Training & events programme

EARLY BIRD SALE
We are delighted to announce a date for our Fostering Conference on 2 March 2026 at the Coram Campus, 41 Brunswick Square, London, WC1N 1AZ.
This conference is set to become a key event in the calendar of social work practitioners working with foster families. It is a conference that brings together practice and ideas that are current, relevant to you, and which matter. Sign up now for 20% off your tickets.

FREE FOR MEMBERS
Our social work practice must be guided by the values and principles of anti-racist practice and cultural humility. This means embedding them into all aspects of our work with families, bringing self-awareness of our own biases, assumptions and privileges, and centering families’ lived experience. 

This course is an opportunity to understand key concepts and consider why anti-racist practice and cultural humility matter. You will be supported to explore how you can build relationships with families that honour diverse perspectives and recognise unique needs, and explore tools to enable you to better understand the identities of children and their families. You will then consider how this understanding can be applied to your practice to develop culturally appropriate assessments and interventions that reflect the lived realities of children and families and take account of their intersecting identities.

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.

FREE FOR MEMBERS
As artificial intelligence begins to enter children’s and families social work, an important question for practice is emerging: who does this technology support, and how does it affect day-to-day work with children and families? This online event brings together a panel of experts from across research and social work to explore these issues from a practice perspective. Designed for social workers across adoption, fostering and kinship care, and those with varied levels of confidence and experience, the session will focus on the ethical challenges and practical approaches to using AI in social work.

This half day training is aimed at professionals who are supporting children and their families and who would like to explore different ways to collaborate with schools in meeting the child’s emotional needs. We know that for many children who are in kinship or foster care, or who are adopted, education can be a challenging experience.

Child health assessments are a key component in permanence planning for looked after children. Medical Advisers need to be aware of the relevant legislation, statutory guidance and competencies framework. They are required to interpret information and present this in an informative and considered format for social care colleagues, panels and potential carers. This course will consider the Medical Adviser's role in adoption relating to children.

ENTER THE MEMBERS' WEEK DRAW
As part of Members' Week 2026, CoramBAAF is offering 22 free places on this course. These places will be allocated based on a randomised draw. To enter the draw and win a free place sign up here.
This course is an opportunity to delve deeper into how to write analytical and evidence-based assessments of any kind.

Sibling assessments are complex and emotive for many. This course will offer a comprehensive approach to undertaking these important assessments. It will explore how assessing social workers can plan the assessment, identify the key contributors and ensure you can engage these contributors in the process. Most importantly it will explore how to gain the views of the children, observe sibling interactions, draw conclusions on the quality of sibling relationships as well as focusing on the individual needs of each child and of the sibling group.

Analysing adult health assessments is a key element of assessing adopters and foster carers. This includes providing reports and evidence-based comments so that panels can reach appropriate decisions. This course is designed to support medical advisers in their role. It is particularly suitable for new or inexperienced medical advisers.

The safety of children in care is paramount. Therefore it is essential we investigate and respond to allegations, complaints and concerns about foster carers in a timely way and ensure children’s voices are heard and their needs met. This course will provide an opportunity to consider how we can manage allegations and concerns, with the rigour and challenge needed, whilst also considering the need for foster carers to receive sensitive support, that enables them to manage risks and keep everyone in the fostering household safe.