Our workshops will showcase best practice and current research that can make a positive difference to the way you work and to outcomes for service users.
Programme content is under development and may change at short notice, subject to speaker availability. We recommend you check these pages regularly for updates.
Seating at sessions is available on a first come, first served basis. Students should be over 18 years old.
DAY ONE WORKSHOPS: WEDNESDAY 18 MAY 2011
DAY TWO WORKSHOPS: THURSDAY 19 MAY 2011
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DAY ONE WORKSHOPS: WEDNESDAY 18 MAY 2011
Room 2
10.30-11.15am
SKILLS FOR CARE
From newly qualified social worker (NQSW) to assessed and supported year in employment (ASYE)
Skills for Care in partnership with the Department of Health and stakeholder organisations have identified the development needs of NQSWs in adult services and implemented a framework for their support. We are now working in partnership with CWDC and the Social Work Reform Board on the development of the ASYE.
Delegates who attend this workshop will:
- Consider the latest plans for an assessed year in employment
- Reflect on the links to wider social work reform board work on assessed year in employment
- Opportunities to discuss current NQSW activity will be available throughout the event
12.15- 1.00pm
STOKE ON TRENT COUNTY COUNCIL
Moving to an Equitable Pathway and Service Model for people with Dementia
This workshop will explore Stoke on Trent’s approach to tackle the issues of demographic demand around dementia versus unprecedented budgetary restrictions. It will explore our approach models using personalisation and recovery with client centred assessment and outcome focused care planning and how these can be applied to people with dementia.
Delegates who attend this workshop will:
- Consider the context and experience in relation to generic and specialist approaches
- Understand the need for a change in approach
- Reflect on examples of the models used in Stoke on Trent
1.15-2.00pm
CROYDON COUNCIL
Fit for a positive future: An integrated approach to looked-after children’s services
This workshop will showcase how Croydon is committed to transform the way services are delivered for looked-after children. We are ambitious in the outcomes we aim to deliver to our young people. This session will highlight how we will support our staff and deliver better outcomes for our young people through six key measures.
Delegates who attend this workshop will:
- Understand our ambitions to excel as corporate parents through the provision of ‘brilliant basics’
- Consider how the voice of young people will be central in shaping the care we provide them
- Reflect on how the Revised Legal Framework for Looked-After Children will be integrated into our services
2.15 - 3.00pm
ESSEX COUNTY COUNCIL
Transforming the Children’s Workforce: Delivering improvement through a focus on quality
Essex are committed to providing its children and families social care workforce with the vision that they can influence the direction, perception and values of their profession. This workshop will explore our proactive ambitions for our workforce to be part of the solution to the challenges and will consider our inspirational development opportunities.
Delegates who attend this workshop will:
- Hear our commitment to develop early findings of the key themes from the Munro review
- Consider our tools for case file audits
- Be engaged in the possibilities for positive cultural change in the workplace
3.15-4.00pm
MACINTYRE
Great Interactions Project: Ain’t what you do, it’s the way that you do it!
Are good support workers born or made? MacIntyre’s award winning Great Interaction’s initiative uses personality profiling to find those ‘born’ to the work while teaching core facilitation skills to ‘make’ those of us less natural develop our practice. An innovative workforce strategy that develops dignity and respect as behaviours, rather than values.
Delegates who attend this workshop will:
- Receive an overview of the MacIntyre Great Interactions workforce strategy
- Consider the Support Worker Profile and its use in recruitment
- Understand the 10 core facilitation skills that deliver Great Interactions
Email1; Email2; Presentation
Room 3
12.15- 1.00pm
CHILDREN'S WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL AND LANCASTER UNIVERITY
Transforming social work: Piloting new ways of working to improve children and families lives
This workshop will consider how local areas are addressing key challenges facing social work practice and share learning from two CWDC-led pilots projects. These include the remodelling social work pilots, which have been delivered by 11 local authorities and a cross-regional pilot peer support programme for children’s services managers.
Delegates who attend this workshop will:
- Consider approaches taken to enable social workers to have more direct contact with children and families
- Understand the concept of peer support and how this can impact positively on children’s services management
- Learn about what worked well, what didn’t and what can be sustained
Email1; Email2; Presentation
1.15-2.00pm
LOUGHBOROUGH UNIVERSITY and THE UNIVERSITY OF WARWICK
Child development within the context of abuse and neglect
The workshop will draw on two complementary research programmes to explore how abuse and neglect in the first few months of life impacts on neuro-psychological development and patterns of attachment, and the consequences this has had for the speech and language development, behaviour and placement stability of very young children in a longitudinal study of maltreatment.
