Our Training Events

Date:  Monday 31 January 2022

Time:  10.00am - 2.00pm

Online Platform:  MS Teams

Cost:  £85.00 + VAT

Facilitator:  Ravinder Kaur, Trainer/Consultant

Kinship care panels deal with making complex recommendations for children and their families. This online workshop will consider the task of being a minute taker within these meetings where crucial life-changing discussions take place.  It will consider the legal context, explore key information required for a good minute, discuss useful kinship research relevant to the role and share good practice with others in a safe setting.  For more information and to download an application form, please click here

Date:  Wednesday 1 September 2021

Time:  10.00am - 2.00pm

Online Platform:  MS Teams

Cost:  £85.00 + VAT

Facilitator:  Ravinder Kaur, Trainer/Consultant

The role of the minute taker in adoption and fostering panels is a crucial one.  Adoption and fostering panels are underpinned by specific legal and regulatory requirements.  Therefore, minute takers need to have a sufficient understanding of these requirements in order to produce a minute that is relevant, clear and appropriate.  For more information and to download an application form, please click here

Date:  Tuesday 22 June 2021

Time:  10.00am - 2.00pm

Online Platform:  MS Teams

Cost:  £85.00 + VAT

Facilitator:  Rhona Pollock, Legal Consultant

In Scotland, it takes on average over 2 years between a decision for permanence being made and a legal order being granted - this is too long in the life of a child.

This workshop will tackle reasons for drift and delay and importantly what we can do to reduce these.

Delegates will have a safe and informed forum where they can share views and experiences with other workers by taking part in group work, case scenarios and discussion. Plenary sessions will provide up-to-date factual information on the responsibilities of all of us in promoting our individual role in taking control of these timeframes.

Innovatively, delegates are invited to submit beforehand anonymised case experiences so that a practical solution can be explored to see how the system can be child driven.

Looking at case planning from the outset, information recording, report writing, preparing for and presenting at Children’s Hearings and Courts, decisions about contact and moving to permanence, court decisions, research and theory and understanding legal requirements will inform and enable delegates to find the best way forward for children and families.  For more information and to download an application form, please click here

Date:  Wednesday 5 May 2021

Time:  10.00am - 2.00pm

Online Platform:  MS Teams

Facilitator:  Helen Runciman, Associate Trainer

Cost:  £85.00 + VAT

Linking to the publication of the new PAR-S template for completing assessments of prospective adopters and permanent carers, this workshop is targeted at workers who have experience in making assessments using the previous form. It will provide an opportunity for practitioners to update their knowledge and skills in conducting the assessment process, as well as becoming familiar with the new PAR-S format and considering how it can be adapted where necessary to suit particular situations. The workshop will consider how the new format can be used to explore whether the prospective adoptive parents have the capacities required to provide safe, nurturing care to children and young people. It will also consider how the assessment should demonstrate their understanding of the different legal routes to permanence and determine which plans prospective adopters and carers will be able to manage. It will allow participants to explore their own experiences, share case material, consider risk and look at what factors can lead to unsafe practice and vulnerable placements.  For more information and to download an application form, please click here

Date: Tuesday 19 May, 2020     POSTPONED TO 12 NOVEMBER 2020

Time: 09.45am - 4.00pm

Venue: Park Inn by Radisson, 139-141 West George Street, Glasgow

A vital competence for the practitioner is providing a well-written report which can accelerate the progress of a child’s plan through Children’s Hearings and Court. The quality of the social work report is the single biggest factor in determining the outcome of a Hearing or Court decision. Learn about common pitfalls, complaints from decision makers and poor habits that can obstruct social work planning from moving forward. Our workshop offers interactive worked examples, referring to research, legislative requirements and promising practice. For the worker who is looking to ensure the accuracy, proportionality and relevance of reports, this workshop is a must.

For further details and to download the booking form, please click here

Date:  Friday 19 June, 2020

Venue:  Double Tree by Hilton, Dundee

Please note, bookings made before 31 March 2020, will receive an early bird discount of 10%

With decision making about continuing contact remaining one of the most complex and contested areas of practice, the focus for this year's conference will be on the child's relationship with their birth family
during and after the Permanence process. The conference will bring together an outstanding group of speakers to highlight what research and practice tells us works best for the child and what the legal considerations are, in order to inform and guide practitioners involved in making and applying the
decisions in this highly emotive area of permanence and adoption.  Speakers on the day will include:

Sheriff Aisha Anwar, Sheriff, Glasgow and Strathkelvin Sheriff Court - will provide a view from the bench

Professor Elsbeth Neil, UEA - foremost academic in this field who will discuss her longitudinal study, Contact after Adoption

Dr Katherine Edward, Clinical Psychologist - will return due to popular demand to share her thoughts from the child and family's perspective.

