Training & events programme

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?

This one day course is an opportunity to consolidate knowledge of fostering assessment practice in the context of the recently published updated version of Prospective Foster Carer(s) Report (CoramBAAF Form F). It will provide a focus on what constitutes a good assessment, including how to write a strengths-based assessment that evidences and analyses 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 two day course Undertaking a fostering assessment provides more detail for social workers and managers with less experience of fostering assessment. 

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!

Some kinship carers are approved as kinship foster carers and therefore their situation and circumstances are often very different to mainstream foster carers. This course provides an opportunity to reflect on the statutory framework of approval, support, supervision and review of kinship foster carers and how this unique context differs from that of mainstream fostering. This course does not cover kinship assessment practice, but rather focuses on approval, support and review beyond the assessment process.  

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.

Safeguarding is a shared responsibility for any of us working with children. This course is an opportunity to reflect more deeply on your role as a panel member when thinking about safeguarding children. It will provide you with an opportunity to re-visit some of the key legislation that governs your role. Using case studies and scenarios, you will be able to explore and discuss what safeguarding means in practice, in the context of the assessment and review of foster carers. You will be able to reflect on your own personal and professional identity and how this may impact on your role as a panel member.

The Child’s Permanence Report (CPR) is the primary document used by the agency decision maker to reach their decision that the child ‘should be placed for adoption’. The CPR also provides information for adoption panels to reach their recommendations when children are being placed for adoption with the consent of their birth parents.

This course will support social workers to understand the content, purpose and function of the Child’s Permanence Report (CPR), good practice in its undertaking and how it can be used to provide a full picture of each child’s journey and needs.

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.

Foster carers are increasingly being asked to care for a parent and their child during care proceedings, and to contribute towards the assessment of parenting capacity. This type of arrangement is complex, involving different tasks and responsibilities.

This course is designed to support those who have previously attended “The role of the supervising social worker in supervising and supporting foster carers” and now looking to develop their practice further.
On this course you will explore how good quality, challenging supervision can contribute to a high quality of care provided by foster and kinship carers and to establishing and maintaining effective working relationships. We will explore the balancing the potentially conflicting role of the supervising social worker, who needs to balance providing support with the need to sometimes have difficult conversations too.