Community Care’s forthcoming legal masterclass includes learning on court skills, care proceedings, parental responsibility, asylum age assessments and deprivation of liberty, delivered by six family court barristers.
Children’s social care law is a complex and fast-changing area, which social workers must stay on top of to ensure their decision making is legally defensible.
To help practitioners sharpen up their knowledge and skills, Community Care is running a Children’s Social Work Legal Masterclass, in which six leading family court barristers will deliver training on key practice topics.
The event, on 24 June at M Shed, Bristol, starts with a session on case preparation and court skills, where Asha Groves and Chelsea Bartlett, of St John’s Chambers, will provide guidance on the expectations on social workers before and during hearings. The session will cover gathering, analysing and presenting evidence, writing statements and responding to cross-examination with confidence and professionalism.
Pre-proceedings and parental responsibility
They will be followed by Claire Wills-Goldingham KC, of Colleton Chambers, whose session will focus on the pre-proceedings process under the Public Law Outline. Among other things, she will address how practitioners can use assessments effectively and fairly to investigate concerns, formulate plans and encourage change, and how these can support court evidence if this becomes necessary.
Tanya Zahibi, of Albion Chambers, will then deliver guidance on the law in relation to parental responsibility, including how it applies in relation to children under different court orders, or who are accommodated under section 20, and decision making on issues such as medical treatment.
The subsequent session will cover the contentious area of age assessments of unaccompanied asylum-seeking young people. Ayesha Christie, of Matrix Chambers, will address the circumstances in which you might need to carry out an age assessment, the social worker’s role and the latest case law and government guidance.
Deprivation of liberty and the inherent jurisdiction
The day concludes with a session on the law around the deprivation of liberty of children, delivered by Eliza Sharron, of 39 Essex Chambers. This will focus on the use of the inherent jurisdiction of the High Court, including how the courts have responded to applications to authorise children and young people’s confinement in ‘bespoke’, unregulated or unregistered accommodation when there are no other suitable placements available.
If you book by 21 April, you can take advantage of our early bird rates of £295 + VAT for public and voluntary sector staff and £345 + VAT for those in the private sector. After that, the standard rates of £325 + VAT (public/voluntary sector) and £375 + VAT (private sector) will apply.
Book your place on the masterclass now.
Source: Community Care
