Child development: Application to frontline practice

All child and family social care practitioners need to have a good understanding of child development. Knowing what is ‘normal’ supports effective assessment of a child’s need or risk. The workshop will include the following key topic areas:

• What we mean by child development in a social care context.
• Why practitioners need a good understanding of child development.
• Interconnecting nature and different aspects of child development.
• Socio-ecological and public health approaches to child development.
• Factors that can have an impact on a child’s development.
• Key theories and stages of child development with a focus on infancy and early childhood.
• Using an intersectional lens when considering a child’s development.
• Observing children and recording and assessing their development and any concerns over time.
• Using different sources of information to inform assessment, including from multi-agency partners.

This workshop will focus on child development in the 0 to 11 age range. It will include research, theory and practice messages that are applicable to all frontline child and family social care practitioners.

The workshop will be interactive and provide space for small group discussion as well as observe children’s development through the use of films and other media.