Children’s & Young People’s Services
Courses & Training.

Course Overview

The Care Act 2014 and the Children and Families Act 2014 capture the principles of personalisation, inclusion, participation and co-production in law.  Both the Children and Families Act 2014 and the Care Act 2014 deal with support for young people with care and support needs preparing for adulthood. These two pieces of legislation now provide the context in which transition occurs.

This course gives focus to young people whose support services will start to end during adulthood and those who will be transferring into the adult care estate. 

Learners will explore all elements that contribute to a successful transition including entering adult services and leaving care.  Through discussion we will think holistically about each individual child or young person being supported to ensure that practitioners make the connection of wellbeing, safeguarding and quality of life when completing planning for and supporting the transition.   

Throughout this course professional codes, regulating conduct, legislation and systemic practice is embedded.

This course is delivered using a range of methods and resources including:

Group discussions, small group activities, example Care and Pathway Plans using methods which have been proven to be effective through research and analysis.

• This course has been developed and mapped to:
• The Children and Families Act 2014
• The Care Act 2014
• The Mental Capacity Act 2005
• The Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards 2008
• Social pedagogic Methods
• Person centred planning through Motivational Interviewing and Solution Focussed Therapy

Learning Outcomes

• Which legislation directs us?
• Overarching principles of transition.
• Co-production and power-sharing in effective service planning.
• The role of adult services.
• Transition planning involving young people.
• Building independence.
• Building good relationships with young people and their families.
• Support before, during and after transition.
• The role of the named worker.
• Person-centred approaches.
• The consequences and costs of poor transition.
• Transitions in special groups.
• Factors that help or hinder purposeful and planned transitions from children to adult services.
• Young people and their carers’ views and experiences.

Course Overview
A course designed specifically for those that believe in working holistically and raises awareness of the issues surrounding parenting and the dynamics of family life. The course will provide parents, carers and staff with a clear understanding of the benefits of understanding how stresses and pressures impact on family life. There will also be opportunity to explore different parenting models and how they can provide better outcomes for young people and their families.
This course uses models that include effective communication and understanding anger as well as the internal/external locus of control. All of this is placed within the context models of a practical of working within families. It will use group work and practical exercises that will inform and empower and can be used with both service users and staff.

Learning Outcomes

• Understand different parenting models.
• Understand the benefits of a holistic approach.
• Explore the ways that family work is being used to achieve better outcomes.
• To provide caregivers with a thorough knowledge of the content, themes, core concepts and strategies of positive parenting models.
• To empower carers in developing problem solving and assertiveness skills in families.
• To provide caregivers with simple practical teaching activities designed to increase the ability of young people to flourish in the family environment.

Course Overview

Social Pedagogy is an academic discipline that draws on core theories from various related disciplines, such as education, sociology, psychology and philosophy. In essence, it is concerned with well-being, learning and growth. This is underpinned by humanistic values and principles which view people as active and resourceful agents highlighting the importance of including them into the wider community, and aim to tackle or prevent social problems and inequality. Breaking The Cycle has designed this package to raise awareness of the issues surrounding this methodology and how it can be applied in a caring environment to assist in promoting protective behaviours. The course will provide parents, carers and staff with a clear understanding of the benefits of using social pedagogic approaches and how they can provide better protective environments and achieve better outcomes for young people.

Learning Outcomes

• Understand the Social Pedagogy framework.
• Understand the benefits of using it in practice.
• Explore the ways that Social Pedagogy is being used to achieve better outcomes.
• To provide caregivers with a thorough knowledge of the content, themes, core concepts and strategies of the Protective Behaviour within a social pedagogic framework.
• To empower carers in developing problem solving and assertiveness skills in children.
• To provide caregivers with simple practical teaching activities designed to increase their child’s/children’s and young people’s personal safety.

