Buckinghamshire – Early Help 4 day practitioner program

Bucks were transforming their early help service and recognised the need to offer staff training and development during the restructure.The objective was to both upskill staff and to ensure a shared understanding of the vision and process moving forward with the Early Help offer. 

Around 100 staff completed the 4 days training including managers. 

Course content included:

Day 1 - Engagement and Communication

• Developing a greater understanding of working in partnerships, the importance of trust, communication styles, boundaries, engaging family members who may be difficult to engage, challenge and safe relationship building.
• Reflective practice and understanding of their role and expectations of Bucks new vision. 

Day 2 - Skills to complete Family and individual Assessments, Tools and Planning

• Shared understanding of family assessment using skills and tools to gain assessment information, consider how to use different tools and when they are most appropriate to provide effective support.
• Skills to hear the voice of the child and recognise and manage risk.
• Developing clear SMART family plans and support packages and develop skills and practice in attending and chairing ‘Team around the Family’ meetings.
• Consider multi agency partners and their role in family work.
• Exploring barriers to independence and self-reliance, considering trauma and working with resistance. The importance of endings and closures and the need to build appropriate exit strategies.
• How staff can build on their own resilience and understand how this can improve their work with individuals and families.

Day 3 - Family plans and multi-agency working

• Developing clear SMART family plans and support packages and develop skills and practice in attending and chairing ‘Team around the Family’ meetings.
• Consider multi agency partners and their role in family work.

Day 4 - Supporting individuals and families towards independence and self-reliance 

• Exploring barriers to independence and self-reliance, considering trauma and working with resistance. The importance of endings and closures and the need to build appropriate exit strategies.
• How staff can build on their own resilience and understand how this can improve their work with individuals and families.

The days also included internal briefings from partners in social care.

95% of learners rated the 4-day program overall and its usefulness to practice ‘Excellent’ and the remaining 5% ‘Good’.  

Direct Learner Feedback included: 

• The practical tools and relevance to our role made the training really helpful,

• Thank you for the training I feel like I have been given a whole new boost of energy from the 4 days, your passion and qualities have been just what I needed and give me a boost to stop reflecting (and moaning) on what has changed and get back to what I can do and why I do it. Oh, and the resources helped too. I feel like I’m back and excited about it. Thank You!!

• I now have a variety of tools and strategies to develop better relationships with families and encourage communication in order to gain a better understanding of their circumstances.I feel more confident in my role to work with families

• I feel more confident in my role to work with families