Managing Contact Between Looked After Children & Their Families

This one-day course provides participants with a valuable opportunity to explore the key issues surrounding contact arrangements for children and young people who are looked after. The training focuses on the complexities of maintaining safe, meaningful, and positive connections with birth families, while balancing the child’s welfare, rights, and emotional needs.

Through a combination of trainer-led discussions, case studies, and group activities, participants will examine the legal framework, local authority responsibilities, and the role of practitioners in ensuring contact is arranged and monitored appropriately. Emphasis is placed on developing good practice protocols and professional standards that safeguard children while encouraging constructive family relationships wherever possible.

The course also highlights the importance of reflective practice, enabling practitioners to consider their own role, attitudes, and decision-making in the contact process. By the end of the session, attendees will have a deeper understanding of how to promote contact that is not only safe and secure, but also meaningful and beneficial for the child’s long-term wellbeing.