Core Skills
Core Skills
This level of course is designed for workers who are experienced at working with vulnerable and challenging children and young people and who wish to develop their knowledge and skills. The courses provide an in depth look at subjects at Level 4.
Adolescent Mental Health
Mental illness can be as varied as physical illnesses in their presentation and impact. The type, severity and duration has a profound impact on the individual especially a younger person. Children often become isolated from friends, scared, embarrassed or ashamed because of the stigma of mental illness and discrimination associated with it. But with the right support and clear information children and young people can be helped to cope with what is happening.
Advanced Recording and Report Writing
Senior child care workers need to both understand the importance of recording and report writing. This course aims to provide workers with a clear understanding of the issues of communicating via the written word and a set of skills to enable them to do this well.
Attachment Awareness
The importance of a secure attachment to at least one primary care giver has long been recognised in child care practice for many years and continues to underpin planning and practice for ‘looked after’ children. Child care practitioners need to have a basic understanding of ‘normal’ developmental processes in order to be able to recognise and make informed assessments that will determine good practice.
Attachment Separation and Loss
The course is designed to give experienced workers a deeper understanding of these issues. The day will allow participants to develop theoretical knowledge and skills to enable them to work more effectively with children and young people who have difficulties around attachment, separation and loss.
Autistic Spectrum Disorder
An introduction to working with children and young people who have disorders in the autistic spectrum. Understanding the range of disorders, the effect they have on young people and looking at some strategies for working with young people.
Bereavement and Loss
Bereavement is one of many losses people experience and this course looks at the effects of loss on children and young people. We will look at the different types of loss and transitions that people experience in life. Learners will gain an understanding of the process of loss, bereavement and grief and what might complicate the process. Techniques to offer as support will be discussed and demonstrated.
Bullying
Bullying happens at a variety of levels from minor to extremely serious. It is a common behaviour that happens everywhere. Understanding about bullying and about how to address the issues is a vital skill for all residential workers if we are to help children lead positive lives.
Care Planning
One of the primary tasks for any residential setting is to support the identified needs of each individual child in a planned and structured way, by utilising whatever resources are to hand and strive to provide an appropriate environment in which these identified needs can be met. Without a structure or a plan there is a very real danger that the child concerned will be allowed to ‘drift’ and positive opportunities to effect change will be missed.
Caring for Teenagers
Through the use of a mix of theoretical and practical sessions this course encourages learners to explore and reflect on the emotional and physical journey through adolescence. It takes a close look how physical and emotional changes impact on the developing child as they struggle to make sense of their new ‘enforced’ role. This course will also touch on how developmental delays can effects this process and how that directly relates to working with emotionally damaged young people.
Counselling Skills
Counselling is the most basic way of starting to work more formally and therapeutically with children and young people. Counselling skills can be used in a variety of situations and can inform and assist our work in a variety of ways.
Dealing with Family Contact
The course aims to look at often difficult subject of children who are “looked after” having contact with their birth family or with other family members. It is not easy to understand the issues here on a theoretical or intellectual level, but the practicalities and the emotional difficulties are often much more difficult to deal not only for the children involved but also for carers and the children’s families. The course aims to give an overview of the theory of the importance of contact but spends most time looking at issues of working with children and families and coping with their behaviour and emotional issues.
Equality and Diversity
A course to develop an awareness of our own belief systems and values and where they come from. It will confirm and explore definitions of the terms equality and diversity and the relevant legislation. The group will look at their organisation’s policy and make suggestions for change as appropriate via an Action Plan. There will be some practical work creating resources that will enable this work area to be shared with children and young people.disclosed abuse. Issues around confidentiality, relationships, referring information.
Playing Outside the Box
There is a growing body of research that has begun to identify the disturbing consequences of children and young people being denied access to stimulating play experiences. Many young people within the ‘looked after’ system need to experience an environment which allows them to re-discover the childhood they may have lost. In order to achieve this organisations need to have a skilled workforce that not only understands the importance of play and exploration has in developmental terms, but also has the ability to engage children and young people at an appropriate level
Professionalism (Knowledge and Skills)
The course is aimed at foster carers and residential carers who are looking to develop themselves into professional workers within the care profession. Often child care is seen as a low status job, by ourselves and by others. The course aims to address this issue directly believing that those who care directly for children and young people are not only often the most knowledgeable and skilful but also the people most able to make positive influences to the lives and outcomes of young people. To do this effectively requires carers to work with other professionals to interact as equals and to take a lead in discussion and planning.
Safeguarding Children and Young People
This course is designed to revisit the basic awareness course and deal with issues in greater depth. Learners will be asked to concentrate on the impact of abuse and the cycle of abuse by using a range of case studies and group exercises. This course also takes a look at the use of the Internet as a vehicle for abuse and what steps can be taken by staff to reduce the impact of web based abuse.
Sexualised Behaviour
Working with children and young people who have sexualised behaviour requires some specialist knowledge and understanding. These children and young people may be struggling to come to terms with past abuse and with their own sexuality. They may be vulnerable to sexual exploitation and may face a variety of sexual health issues. This course aims to address some of these issues and allow staff to understand and think about how to tackle these difficult areas.
Social Conduct Disorders
An introduction to the often confusing world of social disorders. Relatively new to our work and often misunderstood and controversial they are now terms that are commonly used and increasingly children and young people are being diagnosed with these disorders.
Substance Misuse
This course aims to give participants a clear understanding of the often complex reasons why children and young people develop problems with substance abuse. It will provide workers with a model for dealing with these issues and some clear skills and strategies for dealing with a variety of difficulties.
Working with the Abused Child
Working with abused children is difficult, demanding and complex work. Often children have such complex needs that it is difficult to know where to start. Children also present a whole range of challenging behaviour which is a result of the trauma they have suffered but which makes helping them and working with them even more difficult.