Jackie McRae, Practice & Partnership Lead, Children’s Hearings Scotland who will look at considerations in decision-making in children’s hearings

The day will again be chaired by Lynda J Brabender QC, who specialises in family and child law and public law as it relates to children.  For more information and to download a booking form, please click here

Date:  23 April 2020

Venue: Foxglove Offices, The Shore Training Suite, 14 Links Place, Edinburgh

In Scotland, it takes on average over 2 years between a decision for permanence being made and a legal order being granted. This is too long in the life of a child.

This workshop will tackle reasons for drift and delay and importantly what we can do to reduce these.

Delegates will have a safe and informed forum where they can share views and experiences with other workers by taking part in group work, case scenarios and discussion. Plenary sessions will provide up-to-date factual information on the responsibilities of all of us in promoting our individual role in taking control of these timeframes.

Innovatively, delegates are invited to submit beforehand anonymised case experiences so that a practical solution can be explored to see how the system can be child driven.

Looking at case planning from the outset, information recording, report writing, preparing for and presenting at Children’s Hearings and Courts, decisions about contact and moving to permanence, court decisions, research and theory and understanding legal requirements will inform and enable delegates to find the best way forward for children and families.

This workshop is as suitable for the seasoned practitioner as for those new to the field, and for those who specialise in Permanence as well as the worker who may occasionally deal with such cases.

It will also be of invaluable interest to Safeguarders, panel members, foster carers and anyone involved in promoting and planning for permanence for children.

For further information and to download a booking form, please click here 

Following the publication of the new PAR-S template that replaces the form F (Adoption and Permanence), we are running a two-alternative workshop (1-day and 2-day) to support workers to make best use of the new materials.

(1-day workshop) - 19 February, 2020 - Foxglove Offices, The Shore Training Suite, 14 Links Place, Edinburgh

The one-day workshop is targeted at workers who are experienced in making assessments using the previous form. It will provide an opportunity to update and refresh thinking about the assessment process, become familiar with the new PAR-S format and consider how it can be adapted if necessary to particular situations.  To download a booking form, click here

(2-day workshop)-  25 & 26 February, 2020 - Radisson Blu Glasgow, 301 Argyll Street, Glasgow

The two-day workshop is targeted more towards those who are relatively new to undertaking assessments of prospective adoptive parents or permanent carers, and will provide an opportunity to develop knowledge, skills and practice in completing these assessments using the PAR-S template.  To download a booking form, click here

Date:  Tuesday 4 February, 2020

Venue:  Foxglove Offices/Gf2, 14 Links Place, Edinburgh EH6 7EZ

Life story work with children who are fostered or adopted is universally recognised as fundamental to helping them understand their history and form a positive sense of identity. This in turn can provide the protective factor of a coherent story as a foundation for better emotional health in adulthood. Despite its importance, in today’s pressurised working environment it has become increasingly difficult to give this area of work the priority it deserves. This workshop will help busy practitioners think about what life story work means in their work setting and how best to go about it. The emphasis will be on providing practical ideas and techniques for social work staff undertaking this work.  For further information and to download a booking form, please click here

Date:           Thursday 16 January, 2020

Venue:        Park Inn by Radisson Glasgow, 139-141 West George Street, Glasgow G2 2JJ

Cost:           £110.00

The role of the supervising social worker is a complex one, with many different elements including managerial, supervisory, educative and support functions. This workshop provides supervising social workers with the opportunity to consider how the role has evolved, the various strands of their work with foster carers and how to support and challenge foster carers in supervision. Ways of responding to concerns about the quality of care will also be considered.

For further information and to download our booking form, please click here

Date:         Wednesday 25 March, 2020

Venue:       Foxglove Offices, The Links Training Suite, 14 Links Place, Edinburgh EH6 7EZ

Cost:          £110.00 + VAT

Chairing adoption and fostering panels require a key set of knowledge, skills and values which are essential to promoting positive outcomes for children.

The business of panels is complex, they make recommendations about the adoption and permanence plans for children, approve foster carers and adopters and consider matches. They also oversee the reviews of foster carers and adopters. In addition, the provisions of the Adoption and Children (Scotland) Act 2007 allow any agency decision to be reviewed or ‘appealed’ and this also falls under the remit of these panels. Whilst experience of chairing other meetings is helpful, there are unique aspects to chairing panels which will form the basis of this workshop.

