FtSE Member News: TACT part of new consortium to provide support to fostering and adoption teams

TACT has joined with Research in Practice and Action for Children to win a contract with the Department for Education to design and trial a range of resources, specifically around fostering and adoption. The contract, which runs until the end of March 2014, will involve the development of training materials and the delivery of nine regional, two-day train-the-trainer events that will contribute to practitioners’ continued professional development. The programme will include multi-method approaches, and will be available to all local authorities in England and a number of independent providers. These materials will not just be for social workers already practising within fostering and adoption settings but also aimed at the wider social work workforce and others involved with looked after children.

The resources will equip trainers with materials, knowledge and skills around a range of key topics, including:

• the legal frameworks that underpin fostering and adoption
• attachment
• child-centred approaches and communicating with children and young people
• impact of parental behaviour
• leadership
• supervision and reflection
• child, foster carer and adopter experiences
• assessing and matching the needs of children to approved foster carers or adopters

These trainers will then be supported to cascade this learning, hopefully ensuring a cost-effective and practice-led approach to whole team learning that should benefit carers and adopters and the children in those families.

TACT was delighted to be invited by RIP to join its consortium, as not only do we have expertise in this area, but we recognise the importance of getting these issues addressed within social care, in order to help young people in the care system.

Source: tactcare.org.uk/news/tact-part-of-new-consortium-to-provide-support-to-fostering-and-adoption-teams/

---