Training & events programme

Coram‑i are pleased to host a one‑day, invitation‑led forum focused on placement sufficiency within a reformed, regionalised children’s services system. Building on learning from Coram‑i’s Right Place, Right Support roundtable, this forum will bring together senior system leaders to reflect on how national reform agendas, including regionalisation, can translate into practical, sustainable action at this time of rapid regional change.

This half day course is an opportunity for panel chairs and members to consolidate knowledge of fostering assessment practice in the context of the recently published updated version of Form F. It will provide a focus on what constitutes a good assessment, including strengths-based assessments that evidence and analyse a prospective carer’s experiences, capacity, skills, and motivation. There will be the opportunity to discuss and learn about the new section on children’s needs and carer’s capacity to meet them.

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 course is an opportunity to consolidate knowledge of kinship assessment practice. It will provide a focus on what constitutes a good assessment, including how to triangulate information, write robust analysis and plan effective support. There will be the opportunity to discuss examples of assessments and support plan alongside case studies. This one day course will reference CoramBAAF’s Kinship Care Assessment (Form K)

This course provides supervising social workers the opportunity to develop their practice and confidence in these areas. It will include a review their role and responsibilities in relation to foster carers and promote the development of best practice.

This briefing is for Coram BAAF members working in fostering, and kinship care, and will also be of interest to  legal professionals, health professionals, researchers  and those impacted by the changes. It will clarify some of the new duties, implementation timescales, and actions your service may need to take or consider.

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.

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?

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.

Accurate and succinct minutes are an essential part of many meeting processes. They provide a formal record of the discussions and recommendations, and are used for a variety of purposes following the meeting including to inform decision-making, to contribute to child and carer files, and to provide an account of decision-made when children or adults access their files in the future. This course will help you learn the statutory and good practice requirements around minute-taking across various meeting contexts, including fostering and adoption panels, disruption meetings, carer reviews and professionals meetings. You will have the opportunity to practice skills to ensure your minutes are accurate, informative and of high quality.