Training
We offer a range of training especially geared to those working in health, police, social services, education, criminal justice system and the voluntary sector.
We design individual training programmes for your team, department, or multi-disciplinary group. Bringing training to your organisation means that people who work together can learn together. We use a range of methods including direct input, facilitated groups work and video and other media.
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Our Training Team
The Ann Craft Trust draws on a team of expert trainers from a range of professional backgrounds with the experience to make the course directly relevant to your needs. The team currently includes trainers with expertise in social work and social care, policing and interviewing, sexual health and education, nursing, clinical psychology, counselling and therapy, mental health, policy, procedures and management issues.
ACT's training philosophy is to pay attention and respect to race, culture, gender, age, sexual orientation and disability. The nature of the training focuses on learning disability but also integrates other aspects of equal opportunities. |
ACT Training Programmes
Your training could include:
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Training
A Fairer Hearing
This course looks at the government initiatives that have been introduced and implemented since 1998 to give both vulnerable children and adults a fairer hearing. It also looks at the roles and responsibilities of all professional involved in the legal process and the ways that agencies need to work together to the benefit of the vulnerable person. During the course delegates will:
- Examine the roles and responsibilities of the professional disciplines involved
- Gain an understanding of the relevant legislation and its implementation process
- Consider ways to work effectively together.
Abuse and Protection of Vulnerable Adults and Children
This two-day course is essential for all staff working with children and adults with learning disabilities and other vulnerable people. The course will
- Enable participants to explore issues relating to the abuse of vulnerable children and adults in a safe and structured manner
- Raise awareness about the possibility and actuality of abuse
- Increase alertness in recognising the signs and signals of abuse
- Give participants the opportunity to share experience and local knowledge of ways of supporting individuals with learning disabilities who have been abused.
Communicating with Disabled Children
A one or two day course which raises awareness of communication and successful approaches to supporting children with communication difficulties. The course will cover all aspects of communication including verbal and non-verbal, understanding and social use of communication. It will provide some guidance on assessing communication and accessing appropriate additional support and advice. It will also familiarise course participants with a range of commonly used communication strategies that can be used in their daily working practice.
Implementing the Mental Capacity Act
In response to the MCA the Ann Craft Trust has developed a training package designed to increase professional awareness of the Act and to support organisational implementation. The training will be delivered by expert trainers who have been involved in the consultation and development of the Act. The training will give you the opportunity to explore the core principles of the MCA and also to find out more about the changes your team will have to make in response to the MCA. The widely anticipated MCA Code of Practice, released on 9 th March 2006 will be discussed, with particular focus on points that are important for the work of your team.
The length and depth of the training course will depend upon the needs of the training group and could be delivered in 'bitesize' half day sessions or more intense 1 or 2 day courses.
Introduction to Working with People with Learning Disabilities and Mental Health Needs
People with learning disabilities are vulnerable to developing mental health problems. Staff working in health, social services and the independent and voluntary sector have an essential role in recognising and supporting such individuals. This new course is designed to give staff a clearer understanding of the complex issues around "dual diagnosis" of mental illness and learning disability.
Investigative Interviewing
This two-day course is for police officers, social workers, their managers and others involved in interviewing children or adults with learning disabilities as victims, witnesses or suspects of crime and sexual assault. Participants will have the opportunity to:
- Review knowledge and both cultural and personal perceptions of learning disability and relate this to experiences of abuse and reporting/disclosing abuse for adults and children with learning disabilities and build on this work to examine the implications of interagency working together
- Consider the transferability of knowledge and skills between child protection and adult protection
- Consider decision making and responses to abuse of adults and children with learning disabilities by examining a series of vignettes to draw out issues for an initial assessment of risk and for any possible action
- Consider two models of interviewing to meet the needs of the individual child or adult
- Consider interviews with individuals with limited communication skills
- Examine planning the interview
- Develop a repertoire of skills and techniques suited to interviewing a child or adult with cognitive impairment
- Make links and network with other practitioners.