Course Overview
Using the Fostering Network course, Breaking the Cycle deliver a social pedagogic course that puts the young person at the heart of the training.  Using group work exercises, video and interactive techniques, this course takes potential carers through the legal, practical, administrative, and emotional steps involved in fostering.  Using our comprehensive experience of foster care and working with carers, the course has been constructed to involve potential carers and allow them to reflect on their role.  From attachment to social pedagogy, childcare law to safeguarding, foster carers have enjoyed the innovative training provide by breaking of cycle. The course focuses on the practical, day-to-day skills that all foster carers need. It links into the Training, Support and Development Standards in England and other professional development qualifications. The course is an essential resource for anyone involved in preparing new applicants for the challenges of fostering. It provides a flexible resource that supports all foster carers taking on different types of placements, including family and friends foster carers.

Learning Outcomes

The course will allow carers to understand the following:

• Law for foster carers and child protection procedures.
• Identify and belonging, heritage and life chances.
• The team around the child and a foster carer’s responsibilities.
• Understanding young people’s behaviour.
• Safer caring.
• Ending a placement.
• Reflection and managing feelings.

7 sessions over 3 days

The course will allow carers to understand the following:

• Session 1: What do foster carers do?
• Session 2: Identity and life chances
• Session 3: Working with others
• Session 4: Understanding and caring for children
• Session 5: Safer caring
• Session 6: Transitions
• Session 6a: Review and conclusion
• Session 7: My family fosters (for sons and daughters)

The Skills to Foster will prepare carers for a career in fostering by:

• Explaining what being a foster carer involves
• Enabling carers to consider how fostering will affect their family and their way of life helping you to decide whether fostering is right for them and their family.
• Introducing them to the skills and knowledge they need to develop when they become a foster carer.
• Helping them to appreciate the difference that good foster care can make to a child’s life.

Course Overview

This course was designed in order for participants to understand the processes and key principles of attachment. It is designed to raise awareness of the issues surrounding the research and the methodology of attachment and how it can be applied in a caring environment. The course will provide staff with a clear understanding of the benefits of understanding attachment and how they can achieve better outcomes for young people and support adults who have suffered negative issues surrounding attachment.
The course uses research to provide participants with a complete understanding of the indicators of negative attachment. It also looks to explore the long term effects of both positive and negative attachment and how to develop appropriate relationships in order to achieve better outcomes.

Learning Outcomes

• Understand the key principals of attachment and bonding critical for healthy development
• Understand how healthy attachment is facilitated
• Understand the various ways that neglect and abuse negatively influence attachment, exploring the consequent challenging behaviours
• Understand how foster carers can help children with attachment difficulties

Course Overview

This course will cover key areas of neglect and how the signs of neglect can be recognised and appropriately assessed in order to positively address any concerns. This course will explore initial assessments and how they feed into an effective person-centred plan. This training culminates in how to devise an effective plan which both recognises and categorises levels of neglect. Any work undertaken should be person centred working towards outcomes which are proven to be proportionate to the risk identified.

This course aims to recognise that families, even those with complex needs love their children but that love is not the only key need for any child. With this in mind professionals have to consider the ‘best interest’ options for the children involved. ‘Best Interest’ is a complex discourse which requires a high level of critical reflection supported by effective assessment and planning. Some children are best placed in their home setting but at time others are not and participants need to understand policy and legislation in order to justify any decisions made. Decisions are best made using a holistic approach which involves the child, family and other agencies and this course aims to explore what multi-agency working and ‘added value’ mean. The course aims to recognise the inherent strengths and areas for improvement in the current multi-dimensional approach to this subject.

It has long been recognised that poor and inconsistent care result in attachment and behavioural issues within the child and this course seeks to explore how neglect effects a child’s ability to engage and move forward. With all of this in mind one needs to consider how personal ‘framing’ of neglect affects ones professional response. The course also looks to develop an understanding of a ‘systems approach’ to professional child safeguarding practice explore common systems issues that are relevant to child neglect with an emphasis on ‘what works’.

It is well recognised that complex families are known to several services and have been subject to intervention for a long period of time. This can result in a level of complication and confusion which can result in repetition and poor joined up working. This can have a negative effect on relationships and does not always result in value for money or effective outcomes. Families may also know how to ‘play the system’ and disguise the true issues prevalent within the home environment. These issues are often framed as ‘drift’ and ‘start again syndrome’.  This course considers what this means to the professional and how to pursue an approach with is open, fair, and yet honest, this often centres around effective relationship building with very complex people. Targets should be SMART and reviewed in order to assess progress made and help inform the long-term decision-making process.

