Working with Parents Effectively – (Enabling & Supporting Staff to deal with difficult or evasive behaviour)

Why is the BHSCP providing this course?

To provide practitioners across all agencies with best practice principles for working with parents and to learn how to deal with the challenges parents may present such as dangerous, difficult or evasive behaviour.

Disguised compliance involves parents giving the appearance of co-operating with child welfare agencies to avoid raising suspicions and allay concerns.

Published case reviews highlight that professionals sometimes delay or avoid interventions due to parental disguised compliance. It is hard for professionals to work with families where there may be lack of cooperation and/or a hostile attitude.

When there are child welfare/protection issues, a failure to engage with the family may have serious implications and non-intervention is not an option.

This course has been produced to support professionals working with these problematic dynamics

Target Audience:

Members of staff, who work predominantly with children, young people and their families, parents or carers, and who could potentially contribute to the assessment, intervention and reviewing the safeguarding needs for a child or young person, where there are safeguarding concerns, and or potential risks.

Learning Outcomes:

• Understand Disguised Compliance in a way that will be helpful in practice
• Be able to identify forceful counter arguments as a form of disguised compliance
• Consider the impact of themselves and other practitioners of working with parents who present themselves in a forceful articulate manner
• Appreciate the importance of listening to parents whilst maintaining independent, child-centred assessments
• Identify the possible motivations behind parents who disguise their level of commitment to the process of working together
• Be able to consider ways of forming better partnerships with such parents
• Understand the key messages from practice in working with parents who present in this way

Booking:

BHSCP courses are now booked via the Learning Zone platform. Agency Leads have been contacted requesting account information requirements for professionals who will require a Learning Zone account to view and book training from April 2024.  Once an account has been created for individuals they will receive an activation email from the Learning Zone.  If you need a Learning Zone account and haven’t yet requested one please email BHSCP@brighton-hove.gov.uk . Once you have an account you can book BHSCP courses.

You can access Learning Zone here: Brighton & Hove Learning Zone

Course Fees for 2024/2025:

Training is free for staff who are working with children and their families in Brighton & Hove from the following agencies:

• Brighton & Hove City Council including maintained schools.
• Foster carers.
• Community/voluntary sector groups and organisations contracted by Brighton & Hove City Council Children’s Services.
• Statutory health organisations.
• Sussex Police and probation.
• Early years staff (including private early years settings).

For other organisations including Primary and Secondary – Academy/Free/Independent Schools, and Further/Higher Education settings the charge will be £120 for a full day (over 4 hours) course (virtual and in person).

For courses April 2024 – end of March 2025 there will be no attendance charge for online webinars, selected briefings and training sessions under 4 hours (this is subject to change from 1 April 2025).  Charges may apply for specific ad-hoc events, but this will be detailed on promotional and booking communications.

Charging for attendance was limited during Covid restrictions and suspended when the Learning Gateway was decommissioned in September 2022 but has been reinstated with the arrival of the Learning Zone in April 2024.  Attendance charges will be invoiced on a quarterly basis as applicable.

 Non-attendance and Late Cancellation Charges:  

A £50 late cancellation fee applies to all BHSCP training bookings including conference places.  The cancellation charge of £50 will be made for non-attendance without 5 days’ notice.  Please note that substitution of staff at late notice is acceptable.

If a member of staff is not able to attend a session at late notice due to an emergency situation, they should notify BHSCP@brighton-hove.gov.uk on the day of the training or before, as we may be able to waive this fee in exceptional circumstances.  Learners should use their Learning Zone account to cancel booked training places with more than 5 days’ notice.

Charging for non-attendance was suspended when the Learning Gateway was decommissioned in September 2022 but has been reinstated with the arrival of the Learning Zone in April 2024.   Fees will be deducted from the budget code provided.

From 1 April 2025:

We will notify you of any changes relating to course fees and/or non-attendance/late cancellation charges from 1 April 2025.  Changes will also be posted on the BHSCP website Home – BHSCP

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