Is this Abuse or Just Poor Practice
Explore the fine line between abuse and poor practice and look at recent inquiries. Consider when formal safeguarding procedures should be implemented.
Minute Taking
This one day course aims to enable participants to take minutes in a way that is required to support the adult safeguarding (protection) process.
Participants will be able to:
- Take notes for the purpose of writing minutes of adult protection case conference meetings.
- Understand how to write minutes that are brief, have a logical structure and are quick and easy to read and understand.
- Put adult protection minutes into context by considering who vulnerable adults are and the purpose of the adult protection case conference meetings.
- Consider listening and concentration skills and some of the difficulties that they might experience.
- Explore some of the factors that contribute to effective case conference meetings including administrative arrangements.
- Explore some of the possible coping strategies and sources of support for those taking the minutes of the meeting.
Multi-Agency is Different
Experience tells us that failure to communicate and work together all too often leads to a vulnerable individual remaining at risk. This one day course is for anyone who works with other disciplines or with other agencies in protecting adults with learning disabilities from abuse. While this course can be run as a single agency group, it is designed for, and will be most effective with, a multi-agency audience.
It aims to examine some of the issues and misunderstandings which can hinder inter-agency working in the protection of vulnerable adults and to develop effective working together strategies. Course delegates will:
- Explore the impact of stereotyping
- Examine inter-agency understandings and definitions
- Develop effective strategies helpful in fostering inter-agency communication
- Look at current thinking and proposals in protecting vulnerable adults.
No Secrets - Developing and Implementing Policies and Procedures
This course is for staff involved in the development and implementation of policies. It refers to No Secrets (2000) which gives guidance on developing multi-agency policies and procedures to protect vulnerable adults from abuse. The course will assist organisations understanding their role and responsibility with regard to their local procedures and will assist in the review and updating of procedures. The course aims to:
- Consider the appropriate involvement of people in the writing or revising of guidelines
- Raise awareness of the tasks and implications involved in the implementation of guidelines
- Share knowledge and progress of any existing procedural guidelines or draft guidelines.
Positive Approaches to Managing Self-Harm
This one day course has been designed for practitioners working directly with adults who self-injure. It presents some of the explanatory theories relating to self-harm and challenges the myths. Participants will have the opportunity to:
- Define self-harm and look at its different forms
- Consider the signs and signals of self-harming behaviour
- Develop practical support strategies
- Explore mental health issues and their influence on self-harming behaviour.
Protection of Vulnerable Adults (POVA) List
The POVA list was implemented in July 2004. Are you aware of the details of POVA and its implications on your organisation? Are you clear about your responsibility with regard to this new initiative? ACT is now able to offer half-day seminars to organisations outlining the details of POVA and considering it in relation to you. These are already being well received by staff requiring clarity and support at this crucial implementation stage.
Preparing for Employment
An increasing number of people with learning disabilities are having the opportunity to live independently and to gain employment. This course has been designed to inform and support people in preparation for their new challenge and includes personal hygiene, sexual health, work relationships and other work related issues.
Running Sexuality and Personal Relationships Education Programmes
This course offers participants the opportunity to consider various sex education packages and to consider issues of teaching people with learning disabilities in this area. There will be discussion concerning the sensitive nature of this teaching, group dynamics, assessing learning, content of programmes and support for the trainer.
Safeguarding Disabled Children
This one or two day course is designed to raise awareness of the abuse of children and young people with learning/ physical disabilities and explore individual and organisational responses and responsibilities. During the course participants will:
- Identify types, causes, signs and signals of abuse
- Explore personal values and beliefs that affect work practices
- Develop an insight into how legislation/policy impacts on your role
- Describe and apply the protection procedures
- Recognise the effects of stress and identify support systems
Safer Services
This is a two day course for middle managers offering an awareness of issues relating to the risk of abuse to service users within services they manage and developing a framework to minimise risks to service users. During the course participants will:
- Be equipped to undertake an assessment of the potential risks and quality of services for people with learning disabilities
- Consider best practice in recruitment, management and supervision
- Explore ways to eliminate abusive practices and procedures resulting from ignorance, thoughtlessness or intent.
