Facilitating parent and child placements

This course will consider the foster carer's key role in providing parent and child arrangements and ensuring successful outcomes for children. It will also provide clarity about the role of the agency and the supervising social worker in monitoring, reviewing, evaluating and supporting foster carers, whilst making certain that practice is transparent and compliant with the law.

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.

The role of the supervising social worker has many facets, involving managerial, supervisory, educative and support functions. 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 open course will offer a comprehensive approach to undertaking sibling assessments. It will explore who the key contributors to sibling assessments are and how assessors can plan assessments and engage these contributors in the process. Most importantly it will explore how to gain the views of the children, observe sibling interactions and draw conclusions on the quality of sibling relationships as well as focusing on the individual needs of each child and of the sibling group.

No two children or their families are the same. The most critical aspect of any staying in touch plan post adoption is that it allows for individual needs and situations. This course is an opportunity to consider what we know about staying in touch from research, including what works well, the voices of those with lived experience, and aspects that may present challenges or need more support. It will include what to consider in putting together an individual flexible plan which allows for changing circumstances, and can reflect the changing needs of the child throughout childhood, teenage years and beyond.