Events archive

FREE FOR MEMBERS
Special guardians are usually family members or family friends who look after a child when the birth parent is deemed not able to, often due to the child being at risk of abuse or neglect despite interventions and support from social services. Michelle Hall's PhD explores the experience of contact from both the perspective of the special guardian and the birth parent. The study explores special guardians' experience and identifies three core areas of importance when managing contact with birth parents. This session will discuss each of those areas in depth, including how the findings may impact practice and the way we support special guardians with contact.

Foster carers are susceptible to allegations and/or complaints which will impact on the whole fostering household and their future as care givers. How should we as a profession respond to these situations in a sensitive, timely manner, whilst giving due regard to the safeguarding of children as well as the needs of carers and their household? This open course will address the process for distinguishing standards of care concerns from allegations or complaints, with opportunities to share good practice in recruiting, reviewing and supporting foster carers.

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.

This half-day training is aimed at local authority professionals who are involved in the placement of children currently living with kinship carers in the UK; being placed overseas with kinship carers. It will provide an overview of the available research and Outbound data for children being placed abroad. There will then be ample time to discuss issues regarding viability and support plans for overseas cases during case studies and group discussion.

FREE FOR MEMBERS
As LGBTQ+ people are an ever-increasing proportion of adopters, it's crucial that adoption agencies and professionals adapt to the diverse needs and identities of prospective adoptive parents. New Family Social is the UK’s peer support charity for LGBTQ+ adopters, foster carers, and special guardians. Our presentation will shed light on the unique challenges and opportunities that trans, non-binary and gender diverse people experience within the adoption process. This presentation will equip adoption professionals with the knowledge and tools necessary to create an inclusive and supportive environment.

FOR FOSTERING PANEL CHAIRS AND ADVISORS
We are delighted to invite all current Fostering Panel Chairs and Fostering Panel Advisors to a jointly hosted event by CoramBAAF and The Fostering Network. Our focus for this session is increasing and maintaining panel diversity. Our speaker for this event is Dr. Arlene Weekes.

The Secure Base Model devised by Gillian Schofield and Mary Beek (UEA) focuses on the interactions that occur between caregivers and children, through the provision of a positive framework for therapeutic caregiving, which helps infants, children and young people to move towards greater security and builds resilience.

WATCH AGAIN
CoramBAAF has listened to and liaised with members and is delighted to announce this national Private Fostering Awareness Day. Join us for a free and open access Breakfast Briefing – An Introduction to Private Fostering from 9am - 9.45am. Our Lunch and Learn webinar starts at 12.30pm and runs for 90 minutes allowing members to hear about promising practice from different local authorities with the focus on raising awareness. Please register your interest here.

This two-day open course will provide practitioners and particularly those who may be new to undertaking adoption assessments with an opportunity to develop knowledge, skills and practice in completing adoption assessments. Practitioners will be enabled to consider thorough, rigorous, consistent and fair approaches across the service in the assessment of prospective adopters. This course may also provide a refresher for those wanting to reflect and build on knowledge skills and best practice in the completion of adoption assessments.

This half-day training is aimed at local authority professionals – both social workers and lawyers - who are involved in the placement of children currently living in the UK with kinship carers overseas on a Special Guardianship Order. It will provide an overview of the legal and practice issues regarding Special Guardianship for children being placed abroad. There will then be ample time to discuss issues regarding Special Guardianship overseas cases during case studies and group discussion.