This is a four-day course exploring the range of necessary knowledge, skills and characteristics needed to recognise and respond to vulnerability and the need for early support, for families with children up to 11 years of age.

Do you want to take steps to ensure that your essential quality of empathy is used to benefit others and keep everyone safe?

This course is designed to guide you in developing and refining your role when working with families, striking a balance between a boundaried framework and use of empathy.

It is an opportunity for experiential learning and reflection through a contribution made by course participants. The three key elements to this training are:

• Enhancing knowledge, skills and understanding.
• Encouraging awareness of personal ‘blind spots’ in practice in addition to reflecting on personal approach, skills and abilities.
• Promoting professional confidence and competence.

You will be exploring theoretical and practical steps that will; develop your family support/practitioner role, assist you in implementing effective high quality practice, underpin building quality services for children under eleven and their families and promote the delivery of effective early help support.

Within this professional enquiry, differing cultural, religious, racial, family and individual perspectives will be considered.

This course is for people who work with families, most likely within a Children’s Centre but also from within other Early Years provision from a range of Child Care Services, Local Authority, Voluntary and Independent Initiatives and Partnerships. Your role is to provide Early Help and support by establishing the foundations on which to build strong positive relationships with a child’s parents/carers.

You may be any of these: Family Support Worker, Family Engagement Worker, Outreach Worker, Family Link Worker and you recognise that families are the most important influence on children in their foundation years.