Speakers
Start
March 20, 2025 - 10:00
End
March 20, 2025 - 14:00

The foundation of effective child protection work is an accurate, insightful and robust assessment of parenting capacity. These assessments may lead to a decision that no further involvement from services is needed or, provide a clear view of the type of focused input needed. Alternatively, it can form the basis of the case for significant intervention, and can be pivotal to the outcome of family proceedings in court.
The need for robust assessments is an underlying theme in many safeguarding practice reviews and Serious Case Reviews. However, a number of factors in practice mean that the quality of parenting assessments can vary: caseload pressure, a high turnover of staff, a tendency to overstate risk for fear of missing something, insufficient professional scepticism, and insufficient training leading to omissions. Parenting assessments are also not always updated at key points, such as pre-proceedings.
This training aims to clarify what makes a good assessment, and the key steps to achieving this. It is ideal for newly qualified children and family social workers, or staff who are new to a team. It is also a great opportunity to enable experienced, core team members and managers to review their practice.
The sessions may also be helpful to professionals from other agencies who are involved with the assessment process, and to family solicitors.
The training takes a Trauma Informed Approach and will refer to, but not examine in depth, attachment theory and systems theory. It will focus on the practical steps needed to achieve three key elements of assessment: understanding family history and dynamics, the use of standardised tools, and improved critical thinking and analysis.
Further detail about the areas covered by this training is provided in the Agenda section. The training will refer to examples and case studies to illustrate key points, and there will be plenty of time for questions.
“I’ve had quite a few assessments sent to me where social workers haven’t bothered to look into the Dad or his involvement because he wasn’t [resident] in the house, but he had PR [parental responsibility].”
“There are consistent and repeated messages for practice from SCRs, especially regarding the quality of assessments”
Part 3, Serious case reviews 1998 to 2019: continuities, changes and challenges, December 2022. Authors: Jonathan Dickens, Julie Taylor, Laura Cook, Jeanette Cossar, Joanna Garstang and Julia Rimmer
Format of the training
- This training takes place live online
- Details of the sessions, with approximate timings, are given in the Agenda section
- All sessions will offer an opportunity for questions
What you will get from us
- Once you have booked, you will be emailed a brief confirmation.
- Joining instructions will be emailed 1-2 weeks before the date of the training
- After you have completed the training, we will email a Certificate of Attendance for your CPD records
Technical heads up
- If you are part of a large organisation, please check with your IT department that there are no firewalls which will prevent you from accessing the training.
- We’re here to help, so if you have any problems, just call us on 0115 916 3104 or email us on conferences@ccclimited.org.uk
Delegate fee:
1 place – £75 + VAT (£90)
3 places – £205 + VAT (£246)
5 places – £325 + VAT (£390)
10 places – £590 + VAT (£708)
Want to book a larger group (over 10)?
- Discount on the standard price available for this event
- Training can be delivered in your workplace or live online just for your group
Call 0115 916 3104 or email conferences@ccclimited.org.uk to arrange
Booking Terms and Conditions
- The latest date for cancellation of standard rate places is 2 weeks prior to the day of the training event; an administration fee of 25% will be charged for cancellation
- Substitutions will be accepted, but these must be notified in writing PRIOR to the first day of the training event
- It is the responsibility of each participant to ensure that they set aside time to access the online sessions; unexpected work or personal events will not entitle the delegate to access later events without re-booking
- Cancellations should be made in writing to conferences@ccclimited.org.uk up to two weeks before the start of the event and will be acknowledged
Please note that discounted group bookings are non-cancellable, but we always accept substitutes.
Dr Tracee Green is the Head of the Centre for Child Protection (CCP) and Reader at the University of Kent’s School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research (SSPSSR). She has taught on CCP’s multidisciplinary postgraduate programmes, provided CPD training in child protection and led in the creation of the University of Kent’s Social Worker Degree Apprenticeship. She is a registered social worker with 14 years of experience working with children and families. She is currently the PI on an ESRC funded collaboration between CCP and Kent Police aimed at creating a simulation trailing tool promoting trauma informed approaches within police work with young girls who have lived experiences of child sexual exploitation. She is also working on a REPHRAIN funded project looking to develop a synthetic database for research exploring online harms and a Youth Endowment Fund project looking at the impact of Multi-Systemic Therapy for Child Abuse and Neglect. Tracee’s interests are in child protection and education-based research. Her faculty research page can be found at https://www.kent.ac.uk/social-policy-sociology-social-research/people/1970/green-tracee.
AGENDA
10.00 – 10.05
Welcome, and outline of how today will work
10.05 – 10.20
‘Back to basics’ – what is a parenting assessment
10.20 – 10.40
When is parenting ‘good enough’?
10.40 – 11.10
Parenting assessments in practice
11.10 – 11.25
Q&A
11.25 – 11.35
Quick break
11.35 – 12.00
Threshold decision-making
12.00 – 12.20
A focus on adult-oriented issues
12.20 – 12.45
Trauma informed approach
12.45 – 1.10
Standardised measures
1.10 – 1.30
Analysing parental capacity to change
1.30 – 2.00
Q&A
- Child protection social workers
- Newly qualified children and family social workers
- Social workers returning to practice or beginning practice in the UK
- Social work assistants
- Third year social work students on placement
- Non-statutory children and family services
- CAFCASS staff
- Family solicitors
- Nurses and health visitors
- Psychiatrists and psychologists