Training and support
Previously Looked After Children (PLAC)
We offer support and guidance for parents of previously looked after children.
This includes children who've been adopted, have a special guardianship order or a child arrangement order.
Schools, social workers and foster carers
Each term, we provide training for schools, social workers and foster carers on current topics relating to the education of cared for children. The training is run by our designated teachers. Previous training topics include Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD).
- Get in touch using the contact details on this page to request access to this training
Building resilience and strengthening relationships through play
View our videos for carers to train and support you with building resilience and strengthening relationships through play.
- Thursday, 11 June 2020 - supporting play and resilience part 7 on YouTube (00:08:41) - welcome to the final video in our series on play and resilience. This video brings together some of the information from previous sessions, showing how closely play and resilience are linked and thinking through which play activities in particular are useful in building resilience.
- Thursday, 4 June 2020 - supporting play and resilience part 6 on YouTube (00:10:58) - in this video we continue our focus on resilience. Dr Kenneth Ginsberg, a Professor of Paediatrics at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania, has identified The 7 C’s of Resilience. We will briefly think about each ‘C’ in turn, what they mean and how you can support the children and young people in your care to develop their skills in that area.
- Thursday, 28 May 2020 - supporting play and resilience part 5 on YouTube (00:08:50) - our topic moves from play to resilience. We will provide a definition of resilience and talk about the characteristics shown by more and less resilient children. Resilience is a quality that can be developed throughout our lives and we will discuss some of the ways in which research has identified we can support children to become more resilient individuals.
- Thursday, 21 May 2020 - supporting play and resilience part 4 on YouTube (00:11:58) - in this video, we think about the importance of laughter for children’s development. We all enjoy, and often feel better, after laughing with our friends and family. The video will briefly discuss the chemicals in our brain that help us to feel good and the need for us to have positive interactions for them to be fully activated. We will also consider some aspects of ‘Attachment Play’, from a book by Aletha Solter. 4 of the 9 types of attachment play will be discussed, with a focus on developing positive attachments between children and those who are caring for them.
- Thursday, 14 May 2020 - supporting play and resilience part 3 on YouTube (00:09:18) - this video considers how to create a rich play environment and the different types of play your child might enjoy. Dr David Whitebread from Cambridge University has split play into 5 main areas; we will discuss each type of play briefly and provide you with a few activity ideas in each section to suit all ages of children and young people.
- Thursday, 7 May 2020 - supporting play and resilience part 2 on YouTube (00:09:27) - this video discusses ‘loose parts play’ which research has identified as a key way to support children’s development. This just means playing with ‘stuff’; any odds and ends that you find around your home can be used to spark your children’s imagination, creativity, resilience and problem-solving skills. The video will also discuss the benefits of play in a bit more detail.