Sexual Abuse of Older People
To disseminate the findings of this important research, ACT will be offering organisations the opportunity to access information about the work, its findings and implications for practice by commissioning either a conference presentation or a half day seminar exploring its impact on your organisation.
Supporting Parents with Learning Disabilities
This newly developed programme explores the support needs of parents who have learning disabilities.
- Review of ACT research looking at the support needs of parents
- The responsibilities of parenting
- Specific difficulties for parent with learning disabilities
- Access to support
- Roles and responsibilities of supportive professionals
The course can be tailored to suit the needs of your organisation. It may also be possible to deliver this course as a ' Train the Trainers ' course. Please contact us if you would like to discuss this further.
Supporting the Victim - Working with Survivors
This 2-day course is of benefit to anyone working or supporting a person with a learning disability who has been a victim of abuse. Depending on the requirements of the participants, it can include an in-depth look at therapeutic approaches to working with victims. The course aims to:
- Enable participants to explore issues relating to the abuse of people with learning disabilities in a structured and safe manner
- Consider the support needs of a person with learning disabilities who has been sexually abused and look at what services are currently available to meet their needs
- Explore ways of responding to a disclosure
- Look at the skills required for working with people who have been abused and some of the materials that can be used.
Training the Trainers
This course is for organisations that want to deliver in-house training to their staff but also want to ensure that the training will be delivered in a sensitive and informative manner. This is a four (2+2) or six (3+3) day course covering aspects/issues relating to the abuse of people with learning disabilities using a variety of group/pair exercises, allowing time for evaluation and feedback, input on trainers issues and skills and the opportunity for future trainers to deliver selected aspects of the training framework in a safe setting. Time is allowed for large group discussion and individual critical evaluation. ACT encourages the commissioning agency to build in refresher days to keep their trainers up to date and to give them the opportunity to raise issues and concerns. ACT will act as consultants to the in-house trainers at an agreed cost per trainer per year.
Understanding Abuse Investigations
Multi-agency working in this area with adults is fairly recent and there is a recognition that all agencies have knowledge and expertise that should be shared. Child Protection has worked from the basis of joint working for a number of years and lessons can be learned when working with both vulnerable adults including people with learning disabilities and children with disability. It is vital that all parties are equipped with information about the process. This two day course offers this essential knowledge. It explores all the issues involved in an investigation including:
- What action should be taken following disclosure
- Interviewing the child or vulnerable adult
- The preservation of evidence including forensic
- Police action and timescale's
- Therapy to be considered in the aftermath.
Understanding Sexuality and Personal Relationships
This course can be run as a one or a two day workshop for all staff working with people with learning disabilities. The two day workshop is a preferred option by many as it allows participants the opportunity to explore the issues in more depth and to discuss any concerns that arise. The aims of the course are:
- To raise awareness about sexuality, personal relationships and learning disabilities
- To enable participants to explore personal/societal issues relating to the sexuality of people with learning disabilities.
- To share experience and local knowledge relating to policy and guidelines on the sexuality of adults with learning disabilities.
Effective Support for Offenders who have Mental Health Needs and/ or Learning Disabilities
This one or two day course is available if you are looking at young offenders or adult offenders - the commissioning agency needs to specify which they require. The course gives participants the opportunity to:
- Consider the treatment issues
- Assess risks of re-offending
- Examine risk assessment vs therapy
- Explore methods of supervision and support.
Contact
For more information about any individual training programme or a discussion on how courses can be tailored to meet your needs, contact:
Training Co-ordinator on 0115 951 5400
e-mail: ann-craft-trust@nottingham.ac.uk
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