A collaboration between BCP, Redstone PBS, Dorset Council and Dorset Health University Trust brings PBS training for all services and providers in Dorset who work with people whose behaviour is of concern,as well as families and unpaid carers. The aim is to ensure that all parties are clear on what PBS is, how implementation helps to reduce restrictive practices and improve quality of life and that services have PBS skills which are consistent with the PBS Academy Competence framework.
All the courses are described below.
Please note that only the workshops for Dorset Family Carer Information Sessions are still running with live dates.
Dorset and BCP Family Carer Information Sessions
Dorset and BCP Family Carer Information Sessions
Redstone are working with Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole and Dorset Councils to provide free information sessions to family carers called ‘Understanding Behaviours of Concern’. It will run over two half days and you will need to attend both days to get the most out of these sessions.
What are Behaviours of Concern?
Behaviours of Concern relate to a wide range of actions that may negatively affect your cared for person’s quality of life, impact on their or others’ safety, lead to restrictions, limit access to ordinary community facilities or disrupt activities or opportunities. This could include self-injury, property damage, withdrawal or isolation, and physical or verbal aggression.
You will learn more about this during the sessions.
Who is this course for?
This course will provide a foundation of understanding for everyone. You may be a family carer of a child or adult, caring for any kind of condition or disability. This may include learning disabilities, autism spectrum disorder, dementia, acquired brain injury or mental health conditions. You may be a part time or full time carer, you may be a parent or other family member of the cared for person. You must be over 18 to attend.
What to expect:
In these sessions, you will learn why behaviours of concern may occur, and discuss how these behaviours impact the people who need support and their families. You will learn about an approach called Positive Behaviour Support and some of its key interventions.
We will talk about different practices, so you can recognise good practice or concerns that may happen in school or services that support your family members. We will discuss the importance of family carer involvement in writing positive behaviour support plans.
At the end of the sessions, you will have a stronger understanding of terminology and feel more confident to work with providers and professionals who support the person you care for.
Session Dates:
Wareham – Monday 28th & Tuesday 29th April 2025, 10:00am-14:00pm
Attendance is required on both days.
Where: The Purbeck Centre, Sanford Lane, Wareham, BH20 4DY (downstairs)
How to get there: There is limited parking at the venue, so please make arrangements to park nearby if you are driving in. You may wish to find street parking on Sanford Lane or the surrounding residential areas, or park for a fee at Wareham train station.
The train station is only a short walk away from the Purbeck Centre, bus routes are also available to the station.
Once you have arrived, you will need to head to the ground floor of the Purbeck Learning and Development Suite. There will be signs to help you find your way.
Food & Drink: You will need to provide your own lunch and snacks. Tea, coffee and water will be available. You may wish to bring you own refreshments if you have allergy concerns.
How to book: Please email sctraining@bcpcouncil.gov.uk with your full name and telephone number requesting to attend the Understanding Behaviours of Concern Session in Wareham. You will receive a confirmation email with all the details once you are booked in.
Please note that spaces are limited and offered on a first come first served basis. All bookings are managed through BCP Council’s Training website, SkillGate.
Christchurch – Monday 19th and Tuesday 20th May 2025, 10:00am-14:00pm
Attendance is required on both days.
Where: Christchurch Connect, Loring Road, Christchurch, BH23 2GZ
How to get there: Parking is available outside the centre, or you may wish to park on the street in the nearby residential area. Bus routes from Christchurch, Bournemouth and Poole are a short walk away, and Christchurch train station is a 15 minute walk away.
Food & Drink: You will need to provide your own lunch and snacks. Tea, coffee and water will be . You may wish to bring you own refreshments if you have allergy concerns.
How to book: Please email sctraining@bcpcouncil.gov.uk with your full name and telephone number requesting to attend the Understanding Behaviours of Concern Session in Wareham. You will receive a confirmation email with all the details once you are booked in.
Please note that spaces are limited and offered on a first come first served basis. All bookings are managed through BCP Council’s Training website, SkillGate.
Poole – Thursday 29th & Friday 30th May 2025, 10:00am-14:00pm
Attendance is required on both days.
Where: The Spire Community Centre, High Street, Poole, BH16 1DF (Hall 1)
How to get there: If you are driving, you will need to park at one of the nearby public car parks. The closest car parks are Chapel Lane and Pitwines Car Park, next to the Sainsburys superstore. For public transport, Poole train station is a 5 minute walk from the venue and Poole bus station is less than 10 minutes.
Once you have arrived, you will see Wesley’s café in the front of the building. You will need to walk around the café to the left hand side of the building, to find the main entrance to Hall 1.
Food & Drink: You will need to provide your own lunch and snacks. Tea, coffee and water will be available. You may wish to bring you own refreshments if you have allergy concerns.
How to book: Please email sctraining@bcpcouncil.gov.uk with your full name and telephone number requesting to attend the Understanding Behaviours of Concern Session in Wareham. You will receive a confirmation email with all the details once you are booked in.
Please note that spaces are limited and offered on a first come first served basis. All bookings are managed through BCP Council’s Training website, SkillGate.
Online – Tuesday 3rd and Wednesday 4th June 2025, 10:00am-14:00pm
Attendance is required on both days.
Where: Microsoft Teams Online. A link to the meetings will be emailed to you once you are booked on the course. If you don’t have a Teams account or the Teams app, do not worry – click the link and it will open in your usual internet browser, and you can continue as a guest.
How to book: Please email sctraining@bcpcouncil.gov.uk with your full name and telephone number requesting to attend the Understanding Behaviours of Concern Session in Wareham. You will receive a confirmation email with all the details once you are booked in.
Please note that spaces are limited and offered on a first come first served basis. All bookings are managed through BCP Council’s Training website, SkillGate.
Want to book your own place?
