Training & events programme

This open course will offer a comprehensive approach to undertaking sibling assessments. It will explore who the key contributors to sibling assessments are and how assessors can plan assessments and engage these contributors in the process. Most importantly it will explore how to gain the views of the children, observe sibling interactions and draw conclusions on the quality of sibling relationships as well as focusing on the individual needs of each child and of the sibling group.

This event will introduce participants to findings from two research projects focused on better understanding both professional responses to, and young people’s experiences of, extra-familial risk and harm.

This course is an opportunity to consider what we know about staying in touch from research, including what works well, the voices of those with lived experience, and aspects that may present challenges or need more support.

This session will look at the relationship-based practice model in family justice pioneered by social workers and lawyers in Sussex. We will explore its impact on local practice and its role in fostering a culture of respect and inclusion within the family justice system.

The open course will help to increase the understanding of the supervisory requirements of supervising social workers, in line with fostering legislation. It will look at roles and responsibilities in relation to safeguarding children and young people and how foster carers can be supported and developed in their role.

FREE FOR MEMBERS
Children and Families Across Borders (CFAB), a leading charity specialising in cross-border social work cases and the UK representative of the International Social Service network. In this sessions we will be exploring some of their inter-country Child Protection Work and the interactions between UK local authorities and foreign authorities.

This open course aims to give new and recently appointed fostering and adoption panel members an opportunity to develop their role as effective panel members and to consider the tasks and responsibilities involved. This will be within the context of the current legislative framework and emerging messages from research. Fostering and adoption/permanency panel work is challenging to all concerned in the process. This course is intended to share issues, dilemmas and best practice.

This two-day open course will provide practitioners and particularly those who may be new to undertaking, quality assuring or considering fostering assessments with an opportunity to develop knowledge, skills and practice in completing fostering assessments. This workshop may also provide a refresher for those wanting to reflect and build on knowledge skills and best practice in the completion of fostering assessments.

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.

Foster carers are increasingly being asked to care for a parent and their child during care proceedings, and to contribute towards the assessment of parenting capacity. This type of arrangement is complex, involving different tasks and responsibilities.