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This 45-minute bitesize session has been designed to support practitioners in learning more about Private Fostering and their obligations.

This session is recommended for all practitioners working with children and young people across all agencies to understand their responsibilities and who to contact in South Gloucestershire to seek help and guidance.

Click here to join training session

The Purpose for the support groups

*Topic TBC*

We realise that fostering can be really difficult at times. Perhaps the only people who really understand it are other foster carers and so therefore we want to give you a place to meet up.

There will be biscuits and/or cake, coffee, tea, and an opportunity for an informal chat at all of the meetings.

Although these will be informal meetings, each session will have a brief agenda, attendance list, and agreed group rules. This is to help those who don’t know anyone and feel awkward about coming along to a new meeting, to feel that they won’t be left alone on the side-lines.

These sessions should be recorded on your Personal Development Plan (PDP).

The WAYPOINT (Working Alongside Young People & Others In Networks Therapeutically) Team is part of the Fostering Service. WAYPOINT provide therapeutically informed support to children, families, foster carers, and professional networks. This support is additional to the support provided by your supervising social worker and children’s social workers.

The monthly WAYPOINT Drop-in sessions are facilitated by Dan Charnock, WAYPOINT Senior Social Worker and are open to all mainstream foster carers. The aim of the WAYPOINT Drop in is to provide a reflective and open space for foster carers to come along and discuss issues or concerns you may be facing. While each session includes a space to reflect on challenges, there is also a significant focus on sharing strategies and thinking about therapeutic approaches to difficult situations and celebrating successes.

You don’t have to be going through a difficult time to attend – peer support, learning and reflection is always valuable, and there is no pressure for anyone to share within the sessions. Topics for each session tend to arise on the day, ensuring the focus is relevant to the content brought to the drop in. However, there is also the option to agree a topic for a future session to enable a more in-depth focus. Discussion often includes topics such as attachment, trauma, and use of therapeutic approaches such as PACE and NVR, and ideas come not only from Dan but from within the group.

The multi-agency South Gloucestershire Safeguarding Adults Board oversees the Joint Policy and Procedures for Safeguarding Adults in this area. It is essential that a wide range of staff working in local authority, health and social care agencies are fully aware of the key issues in safeguarding vulnerable adults and of how the policy affects them in their front-line roles. The half-day Raising Safeguarding Concerns course is essential training for all front-line staff and managers who are involved in providing services to adults at risk and who work directly with service users. The course content is mapped to the learning outcomes in the local Safeguarding Adults Training Standards (published Dec 2017) as well as to relevant national occupational standards including the Care Certificate (Standard 10). Course attendance is monitored by the Safeguarding Adults Board. The standard charge for this course is £49. Please refer to our Course Charges on the Home page for information on discounts and exemptions.

We are restricting numbers from each organisation to 4 individuals per course.

If you organisation require a large number of individuals to complete this course, then it maybe possible for in house training to be organised.
Please contact HRlearninganddevelopment@southglos.gov.uk with your requirements.

The Purpose for these Support Groups: 

6pm-6.30pm Share The Care discussion group with Jakie Dyer *ONLY FOR SHARE THE CARE CARERS*

6.30pm-8pm *OPEN TO ALL Carers* - Topic TBC

We realise that fostering can be really difficult at times. Perhaps the only people who really understand it are other foster carers and so therefore we want to give you a place to meet up.

Although these will be informal meetings, each session will have a brief agenda, attendance list, and agreed group rules. This is to help those who don’t know anyone and feel awkward about coming along to a new meeting, to feel that they won’t be left alone on the side-lines.

These sessions should be recorded on your Personal Development Plan (PDP).

This training is for people who will be using the Signs of Safety approach in their day-to-day work with children, young people and their families or carers. It is also relevant for people who will be supervising others who are using the approach. The two day Signs of Safety Introduction training is provided by accredited external trainers and places are limited. Key Integrated Children's Services staff to attend are those who chair key meetings and who undertake statutory assessments gathering information from other agencies and where the outcome has a considerable impact on the life of a child/family.
Course Duration: Two days
Course Aims: This training provides practitioners and managers with the skills and knowledge to be able to start to use the Signs of Safety approach in their practice.

Please note: All attendees must have already attended Signs of Safety Awareness session or Signs of Safety 2 day training to be able to attend this course

This course is only available to book via invitation only

Prior to attending Train the Trainer Workshop there is an expectation that new network members will have attended the Multi Agency Raising Safeguarding Concerns course and ideally also attended the Effective Multi Agency Working in Adult Safeguarding.

Attendees must be able to attend both sessions of workshop.

The workshop is aimed at those who are new to delivering safeguarding adult training sessions to groups or any trainer looking for fresh ideas and a structured approach to their training. It will be a practical workshop to equip new trainers to deliver raising safeguarding concerns within their own organisations.

Following attendance of the Safeguarding Adult Train the Trainer Workshop you will be observed delivering your safeguarding adult training, it is expected that the observation will be carried out within an agreed timescale of attendance of the train the trainer workshop. Verbal feedback will be given after the session has been observed and followed up with written feedback, any recommendations that are suggested will be followed up prior to sign off.
 
Following successful completion of observation you will be invited to join the Trained Trainer Network. This network meets every 4-6 months to share experiences and learning, to swap ideas on best practice and new materials, and to support each other in the key tasks of building and maintaining safeguarding adults good practice.

The Purpose for the support groups

*Topic TBC*

We realise that fostering can be really difficult at times. Perhaps the only people who really understand it are other foster carers and so therefore we want to give you a place to meet up.

There will be biscuits and/or cake, coffee, tea, and an opportunity for an informal chat at all of the meetings.

Although these will be informal meetings, each session will have a brief agenda, attendance list, and agreed group rules. This is to help those who don’t know anyone and feel awkward about coming along to a new meeting, to feel that they won’t be left alone on the side-lines.

These sessions should be recorded on your Personal Development Plan (PDP).