Delegates who attend this workshop will:
- Learn about the most recent research on how abuse and neglect impact on the development of very young children
- Reflect on how professional decisions can better meet children’s timescales
- Consider how maltreatment and loss in early childhood impact on children’s chances of achieving permanence
2.15- 3.00pm
PAUL HAMLYN FOUNDATION
The Right Here Programme and young people’s involvement in mental health service development
This workshop will present the Right Here Programme and its four constituent projects in Newham, Sheffield, Brighton and Northern Ireland. With the assistance of members of its Youth Panel it will then explore the role of young people in developing activities which improve mental health outcomes.
Delegates who attend this workshop will:
- Consider the challenges faced by young people in relation to their mental health and the gaps in current provision for 16 – 25 year olds
- Understand of the importance and challenges of youth involvement in mental health issues
- Reflect on the changes to practice required to create youth sensitive services designed to improve mental health outcomes for young people
3.15-4.00pm
LONDON BOROUGH OF SUTTON AND THE SUTTON GP CONSORTIA
Making the Most of the Latest Reforms in Health and Social Care
The Health and Social Care Bill and White Paper have massive implications for joint working between social care and health, with implementation of the GP consortia due in London in 2012-13.This workshop will showcase our approach to providing a universal service across a pathfinder consortium comprising 25 GPs.
Delegates who attend this workshop will:
- Explore the remit for what our GPs commission
- Reflect on how social care and health can work together
- Consider operational and strategic obstacles and how we have overcome these
Executive Centre
10.30-11.15am
COMMUNITY CARE INFORM
How Croydon is taking social work forward with Community Care Inform
This workshop will give delegates the chance to find out more about Croydon Council’s social work academy and how it is using the online resource Community Care Inform to support newly-qualified practitioners in children’s services and to help them, and other practitioners at Croydon, to achieve a high standard of social work practice.
Delegates who attend this workshop will:
- Hear how a newly-qualified social worker is using Inform as a tool to support her in her first year in practice
- Understand how Community Care Inform can help practitioners make, and evidence, their decisions
12.15- 1.00pm
BRITISH ASSOCIATION FOR ADOPTION AND FOSTERING ASSOCIATION FOR ADOPTION AND FOSTERING
New practice guidance on special guardianship
Special guardianship has provided a challenge for local authorities to implement. Some issues result from the defined role identified for local authorities and some relate to the circumstances in which they have come to be used. BAAF will be launching their new practice guidance at this workshop.
Delegates who attend this workshop will:
- Be introduced to special guardianship as a legal order - what it is and what it does
- Explore the use to which it has been put in the last five years
- Identify the issues that need to be addressed in using special guardianship as a child centred legal order
1.15-2.00pm
NCIL
How social workers can promote independent living in tough times
This workshop will explore ways in which personal budgets can be used to maximise people’s opportunities for independent living. This will include getting the right support planning, how to maximise the effectiveness of peer support and pooling personal budgets.
Delegates who attend this workshop will:
- Learn how to work with user-led organisations
- Understand how to involve peer support in planning
- Consider how to make the money go further in a personal budget
2.15- 3.00pm
SOCIAL CARE INSTITUTE FOR EXCELLENCE
Improving access to social care for adults with autism
This workshop looks at how SCIE is identifying social care services which are acceptable and accessible to people with autism. This workshop will build on research by the University of Sussex, and support the Fulfilling and Rewarding Lives agenda
Delegates who attend this workshop will:
- Understand the barriers to social care facing people with autism
- Learn what they can do, at a front-line and a strategic level, to deliver better, more personalised services to people with autism
3.15-4.00pm
CENTRE FOR MENTAL HEALTH
Evidence-based supported employment: Doing what works
Individual Placement and Support (IPS) is the established, evidence-based way of supporting people with severe mental health problems achieve sustainable, competitive employment. Its’ focus is on identifying the needs and aspirations of the individual and supporting them to find and remain in work.
Delegates who attend this workshop will:
- Learn about what IPS is and how it works
- Consider the views of a practitioner and a service user on this approach
- Explore how to get involved in providing a supported employment scheme
DAY TWO WORKSHOPS: THURSDAY 19 MAY 2011
Room 2
10.00 – 10.45am
MENTAL HEALTH FOUNDATION
Dementia Choices: Can personalisation and self-directed support work for people with dementia?
This workshop will explore some of the challenges of implementing the personalisation agenda in social care to benefit people with dementia and their families. It will consider personal budgets and direct payments in relation to choice and control, safeguarding and mental capacity. It will draw upon the Mental Health Foundation’s Dementia Choices project to illustrate possible approaches to overcoming these challenges.
Delegates who attend this workshop will:
- Understand why there is a very low take up of self-directed support among people with dementia and their families
- Gain knowledge of policy and practice that support the take-up of self-directed support among people with dementia and their families
11.00 – 11.45am
SURREY COUNTY COUNCIL
Localism in practice: Engaging the heart of communities in children services
This workshop will explore how local authorities can put statutory child protection at the heart of their communities. It will outline the benefits Surrey has seen by employing a multi-professional approach to the most vulnerable families in our locality and how this fits with current thinking from the government and the Munro Review.
