Building better social care in Wales
The focus of this conference is moving from understanding the criminal exploitation of children to taking action. Whilst there has been growing impetus on multi-agency safeguarding, there is still a lack of legislation on modern slavery and the criminal exploitation of children. It is a safeguarding issue that needs to be addressed with urgency, and… Read More
Thinking about gender diversity and ageing* It seems almost a cliché to point out that we’re living in an ageing society. In most parts of the world, people are living longer, birth rates are declining, and that raises big questions about how we structure public services and broader society. We also live in a world… Read More
There is growing awareness of the need for better dementia research to improve the support given to people living with dementia. The Alzheimer’s Society has estimated that 1 in 3 people born in the UK will be diagnosed with dementia in their lifetime. This figure identifies the need to provide dementia support to people with… Read More
The Cardiff Christmas Dinner has been running for three years. We provide a special day with dinner, gifts and activities for care leavers in the Cardiff area. Read More
ExChange Wales Learning Disabilities Conference OCTOBER 2024 This conference series aims to focus on learning disability, highlighting research and innovative work being undertaken in this field. The title ‘Being Seen, Heard and Valued’ was chosen to recognise and illuminate the developments in this area, especially the important work being undertaken both with and by those… Read More
23/05/24 Milestone Event Exchange Wales Celebratory Conference Series – Spring 2024 CASCADE: 10 Years of Influencing Policy and Practice 2024 marks 10 years since the inception of CASCADE, the Centre for Children’s Social Care Research and Development. It is the home of ExChange Wales and one of the largest, leading research centres of its type… Read More
Doing Adult Safeguarding with Service Users and Carers Presented by: Dr Jeremy Dixon, University of Bath *A discount code will be provided to attendees for those who wish to purchase Jeremy’s book, Adult Safeguarding Observed* This presentation describes social workers’ accounts of doing adult safeguarding work with service users, family carers and paid carers. It… Read More
Championing a research culture within Adult Social Care – How are we making robust decisions without calling upon the research base? Research enriched practice has always been a gold standard within social care. However, making it a natural part of practice within busy frontline local authority teams dealing with complex and fluid situations has always… Read More
Find out more about our upcoming events and webinars, and how you can sign up, on this page. For a list of past events, visit our archive.
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While the UK has strong child protection and modern slavery policies, there is no specific law addressing the criminal exploitation of children, leading to inconsistent responses across agencies. This issue is especially complex in Wales, where justice is managed by the UK Government but social care is devolved. Drawing on an Action for Children-funded study, this session shares insights from Welsh professionals on what works and what needs improvement in multi-agency safeguarding for exploited children.
Online, Teams
13:00
- 01/10/2025
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Across the UK, and particularly in Wales, there is growing awareness of the criminal exploitation of children, however practitioners remain confused about what truly works to support them. This webinar will explore the evolving landscape of policy, legislation, and practice, highlighting both the progress made and the systemic gaps that still leave children vulnerable. Throughout the webinar we will explore the complexity of exploitation, the duality of children as both victims and offenders, the ethical dilemmas this presents for safeguarding and justice systems and draw insights from the Jay Review of Criminally Exploited Children: Shattered Lives, Stolen Futures.
Online, Teams
13:00
- 13/10/2025
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This presentation addresses the exploitation of learning disabled and neurodivergent children, who face disproportionately high rates of abuse. Drawing on a 2024 study funded by the Modern Slavery and Human Rights Policy and Evidence Centre, and conducted by Manchester Metropolitan University and the University of Portsmouth, it explores policy gaps and practice responses. By consulting with practitioners and parents, the research highlights the need for earlier identification and tailored support, offering insights into how professionals can better meet the needs of these children and their families.
Online
12:00
- 04/11/2025
The focus of this conference is moving from understanding the criminal exploitation of children to taking action. Whilst there has been growing impetus on multi-agency safeguarding, there is still a lack of legislation on modern slavery and the criminal exploitation…
ExChange Wales brings leading researchers together with practitioners and service users to share expertise, research evidence and care experiences.
Through our conferences, workshops, lectures and seminars, ExChange provides free, high-quality training to support the ongoing development of social care professionals across Wales. Attracting leading national speakers, together we learn and advise on research, impacting both policy and practice. Our events and resources enrich skills while foregrounding the lived experience of care-experienced people.
We have a range of ways that you can work with ExChange. If you wish to host an ExChange workshop, webinar, podcast or blog, simply contact us.
Care-experienced children and young people may experience more problems with their mental health and have lower wellbeing than their non-care-experienced peers. Schools are seen as an important setting for supporting the mental health and wellbeing of all children and young people, but there are few school-based interventions that are specifically designed to support care-experienced students… Read More
