Permanence training Programme

The background and context

The Department for Education commissioned Mott McDonald and InTrac to develop the Achieving Permanence programme in 2016, as part of the Government’s reform of social work via the development of social workers’ knowledge and skills over the course of their professional journey. This focus on knowledge and skills builds on the excellent practice already demonstrated by many talented social workers across England. It is intended to result in a stronger workforce that can deliver improved outcomes for all children and families.

The Department for Education identified child permanence as a key area of practice to be addressed, recognising the impact of social work skills and behaviour on the speed, effectiveness, and quality of the process to find a permanent home or setting for a child. This CPD programme aims to support effective child and family social work in this important area of practice, and is based on the Knowledge and Skills Statement for Achieving Permanence (KSS-AP).

The programme has been led by Mott MacDonald with the design and development of content by In-Trac Training and Consultancy in close collaboration with a Consortium Advisory Board who represent the sector, and with the benefit of scrutiny and input from a group of experts working with the Department for Education.

The materials are designed to be used by those responsible for training and developing social workers, and have been presented as four training modules with a variety of supporting documents.  The programme is intended for experienced practitioners,that is: qualified for more than two years; experienced in child and family social work; experienced in care proceedings, either directly, or through shadowing another worker through a case; engaged in regular reflective supervision.

This open-access site is developed and hosted by Research in Practice.

For more details on how the materials can be used, download the Introduction and Overview document.