For further information and to download our booking form, please click here

Course dates                                                           Venue                                       Cost    

Module One:    11, 12 & 13 November 2019       Edinburgh (tbc)                        £2885 + VAT= £3462.00

Module Two:     20, 21 & 22 January 2020        

Module Three:   16, 17 & 18 March 2020                                 

This post qualifying course is aimed at social workers and managers in children and families’ teams, family placement teams as well as other specialist settings across the statutory, voluntary and independent sector. Applicants will require the support of their employer to attend as well as validate their work. It is imperative that sponsoring agencies ensure their nominated students have the motivation, capacity and commitment to complete the course.

The course is at MSc Level 11 and attracts an award of 60 credits (postgraduate certificate) which can be taken forward to further study. The course is validated by Strathclyde University.

The introductory session for students and their managers will be on the 21^st October 2019. The course requires attendance at three taught modules of three consecutive days per module between November 2019 and March 2020. Final assignments will be submitted in May 2020. Assessment will be on the basis of three written assignments as well as an assessed observation in the workplace. Comprehensive feedback is available to students. A student handbook will provide all the required information.

For more information please download the flyer here and click here for an application form.

Date:             Wednesday 6 November, 2019

Time:             10.00am – 4.30pm

Venue:           Jurys Inn, Glasgow

FEES

Member Rate:              □       £110.00 + VAT   (corporate members only)

Non-Member Rate:         □     £150.00 + VAT  (non corporate members and NHS health boards)

Individual Member Rate □       £90.00 + VAT

The work of the Stand Up For Siblings (SUFS) project has done a great dealt to raise awareness of the importance of maintaining relationships between brothers and sisters in the care system - but there are significant challenges for social workers when trying to assess the quality of those relationships, particularly in the context of making plans for permanent placement. Where a placement together cannot be achieved for siblings, social workers are tasked with trying to achieve the best permanent options for each child whilst trying to maintain a meaningful ongoing relationship for those children and their siblings. Courts and judges are urging social workers to be more creative about how they seek to preserve sibling bonds.

The seminar will give practitioners the opportunity to hear about updated practice guidance on working with siblings and on assessing their relationships and be introduced to some of the new tools to use in this work. Shelagh Beckett, author of CoramBAAF's newly published Good Practice Guide ‘Beyond Together or Apart’ will present her work alongside inputs from Dr Chris Jones from Strathclyde University, who has led the SUFS work, and Karen Morrison from the STAR project which provides an inspiring example of how relationships can be successfully maintained.

For more information and to download a booking form please click here

Date:            Thursday 3 October 2019

Time:             Registration: 9.30am

                     Conference: 10.00am – 4.30pm

Venue:           Apex Quay Hotel, Dundee

FEES

Member Rate:               □       £190.00 + VAT   (corporate members only)

Non-Member Rate:         □      £230.00 + VAT  (non corporate members and NHS health boards)

Individual Member Rate □       £170.00 + VAT

Mental health difficulties can affect children and adults from all walks of life – but looked after and adopted children are more likely to be affected, often due to their difficult early experiences. Health and social work professionals do a valuable yet challenging job of supporting these children, but the area of mental health can feel like a complex labyrinth. With demands on health and social care increasing, and a new emphasis being placed on the importance of children’s mental wellbeing, the conference will consider how health professionals and social workers can best assess, plan and deliver services that encourage and support good mental health.

Karen Aldred and Helen Rodwell, the two authors of the new CoramBAAF publication ‘Supporting the mental health needs of looked after and adopted children’, will present their work and lead discussion focussing on how practitioners can gather crucial information to help understand a child’s difficulties and plan how to meet their needs. Dr Helen Minnis, Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Glasgow University, will speak about her extensive work with children who have experienced early adversity, and the way this learning can inform the way we work with children and their carers. Other contributors to be confirmed.

For more information and to download a booking form please click here 

Tuesday 17 September 2019

Park Inn by Radisson, 139-141 West George Street, Glasgow

The role of the minute taker in adoption and fostering panels is a crucial one.  Adoption and fostering panels are underpinned by specific legal and regulatory requirements.  Therefore, minute takers need to have a sufficient understanding of these requirements in order to produce a minute that is relevant, clear and appropriate.

This workshop is for administrative staff who take minutes for adoption and fostering panels.  To download a booking form please click here

Hearing the child in adoption and fostering

Date:               Friday 14 June, 2019

Venue:            Double Tree by Hilton, Dundee

The focus this year will be the child in the permanence process. We will discuss creating an environment where children feel able to speak out; where their views and needs are valued and how adults and systems can adapt to keep our focus firmly on the child’s perspective. Legal principle, research findings, medical knowledge and good practice insight will inform and support delegates in contributing to a process which is truly child centre.

