Training & events programme

Annual Reviews are an essential part of our statutory support and supervision of foster carers. In this open course, we explore how to complete an annual review well. We explore how to ensure the review meets the needs of the Fostering Service to be legally compliant, but also of carers to feel valued and supported, whilst keeping children at the centre of the process.  

This open course aims to challenge your understanding of the meaning of diversity and intersectionality. This training will be a highly interactive exploration of equality, diversity and inclusion.

Decision makers in fostering and adoption agencies have a vital but often under-explored role. Many decision makers describe finding themselves in the role with little or no preparation, and with few arenas locally to share dilemmas or discuss best practice. What is the best process for reaching a sound decision? How can you avoid it simply becoming a ‘rubber-stamping’ exercise? What is your role in relation to the quality assurance of the panel’s activities? How should a decision maker appraise a panel chair? What does a reasonable decision look like? How should it be conveyed?

The role of the panel administrator is a multidimensional one. Effective adoption and fostering panels are crucial to the delivery of a good adoption and fostering service, and the provision of services for looked after children. The efficient administration of panels, including the provision of clear and accurate minutes, is a skilled and complex task that is essential to the smooth and effective operation of panels. This open course will enable adoption and fostering panel administrators to examine related legislation and share best practice though group discussion and practice application.

This open course will look at the relevant statutory frameworks and recent case law, the challenges of working with relinquished babies and their parents, some of the complexities of the background histories of relinquished babies, the importance of counselling for relinquishing parents, care planning and the support needs of relinquished children and their adopters.

In the year ending March 23, according to the Department of Education data, there were 7290 unaccompanied-asylum seeking children and young people in care. We know there are more who are illegally placed in hotels or incorrectly age-assessed as adults. Many of these children and young people are vulnerable and experiencing discrimination. In this open course, we will explore their legal rights, think about their needs, how these can best be met and with what support.

This course is aimed at social care professionals who are engaged in the assessment of prospective adoptive parents, foster carers and kinship carers and who wish to increase their awareness and confidence in considering gender issues in assessment, analysis and decision making. 

Panel advisors have a complex role in managing the relationship between the agency and the panel, quality assuring and feeding back to all involved in panel work. This open course will enable panel advisors to examine this role in detail and build on effective practice as they carry out their role and responsibilities including: quality assurance; inducting new panel members; contributing to the appraisals of panel members; feeding back issues to the agency and working with the agency decision maker. Case scenarios, group work and practice application will provide opportunities for panel advisors to address shared dilemmas and good practice.