It is recognised that the issue of the ‘toxic trio’ is a common dilemma that impacts upon complex families lives and this course aims to address the areas of mental health and substance abuse and how to recognise these concerns and deliver effective family intervention. These issues are known to impact upon a parents ability to have the capacity to fully support their family and the course aims to reflect on this issue in a clear yet non-judgemental way.

The course will encourage participants to reflect on the common blocks and challenges which impact on family intervention whilst promoting professional judgements. Through discussions and the use of case studies the course aims to increase knowledge and confidence when managing such sensitive and potentially confrontational situations whilst honestly identifying barriers and considering the best course of action. 

Learning Outcomes

• Introduction to social pedagogy and person-centered assessment.
• Understanding the principles of neglect and defensible decision making.
• Understanding and recognising the signs of neglect.
• Developing effective plans which build into a multi-agency framework and provide measurable outcomes.
• Gaining an understanding of the ‘toxic trio’ and its clear impact on children.
• Understanding the local policies and legal frameworks which both guide and inform professional practice.
• Consider the common issues of ‘drift’ and ‘start again’ syndrome and why this takes place.

Course Overview

The course will consider the importance of the Permanency Planning Meeting and reflect on the benefits of having it convened at the earliest appropriate opportunity in order to maximise outcomes. Research indicates that greater attention need to be given during the transition both in and out of care and when managing any move for a child and young person.  The course considers who should be consulted during these crucial times whilst considering the processes, the values and concerns regarding the current assessment and planning practices and the value defensible decision making can add to the risk management process.

The purpose of a Permanency Planning Meeting is to consider the most effective route to securing permanency placements for a child or young person. Therefore, utilising a person-centred model is essential in delivering quality support whilst considering care as the best or only option available. This course will use Social Pedagogic principles to explore this complex, yet important part of the planning process of considering care through the eyes of the child and understanding how mental wellbeing and attachment can impact on the child’s capacity to engage constructively. Meetings held without the young person are necessary and legal components of the planning process and these meetings should remain person centred in their aim of placing a child in care in the most positive manner possible whilst following the legal timescales and processes.

Managers will consider what is meant by the term ‘effective Care Planning’ and which models of care planning deliver the best outcomes according to research, providing clear evidence on ‘what works’. Care planning is an important balance of being person centred, effective and clear. Using internal external Locus of Control and Solution Focussed Therapy, Managers will be able to support their teams to improve the quality of their plans and provide evidence for inspection processes.

Managers need to consider how the planning process should be undertaken with children of various ages, identities and abilities to deliver individual plans underpinned by the principles of ‘Every Child Matters’. Accurate assessments and planning result in the most appropriate placements thus increasing the opportunities for all concerned.

The course will explore the roles of relevant others in the planning process including the Independent Review Officer, Social Worker, Foster Carers, children and families. Ensuring these meetings are managed in a manner which increases the chance that all will be able to contribute and engage effectively.

By the end of the course Managers will have reflected on the policies, research and practice in order support staff in the most effective manner and be skilled and equipped to transfer learning to colleagues.

Learning Outcomes

• Participants will have an increased understanding of assessments and planning processes for children and young people in care or entering the care system.
• Participants will be able to identify the relationship all the key players have in the planning process
• Delegates will be able to understand how assessments and planning can have a negative impact upon children and young people and consider the models staff can utilise to increase positive outcomes.
• Delegates will be able to identify person-centred models and how to improve the input children, young people, carers, and families have in any process.
• Delegates will be able to consider the relevance of effective target setting in a manner which increases participation.
• Participants will consider the most effect way to record and evidence outcomes in line with ‘evidence-based practice’ through the development of a vibrant and useable plan which is inspection ready.
• Participants will consider some of the issues may impact upon the young person’s ability to engage and how staff could increase their participation whilst developing an effective partnership.