Speakers will include:

The Rt Honourable Lord Carloway, Lord President of the Court of Session

Professor Judith Masson - World renowned academic will talk about her recent research study on outcomes for children from care proceedings.

Dr Katherine Edward, Chartered and Clinical Psychologist, KEE Consultancy - Child psychologist with many years’ experience working with children and appearing as a witness to assist courts in reaching child centred decisions

Thomas Carlton, Practice Support Manager, Independent Care Review Secretariat - A care experienced adult who will provide a unique perspective of his professional and personal observations.

Dr Christine Jones, Senior Lecturer, School of Social Work & Social Policy, University of Strathclyde - Her research has looked at barriers to permanence for disabled children. She will address the need to seek the views of disabled children and those with a communication impairment.

Irina Beaton, Senior Solicitor, Scottish Child Law Centre - Will speak about how the Centre provides legal advice and support to children who approach them for help.

John Hall, Solicitor, Hall Norrie Warden - Will give the perspective of the curator ad litem

Melissa Hunt, Policy and Public Affairs Manager, SCRA - Melissa will share methods adopted by SCRA to make sure the child’s voice is heard, particularly in Hearings.

The day will again be chaired by Lynda J Brabender QC, who specialises in family and child law and public law as it relates to children.

To download a booking form please click here

A workshop for new adoption and fostering panel members

Facilitator:     Ravinder Kaur         

Date:             Tuesday 18 June 2019

Venue:          Apex Haymarket Hotel, Edinburgh

Cost:             Member Rate £110.00 + VAT

The Adoption and Children (Scotland) Act 2007 provides the overarching framework for adoption and fostering panels in Scotland. Panels make key recommendations which affect the lives of children, foster carers and adopters. Many of these recommendations have life-long consequences for those involved. It is therefore important that panel members have both an understanding of the role of panel as well having an opportunity to consider their contribution to this process. This workshop will reflect the updated Effective Adoption and Fostering Panels in Scotland good practice guide.

This workshop is aimed at new adoption and fostering panel members, panel advisers and it may also be of interest to new medical and legal advisers.  To download a booking form please click here

Facilitators:     Rhona Pollock & Helen Johnstone

Date:               Monday 25 March, 2019

Venue:             The Salutation Hotel, 34 South Street, Perth then

                         Perth Sheriff Court, Tay Street, Perth               

Registration:     09.00am

Start Time:         09.30 – 4.00pm - (refreshments & lunch will be provided)

This workshop is a FIRST. It will provide delegates with the opportunity to learn about being a witness and then actually putting that learning into practice on the day in Court. Delegates will spend the morning finding out about what is required of them as witnesses and studying a case scenario; lunch will be provided in the hotel and then delegates will walk 100yards to Perth Sheriff Court where a court room has been set aside for a mock proof to take place. Delegates will give evidence, being examined and cross examined by both Rhona and Helen. The “Court” will then make a decision based on the evidence heard.

This will be an informal, supportive and informative day giving workers the knowledge, skills and confidence needed for Court appearances. It will be suitable for anyone who is ever called as a witness and wants to make the Court experience as effective and painless as possible.”  For further information and a booking form please click here

This unique course is aimed at social workers and managers in children and families’ teams, family placement teams as well as other specialist settings across the statutory, voluntary and independent sector. Applicants will require the support of their employer to attend as well as validate their work. It is imperative that sponsoring agencies ensure their nominated students have the motivation, capacity and commitment to complete the course.

The course will be delivered alongside the validation process from Strathclyde University at MSc Level 11 and once validated will attract an award of 60 credits (postgraduate certificate) which can be taken forward to further study. Agencies will need to be confident that their nominated student can study at master’s level.

The introductory session for students and their managers will be on the 3^rd June 2019. The course requires attendance at three taught modules of three consecutive days per module between June 2019 and October 2019. Assessment will be based on assignments as well as a ‘training for trainers’ assessment. Comprehensive feedback is available to students. A student handbook will provide all the required information.

Course description

Module One:              The Kinship Care Context in Scotland

Module Two:              The Child in Kinship Care

Module Three:           Assessing and Supporting Kinship Carers

Course dates                                                               Venue              Cost    

Module One:             10,11 & 12 June 2019            Edinburgh       £2,745 + VAT  =     £3294.00

Module Two:             19, 20 & 21 August 2019                                                              

Module Three:          28, 29 & 30 October 2019                                                                      

 For further information, please download the flyer here    

For an application form, please download here