Training & events programme

This course will explore the support needs of special guardianship families, how to carry out assessment of support needs which are sensitive to the needs of kinship care families, and the how these needs may be most effectively met. This course will explore; best practice, regulation and practice guidance, assessments, eligibility criteria and access to therapeutic support services, the impact of early trauma, identity issues, and the benefits and challenges of contact.

OPEN TO ALL
Kinship Care Week is an opportunity for professionals working with children and young people to come together to celebrate the significant role of kinship carers in children’s lives. Despite being a focus area for the UK government’s reform of children’s social care, and growing awareness around the term, many people still do not understand what kinship care actually is. In this introductory session, we will be exploring the unique circumstances facing kinship families, the vital role that kinship carers play in the lives of children and young people, as well as how professionals can better understand and support them.

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.

EARLY BIRD SALE ENDS SOON
The kinship care conference is a key event in the calendar of social work practitioners working with kinship families. With a focus on developing better support for kinship families, our programme focuses on bringing together researchers, sector organisations, carers, young people, and practitioners to network, discuss and explore how local authorities can continue to build support for kinship families in their area. Early Bird Sale now on.

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. 

Been a medical advisor in the UK a while ? Already attended our child and adult health assessment workshops previously?
Feeling like you’re not sure what’s going on outside your patch? Wanting to learn from others in your role?
Then the Medical Advisor Update day is for you!

The PACE parenting approach was developed by Dr Dan Hughes for parents and carers of children who are adopted or live in foster or kinship care families. PACE stands for Play fullness, Acceptance. Curiosity, and Empathy and is an attitude has proved to be helpful for many professionals working in adoption, fostering or kinship care services.

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
This webinar presents findings from Michelle's doctoral research at the University of Leeds, a qualitative study exploring parental contact in special guardianship families. Using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), the PhD examined the lived experiences of special guardians and parents, and this presentation focuses on the second study and the accounts of two mothers - Nicola, whose son is being raised by her own mother, and  Rachael, whose son is being raised by his paternal grandmother.