Training & events programme

The Secure Base Model is a strengths-based framework for therapeutic caregiving informed by developments and research into attachment theory and child placement. It focuses on the interactions between a child and their caregiver that can support a child to experience greater security and build resilience.

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.

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.

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!

Exposure to domestic abuse can have long-term consequences for children’s health and development. These may not be immediately apparent once children have been removed from an abusive home and are living with alternative carers. The impact of domestic abuse can be missed in assessment and planning, resulting in children not receiving the level of care and support they need.

This course is an opportunity to explore the legal and practice framework of private fostering, including best practice in how to work with this often unseen group of children.

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?

Child health assessments are a key component in permanence planning for looked after children. Medical Advisers need to be aware of the relevant legislation, statutory guidance and competencies framework. They are required to interpret information and present this in an informative and considered format for social care colleagues, panels and potential carers. This course will consider the Medical Adviser's role in adoption relating to children.

Analysing adult health assessments is a key element of assessing adopters and foster carers. This includes providing reports and evidence-based comments so that panels can reach appropriate decisions. This course is designed to support medical advisers in their role. It is particularly suitable for new or inexperienced medical advisers.