Training & events programme

Let's acknowledge and celebrate difference. Understand neurodiversity as a natural variation to ‘the norm’ rather than as something that is disordered, dysfunctional or deficient. This session is an introduction to aspects of neurodiversity including autism, dyslexia and ADHD. It will give an overview to increase participants' knowledge and develop confidence in the subject.

The responsibilities of a Chair can be considerable. Whereas some duties may be clearly outlined in related practice guidance along with the qualities that ensure effective chairing, not all Chair responsibilities are so helpfully detailed or provided. This workshop will explore general planning for and facilitation of panels and complex meetings in the children’s sector. It will explore time management and group facilitation whilst holding the child at the centre of thinking, recommendations and decision making. It will enable Chairs of meetings to consider good practice and approaches to effectively managing the flow of information, summarising and the formation of key action plans.

OPEN TO ALL
This session is for health professionals, named and designated professionals for children in care, managers of services that provide health assessments, and children's social workers. It is an opportunity to put forward questions relating to the new suite of health forms. We advise attending these sessions after viewing the new forms and accompanying guidance.

FREE FOR MEMBERS
Regular physical activity has a wealth of health benefits for children and young people. But more than that, physical activity is shown to improve wellbeing and academic performance, open up social connections and create pathways to volunteering or employment. Despite the considerable benefits, data demonstrates that 52% of children and young people do not get the recommended 60 minutes of physical exercise per day. Furthermore, Local Government Association (LGA) shows that care-experienced children and young people are a hidden group whose needs and experiences are overlooked in physical activity policy and provision. In this practical webinar we will be exploring how to improve access to physical activity for care-experienced children and young people based on current research evidence.

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 course is aimed at social care professionals who are engaged in the assessment of prospective adoptive parents, foster carers and kinship carers and who wish to increase their awareness and confidence in considering gender issues in assessment, analysis and decision making. 

FREE FOR MEMBERS
Adoption UK's Adoption Barometer is the UK's only annual stocktake of the impact of policy and practice on the lives of adoptees and adoptive families. More than 3,500 prospective adopters, adoptive parents and adoptees aged 16+ gave their views on topics including the preparation and matching process, birth family contact, adoption support, education, accessing records, tracing and reunion and mental health. Rebecca Brooks, the report author, will present an overview of the findings, highlighting stories to celebrate and stories that challenge.

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.

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 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.