Search for Learning and Development Services and Pathways

This practical one-day course is designed for anyone who works in a social care setting and who interacts and communicates with people who have dementia.

You will consider what it is like to see the world from the side of the person with dementia, understand why it is important to adapt approaches, recognise unmet needs and respond to situations you may find challenging. We will discuss why it is important for a person with dementia to be active and occupied.

Course description

The day will provide participants with practical ways of approaching and interacting with a person with dementia. We will look at understanding how to approach individuals safely and consistently, as well as how to connect with the person in a way that meets their preferences and needs. We will consider methods of interacting that help to reduce distress. The course will enable participants to recognise the strengths of people who have dementia and will look at ways of using these strengths to help interact in a positive way.

The standard charge for this course is £103.50 per day. Please refer to our Course Charges on the Home page for information on discounts and exemptions

Time management and case load management for Newly Qualified Social Worker’s – online Teams meeting with PowerPoint, videos and discussions.

Click here to join the meeting

Clinical Skills Lab-  Learning and Development building,Southmead Hospital

This workshop is aimed at adult social care staff in South Gloucestershire, working in domiciliary, residential and day care services (statutory sector AND IVP sector agencies)

The course includes trainer presentation, discussion, and a short multiple-choice assessment at the end to check the information has been retained by participants.

Relevant handouts/paperwork will be provided by the facilitator Alfred Puerta Casadevall and the Clinical Skills Team in North Bristol Trust.

Please note this training is held at Southmead Hospital (Learning & Research building in the Science Quarter).


This course is £103.50 to external delegates

Relationships Matter

Conflict in relationships is part of everyday life, evidence suggests that conflict between parents is normal, but if exposure is frequent, intense, and poorly resolved, this can have a damaging impact on children, resulting in long-term mental health issues, emotional, behavioural, and academic problems as they grow up.

Children of all ages can be affected by destructive interparental conflict.

The Reducing Parental Conflict awareness workshop is suitable for those supporting children and their families especially those working within children’s social care, early help, health, education, and the voluntary sector.

Join the meeting now
Meeting ID: 359 119 303 681
Passcode: XuzEEn

Exploitation happens when someone has power and control over another person. They take advantage of another person’s vulnerability to make money, improve their status or gain control. In order to gain control and power they will groom the victim. The way they do this is by befriending them. This could be by buying them gifts or by giving them money, alcohol or drugs. They could also make them feel special and give them a group to belong to. Perpetrators will target a person’s vulnerability, whether they are children or adults, and will try to isolate the victim to make them depend on the perpetrator.

Adult Exploitation is an extremely important issue for anyone working with vulnerable adults. Exploitation can effect a wide range of people in very many different ways. It is an issue that needs to be understood by professionals so they know who might be more vulnerable to being exploited, what to look out for when they are working with vulnerable people and what to do if they are concerned that someone they are working with may be a victim of exploitation.

It can sometimes be really hard for a victim to know and understand that they are a victim of exploitation, as the perpetrator could be regarded as a friend. It can be very hard for the victim to disclose that they are being abused as they are being controlled by the perpetrator and they rely on them for help and support. If professionals are aware of the warning signs and risk indicators then they may be able to see the signs before the victim is aware of what may be happening. It is important to flag up early signs of exploitation so that a multi-agency approach can be put into place. This would include police who could then try and spot any criminal offences being carried out by the perpetrator and the possibility of any emerging patterns such as organised crime and exploitation rings.

Join the meeting now
Meeting ID: 315 062 464 787
Passcode: d9iuVd

This half-day course is suitable for those who have previously attended the Epilepsy Awareness Training Day within the last 2 years AND only if they are responsible for administering rescue meds.

(The Joint Epilepsy Council recommends individuals named to administer rescue treatment to attend a refresher course within at least two years). Epilepsy Buccal Midazolam/ Rectal Diazepam instatus Epilepticus Refresher.

The standard charge for this course is £49. Please refer to our Course Charges on the Home page for information on discounts and exemptions.

Clinical Skills Lab, Learning and Research Building , Southmead Hospital

This half day course follows CQC requirements on the administration of medication. It includes trainer presentation, discussion, and a short multiple-choice assessment at the end to check the information has been retained by participants. Relevant handouts/paperwork will be provided. This course is aimed at any adult social care staff in South Gloucestershire, working in domiciliary, residential and day care services (statutory sector AND IVP sector agencies).

This session is £49 for non SGC staff

If you work with Children please book onto the Children's Services version of this course

Please note you have to do this training programme in order.

For SGC staff only:
Additional learning resources here: Mental Capacity and Deprivation of Liberty (Sway resource)
Request to shadow a MCA assessment here: Peer Shadowing Network Yammer Group


South Gloucestershire Council has launched a new interactive training programme that gives Health and Social Care Workers the skills, knowledge, confidence and practice to apply and comply with the Mental Capacity Act 2005. The programme is made up of interactive learning workshops. The new skills and knowledge gained from the workshops are then applied in the workplace.
The programme is designed for Care Provider managers, Social Worker and Occupational Therapy staff and managers, nurses and all other professionals working in health and social care.

The standard charge for this course is £49. Please refer to our Course Charges on the Home page for information on discounts and exemptions.

This will be delivered via Zoom and hosted by Phil Harris (Training Exchange). You will be sent a Zoom invite nearer the time.

Motivational interviewing is a leading approach to increase motivation and commitment to change. It was first developed in the alcohol field, but as they had identified that there was no specific addiction psychology, it has been developed in a wide range of areas including social work, offending, mental health and homelessness fields. It has proven particularly effective with stuck or entrenched clients from a wide range of backgrounds. This course maps the key factors that elicit change and demonstrates how Motivational Interviewing works alongside these forces. Drawing on both person centred and directive techniques, it offers practical skills to assist the workers to helps clients articulate and recognise the need for change. As such, it is an effective primer to increase engagement with clients who have not yet achieved a sufficient level of commitment and move them into action without confrontation.

Who is the Course For?: Motivational Interviewing is useful for a wide range of social issues. Its primary focus is on igniting motivation to change, and so it is helpful when clients are stuck in problems and not advancing in change. It is a useful skill in all change and recovery based services such as mental health, substance misuse, offending, social work, domestic violence, supported housing, young people’s services, family work and more besides.

Method of Delivery: The training programme comes with an extensive booklet for each participant. The training course is highly interactive, even during presentations. It uses a wide variety of learning approaches including presentations, pairs and small group work exercises and self-assessment. The course is also supported with free e-learning and further resources to re-cap, review and refresh learning.

• Increase understanding around race, racism and systemic racism as well as how it manifests in relation to social care specifically
• Exploring disparities from statistics that have been caused by systemic racism specific to social care and other core English institutions
• Understanding our own unconscious bias and social conditioning to help us better challenge ourselves, our thoughts and our beliefs
• A deep dive into white privilege, power & advantage
• Cultural awareness and how being aware of cultural norms can help us be more culturally competent when supporting people
• Learning what microaggression are and what we can do to mitigate against them and how to support somebody who has experienced a microaggression
• Exploring Language the nuances and connotations associated with some outdated terms
• How to be an anti-racism ally and what this means as an individual, team and organisation