Training

This workshop focuses on the belief that the best behaviour support occurs when the behaviour is not happening. We teach the importance of proactive strategies through the principles of Positive Behaviour Support, which will result in decreasing concerning behaviours and improving a child’s overall quality of life.

Agency staff will learn how to implement specific strategies, including the systematic gathering of relevant information, conducting a functional behaviour assessment, designing support plans, implementation and ongoing evaluation, as well as supporting carers to implement specific strategies to support the children in their care.

Developed for foster carers and agency staff, this workshop addresses the challenges children with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) experience across a number of areas including social development, emotional regulation, speech and language deficits, sensory difficulties, behavioural problems and anxiety.

After completing the training, carers and agency staff will better understand the behaviours and have the practical techniques to manage and support children with an ASD.

Participants are given a psychological perspective on traumatic responses in children and are provided with advice to help children with the resulting behavioural problems, anxiety, depression, social problems and poor concentration.

This workshop will help carers and agency staff understand and manage the behaviours and psychological functioning of children who have experienced past trauma. Issues such as attachment, grief and loss are also covered in this workshop.

This workshop assists carers and agency staff to build the resilience of children in care by guiding them through the challenges and reviewing what they may have learned for next time.

By attending this course, agency staff will be able to offer support to carers and children in their care, as well as exploring their own resilience strategies when faced with the many challenges this line of work brings.

The course focuses on encouraging carers to:

• model a positive attitude
• look for ‘teachable’ moments i.e. turning problems into learning opportunities
• make kids active participants in the family
• build kids coping skills and ongoing resilience.

This workshop aims to assist agency staff, case managers and carers to understand the importance of Life Story Work for children in care and gives practical, fun ideas to engage carers and children in the process.

The workshop also discusses the therapeutic benefit of Life Story Work for children in care, including helping them make sense of their world, processing grief and loss, understanding and managing their emotions and coping with change.

Anxiety is often an underlying cause of many behavioural issues but once identified and acknowledged, children can learn to manage their emotions and fears more easily. Carers will learn how to identify symptoms of anxiety in children and to respond in ways that will teach a child to self-regulate and manage their anxiety. This is an informative, interactive workshop for new and experienced foster carers, as well as for parents, with a strong Cognitive Behavioural Framework.

This workshop is for agency staff and carers who are exposed to numerous stories of abuse, neglect and traumatic events. In addition, carers are often exposed to challenging and disturbing behaviours, which are the result of trauma and abuse. Staff and carers will learn to identify when they may be experiencing vicarious trauma, understand its impact and learn coping mechanisms.

The Protective Behaviours program has been developed as an interactive workshop which will help carers and agency staff understand the importance of teaching children protective behaviours.

The workshop addresses empowerment, communication, self-esteem, resilience, social skills and other life skills. By teaching and promoting these concepts, Protective Behaviours helps to prevent abuse, reduce violence and promote life-enriching rather than life-depleting experiences. It encourages children to assert their right to feel safe, listen to what their body tells them, and follow up by taking action to either solve problems on their own or to seek assistance from other people.

This workshop discusses the current concerns regarding bullying and helps carers and agency staff identify and deal with bullying issues that may be occurring with a child. It offers practical strategies and provides advice on how to work closely with schools and other agencies to educate children and parents about the dangers of bullying on the internet.