If you feel comfortable to book your own place on these sessions, please feel free to do so via Skillgate, BCP’s Training website.
- Click the link: Skillgate – Understanding Behaviours of Concern
- Select “Details and Booking Form” for the date you would like to attend.
- Enter your email address and set your establishment as “Parent” – available from the dropdown list and click “Submit”.
- Supply any reason you would like to attend this session.
- Your booking will be approved, and you will be sent a confirmation email with further information for your session.
Unable to make these dates or are the sessions fully booked? We would like to offer more sessions in future. Please contact sctraining@bcpcouncil.gov.uk to register your interest.
Informed (3) PBS Introduction for Frontline Staff and Practitioners
This is a full day workshop delivered live face to face.
Aims
This Introduction workshop helps direct care staff and those who are new to PBS to understand the key elements of Positive Behaviour Support (PBS). The aim is to ensure that those participating this workshop will understand how behaviour helps people to express themselves, communicate their needs and to cope; as well as understanding the challenges for direct support staff, managers and carers/families.
Target Audience
Direct care staff, personal assistants and practitioners, including Occupational Therapists, Social Workers, and all Professionals within commissioning teams, support, and therapy teams.
Workshop Contents
- The principles and values that underpin PBS including human rights.
- The reasons behaviours of concern occur
- How trauma affects people and the trauma informed PBS approach
- Understanding needs and how to get support right.
- Models of support and PBS interventions
- Quality of life, including the importance of meaningful activity, participation and skills development
Learning Outcomes
- Discuss the values base underlying PBS and define why it is important
- Recognise why behaviours of concern occur and identify the functions of behaviour.
- Describe the ABC/STAR model and demonstrate skills in recording behaviour objectively
- Analyse and discuss the factors that ensure a good quality of support
- Illustrate the importance of knowing the person, their abilities and aspirations and specific support needs
- Describe the assault cycle, proactive and reactive interventions, and PBS plans
Informed (4) PBS Training for Key Staff and Service Leads within Provider Services
This is a four day programme delivered face to face.
No further dates
Aims
This programme ensures key staff can lead the PBS practices in their support settings. Taking a leadership role by providing an audit for team leaders to assess the capability of their teams and a toolkit to aid implementation of key PBS practices.
Target Audience
Team Leaders, Service Leads and key direct support staff based within support settings.
Workshop Contents
- Definition and context of PBS
- Key elements of PBS, Quality of life and ‘Capable Environments’
- PBS Toolkit: assessments of service capability and needs of people supported
- Functional behaviour assessment and how to contribute to this process
- Key PBS interventions: Ways to increase service capability and meet support needs
- Overview of Active Support as a key intervention
- Guidance for creating quality PBS plans
- Practice Leadership: motivating staff and leading team meetings
- Supporting staff well-being: models of stress and incident debrief
- Service based project using tools and interventions from the programme
Learning Outcomes
- To apply their knowledge of PBS and confidently communicate essential information to those they lead or manage
- To use and analyse a range of assessment tools and checklists
- To describe interventions which increase quality of life through the development of capable environments
- To demonstrate and lead interventions that increase the capability of their service to meet the needs of those people supported
- To develop and write clear PBS plans for staff teams to follow and evaluate the quality of PBS plans
- To explain the role of functional behaviour assessment and to ensure that they and their teams can present appropriate information for this assessment
- To create a clear action plan for developing and embedding PBS in their service
- To understand the practice leadership role
- To discuss the impact of stress on staff wellbeing and be able to identify signs of stress and burnout in their teams
Intermediate (6) Introduction to PBS for Organisational Leads in Provider Services
This is 4 hour workshop delivered online
No Further dates
Aims
This is an introduction to PBS for providers who are thinking about providing care and support to people with complex behaviour needs. The aim of the workshop is to ensure that those attending understand what PBS is as well as what needs to be in place within their organisation so they can provide a PBS informed approach to support.
Target Audience
Senior leaders within provider organisations who have a responsibility for service development.
Workshop Contents
- How a PBS approach makes a difference in support services
- Understanding the key elements of a PBS approach
- Understand what staff at different levels need to know and need to do
- PBS standards for services
- Developing an organisation wide PBS strategy
Learning Outcomes
- To understand the current national guidance around PBS in support settings and why PBS is seen as best practice
- To be able to discuss the key elements of a PBS approach
- To be able to discuss the PBS competencies for staff working at different levels on a service.
- To be aware of the PBS standards for services and what good looks like
- To understand how to evaluate own services readiness for developing and embedding PBS practice.
- Understand the essential elements required in developing an organisational strategy for PBS
Leaders (8) Introduction to PBS for Commissioners and Senior Leaders in Community Teams
This a 4 hour workshop delivered online
No further dates
This is an introduction to PBS for commissioners who are commissioning service providers to provide services for people whose behaviour may present a challenge. The aim of the workshop is to ensure that those attending understand what PBS is as well as what needs to be in place within organisations so they can evaluate whether an organisation is providing or able to provide a PBS approach.
Target Audience
Commissioners and care managers who oversee the quality and provision of supported living and residential services for people whose behaviour may present a challenge.
Workshop Contents
- How a PBS approach makes a difference in support services
- Understanding the key elements of a PBS approach
- Understand what staff at different levels need to know and need to do
- PBS standards for services and what good looks like
- Key points when evaluating service PBS capability
Learning Outcomes
- To understand the current national guidance around PBS in support settings and why PBS is seen as best practice
- To be able to discuss the key elements of a PBS approach
- To be able to discuss the PBS competencies for staff working at different levels on a service.
- To be aware of the PBS standards for services and what good looks like.
- To understand how to evaluate services in terms of their ability to develop and embed PBS practice.
- To be able to use knowledge about what good PBS looks like to evaluate a services PBS capability.