Delegates who attend this session will:
- Explore links to Think Families and delivering on localism
- Consider what efficiencies have been evidenced within six months
- Reflect on how our approach has led to significant improvements in service
12.45 – 1.30pm
BARNSLEY METROPOLITAN BOROUGH COUNCIL
Report it: Overcoming disability hate crime
Bullying, hate crime and mate crime are becoming an increasing issue for disabled adults. This workshop will showcase how service user involvement with a multi-agency approach, has raised awareness of these issues locally and nationally and helped adults with a learning disability know how to proactively manage incidents.
Delegates who attend this workshop will:
- Hear service user perceptions on the impact of hate crime
- Explore strategies of peer group initiated support for victims
- Learn how to develop a user-friendly survey to gather data in your local area
1.45 – 2.30pm
NSPCC
Engagement with BME Communities and Refugee Communities
This workshop will consider various approaches that have been taken in the North East to engage with ‘settled’ or established BME communities and refugee communities. It will highlight how progress has been made in building trust and providing support to communities with a number of safeguarding initiatives and volunteer development programmes.
Delegates who attend this workshop will:
- Explore approaches to active engagement with diverse communities and action planning on safeguarding
- Consider ways to achieve consensus in multi-agency work with diverse communities
- Develop an understanding of volunteer recruitment and retention in diverse communities
2.45 – 3.30pm
ESSEX COUNTY COUNCIL
Creating a holistic framework to safeguard vulnerable adults
Essex is rated ‘excellent’ by the CQC for our approach to safeguarding adults. This workshop will share our multi-agency approach of good practice. It will showcase how commonality in partnership working and a robust operational model can be achieved to provide consistency of good practice to all adults who are at risk of abuse.
Delegates who attend this workshop will:
- Understand our strategic partnership approach to safeguarding adults
- Learn the role of senior consultant practitioners in protecting adults from abuse
- Consider how to safeguard adults in large-scale safeguarding cases
3.45 – 4.30pm
THE COLLEGE OF SOCIAL WORK
Social work advice clinic: Themes and answers
Social work’s key bodies and organisations are under radical transformation. Social workers should always be supported to be the best they can and especially so in a climate of cuts and radical changes. This session will bring together key issues emerging from the advice clinic which will run over the two days of the event.
Delegates who attend this workshop will:
- Gain an overview of key issues and concerns facing the profession
- Receive expert advice on key issues and concerns raised
- Develop a shared understanding of what the profession can do, working together, to overcome challenges that it faces
Room 3
10.00 – 10.45am
THE GENERAL SOCIAL CARE COUNCIL AND THE HEALTH PROFESSIONS COUNCIL
The changing face of social work regulation
This workshop will cover the existing regulation of social workers and how the transfer from the GSCC the HPC will affect social workers. The speakers will highlight the key issues around the transfer and explain the differences once the transfer takes place in 2012.
Delegates who attend this workshop will:
- Gain an understanding of the implications of the transfer of regulatory function from GSCC to HPC
- Understand what is expected from registrants until the transfer takes place
- Understand the key differences in social work regulation once the transfer takes place
Email1; Email2; Presentation
11.00 – 11.45am
THE COLLEGE OF SOCIAL WORK
Social work and working with the media
Social work as a profession needs a strong authoritative voice in the media. The College of Social Work is launching its ‘Speak up for social work’ campaign designed to help the profession speak up for itself with a clear, unified voice. This workshop will explore issues around working with the media and building public confidence in social work.
Delegates who attend this workshop will:
- Gain an understanding of why working effectively with the media is so important to the profession
- Develop an understanding of how the media both print and broadcast work
- Gain an understanding of how to respond to media enquiries without prejudicing professional codes of conduct
- Gain a deeper understanding of what support is available to social workers in dealing with the media
Email1; Email2; Presentation 1; Presentation 2
12.45 – 1.30pm
THE FOSTERING NETWORK
The Foster Carers’ Charter: Making it real
In March 2011 the Department for Education launched the Foster Carers’ Charter. This workshop will outline how the charter links to new Fostering Services Regulations and the National Minimum Standards for fostering services 2011.
Delegates who attend this workshop will:
- Understand how a foster child should be treated as part of the family and their views should be listened to and taken on board
- Learn how best to support foster carers in their role
- Reflect on how local authorities can recruit and retain foster carers
1.45 – 2.30pm
AGAINST VIOLENCE & ABUSE PROJECT
The links between domestic and sexual violence, problematic substance use and mental ill-health
This workshop will explore attitudes around mental health, and some myths and realities about drug and alcohol use, in the context of domestic and sexual violence. It will highlight the need to approach the overlapping issues in an integrated way through partnership working, showcasing the Stella Project’s new Mental Health Initiative.
