Search for Learning and Development Services and Pathways

What is the STAR programme?


The STAR Programme has been designed to support South Gloucestershire's Children's Services to embed our Practice model. It brings together Signs of Safety, Trauma Informed practice and Systemic approaches.

This inspiring and engaging three day programme is for existing female managers who wish to progress in their careers and aspiring managers and leaders. We have created the content so women at all stages of their careers can benefit from it.

The programme seeks to address the under representation of women in management roles and is designed to build confidence, informal networks and develop our collective understanding of women as future leaders in their lives, team and workplace.

This three day programme will provide participants with an opportunity to focus on personal and professional goals and give ongoing support to achieve them. The workshops are designed to be engaging, fun and interactive, as well as impactful and thought provoking.

Participants will consider themes such as self-awareness, self – leadership, personal impact and influence, and how the actions the take can help them flourish in careers and gain greater job and life satisfaction. It will contain a mixture of discussions, self reflection and self-stud. There will be essential pre-course work, networking and homework tasks in between sessions.

Please note: This is a women only programme,

This course is free to South Gloucestershire Council staff. For all external delegates there is a charge of £368.

You will embark on 100 days of change and at the end of the programme create a 12 month plan.

Day 1: The FREEDOM Method – This day is about self-leadership and personal development. The stages are - find out about yourself, review where you are now, experience and learn, explore possibilities, decide, overcome obstacles and make it happen, you will also begin 100 days of change.

Day 2: Personal impact and influence – leadership, generating presence, influence and persuasion, assertiveness and negotiation, personal networks and goal review

Day 3: Inspirational women and leadership – review of progress and achievement – inspirational women – leadership styles - mentoring – career advancement - goal setting for 12 months.

This is a half-day workshop specifically designed for practitioners in the council's adult social care division.

It aims to give an overview of
• court room etiquette and processes.
• recording techniques for the recording of essential evidence
• key court forms , providing a guide to completion of the Court of Protection forms to increase worker skills and confidence in writing court documents.

Delivered by Penny Cumine/Maria Sweetman

Please note participants will need to attends both days. There is a £25 cost for the manual that you need to attend this course, someone from the Public health team will be in touch to request payment/ or to request a cost code for SGC employee’s.

On this 2 day workshop-style course, packed with case studies based on real life and using practical A.C.T.I.O.N.S.© plan, individuals will learn skills to help others proactively (including mental health crises) as well as themselves.

We take an in-depth look at common mental health illnesses such as depression and anxiety, challenge stigma and learn about stress, alarm bells, coping methods, recovery, self-care and so much more!

With a strong focus on how to get help beyond the medical model, Fundamental Wellbeing First Aid creates hope and positive action.

This course qualifies you as a ‘Mental Wellbeing First Aider’ . This is relevant to people who wish to support adults, children they work with and or colleagues. Delegates will receive a handy resource pack including a combined workbook & manual and e-certificate.

Mockingbird has launched within the Fostering Service, here at South Glos. The Fostering Network are running ‘Introduction to Mockingbird’ sessions online.
All sessions are delivered by our experienced Mockingbird coaches and provide a great opportunity for attendees to learn all about Mockingbird and ask any questions they may have.
What does the session cover?
What is Mockingbird?
• The key fidelity of the model
• Key roles and responsibilities
• Impact of Mockingbird

Who can attend?
Introduction to Mockingbird sessions are available to services that are currently working with The Fostering Network to deliver Mockingbird and are open to both new and existing social workers and staff across children's services. Please feel free to extend the invitation to staff working in residential, adoption, SGOs as well as your managers, senior leaders, panel members and IROs etc. Essentially these sessions are open to any staff in your service who you feel will benefit from learning more about Mockingbird.

The Purpose for the support groups

Jakie Dyer will be giving a presentation during this session on 'Chronic Sorrow'.

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 Virtual School value the time they spend with carers, and to enable this to be an even more successful partnership between school and home, have arranged four sessions to take place over the school year.

This fourth session is a being held as a twilight 'Drop in'.  There is no specific focus for this session, rather it is a means for you to have access to the Virtual School and to raise any questions/concerns that you may have.  Equally if there are any Virtual School updates or developments, these will be shared with you at this session.

Do you have the technical knowledge to help manage young people’s phone’s, this includes app’s and practical know how on changing settings in phones etc? 

The premise is to help you keep young people safe while they use their phone.

Felix Lester of Avon and Sommerset Police will offer hints and tips on how to manage a young person phone

This is a 3 hr workshop to explore direct work skills that can be used when working with young people.

The focus of these sessions will be to give awareness of Therapeutic life story work as well as general life story work which can help children understand their life story and promote their identity and attachments.

The workshop will be facilitated by Rhian Phillips and Grace Beckett who will use principles from Richard Rose’s Therapeutic Life Story Work Diploma.

This course will provide an introduction to the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) for staff in front-line caring roles.

The course gives many practical examples of how we apply the principles of the MCA in our day-to-day work and how this links to our practice values. It outlines the legal knowledge needed to understand when the MCA applies or does not. Your responsibilities for seeking advice and support to take formal steps will also be addressed.