire and rescue services, to co- operate and work together. Governmental direction sets out key shared safeguarding responsibilities and arrangements for individuals, professional groups and teams (Scottish Government, 2010; HM Government, 2015). However, difficulties remain between organisations to understand each other’s priorities and responsibilities (Dickinson & Glasby, 2010). Despite an appreciation of resource and outcome benefits to collaborative practice, integration of safeguarding public protection policy into practice and education is often challenging (Datta & Hart, 2008). Difficulties at an organisational level can transpose at an individual level where entrenched professional beliefs and divisions can compromise partnership working and joint safeguarding. Nonetheless, through a focus on protection policy development and, to some extent, practice research (Campbell, 2014; Dickinson 2008) it is clear public protection has indeed been greatly improved over the past 10 years in police, health and social care practice to support a higher level of recognition, knowledge and skills. Focused training relating to ‘individual at risk’ groups receives mandatory status within some higher education sectors and for those in operational practice (Nursing and Midwifery Council, 2013). Many health and social care curricula invest in inter-professional education to encourage exploration of information sharing, reporting and case management. Yet, multi-agency public protection education has received little attention in higher education and practice settings. Additionally, uni-professional and inter-professional education tends to focus on single silos of harm, for example child protection or domestic abuse (Sinclair, Camps, & Bibi, 2012; Tufts, Clements, & Karlowicz, 2009) and this is often explored within in-patient settings, seldom incorporating the breadth of professions found in everyday community based public protection