Delegates who attend this workshop will:
- Explore perceptions around substance use, mental health and the links to abuse
- Gain basic awareness of the impact of domestic/sexual violence on mental health, and its relationship to substance use
- Understand how substances are used by both perpetrators and survivors within a domestic/sexual violence context
2.45 – 3.30pm
CHILDREN AND FAMILIES ACROSS BORDERS (CFAB) AND ISLINGTON COUNCIL
Private Fostering Arrangements for children from overseas: Best Practice tips for practitioners
This workshop will raise awareness of the unique issues facing privately fostered children from overseas. It will explore the need for flexibility in the approach to the legal definition of private fostering and provide case studies for practitioner reflection and input
Delegates who attend this workshop will:
- Learn about good practice tips for identifying hidden children and managing privately fostered children under the current regulations
- Consider assessment models of carers which safeguard the interests of the child
- Learn how to work with, and obtain information from, children’s countries of origin
- Explore implementation of our practice model at local authority level
3.45 – 4.30pm
SOCIAL POLICY RESEARCH UNIT, UNIVERSITY OF YORK
The costs, effectiveness and organisation of home care reablement services
Many adult social care departments are developing reablement services. This workshop will present research evidence on the costs, effectiveness and best ways to organise home care reablement services, the factors that promote successful outcomes for older and disabled service users and user and carer perspectives.
Delegates who attend this workshop will:
- Consider the costs and effectiveness of home care reablement
- Reflect on the importance of team organisation and staff training and supervision
- Understand the organisational factors promoting optimum outcomes for reablement service users
- Hear the user and carer perspectives
Executive Centre
11.00 – 11.45am
ST. JOHN’S HOSPICE
Social work to the grave: The role of social workers in end of life care
This workshop will address the concerns, issues and problems for people and their families as they approach the end of life. It will explore the role of social workers in end of life care and what good social work practice looks like.
Delegates who attend this workshop will:
- Have an understanding of the issues facing people at the end of life
- Appreciate what good social work practice has to offer in end of life care
- Increase confidence in working with people approaching the end of life
12.45 – 1.30pm
COMMISSIONING STREAM
NAAPS
Not just a personal budget, but a real choice: Developing micro-provision
This workshop will draw on the work of NAAPS and Community Catalysts with councils to develop provider markets in which very small providers can survive and thrive. All areas have significant numbers of micro providers, often operating under the radar of the local state. Low-cost and cost-neutral changes in commissioning practices, risk-sharing and workforce approaches can increase their numbers. Large providers are also learning from micro approaches.
Delegates who attend this workshop will:
- Consider the range of micro-enterprises available
- Reflect on the commissioning and regulatory approaches that work for micro providers
- Learn how to include development of micro-approaches in efficiencies and closure programmes
1.45 – 2.30pm
COMMISSIONING STREAM
LONDON BOROUGH OF HACKNEY
Reclaiming Social Work: Commissioning for workforce reform
This workshop will look at Hackney’s systems model for delivery of social work services and how you can change your services to provide purposeful social work and help to create real change for families. It is a completely different way of providing services and will be of interest to social workers and managers in children’s services.
Delegates who attend this workshop will:
- Enable participants to explore a new model for social work delivery
- Inspire creative thinking about the way social work services are provided
- Explore the role of social workers in helping to create change for families
2.45 – 3.30pm
COMMISSIONING STREAM
YCTCS Ltd
Implications for children's services and YOTs of the criminal justice green paper
This workshop will consider the implications of taking a systems approach to commissioning and the need for effective inter-agency service delivery. As well as the implications of payment by results to incentivise partners to reduce youth crime and custody.
Delegates who attend this workshop will:
- Consider the implications of a systems perspective on a local criminal justice system
- Reflect on the implications for service commissioning
- Explore the implications of payment by results
3.45 – 4.30pm
DEPARTMENT FOR EDUCATION
Are you ready? Responding to changes in the legal framework for looked after children and care leavers
The revised looked after children legal framework is now in force. Central to this framework are the revised regulations and statutory guidance accompanying the Children Act 1989. This workshop aims to help make practitioners aware of some of the most significant changes in the revised framework and their practice implications.
Delegates who attend this workshop will:
- Consider the evidence base supporting the changes made to the legal framework and some of the practice implications of the changes
- Understand how to strengthen the Care Planning and the Pathway Planning process
- Hear about revised regulations, guidance and NMS on fostering services and children’s homes and Family and Friends guidance
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Students over 18 only.
The content of the programme is subject to change at short notice. Seating at sessions is available on a first come, first served basis. Please ensure you check for updates on a regular basis.