Building better social care in Wales
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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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
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Parents who have experienced the child welfare system are working as peer-to-peer advocates, helping other parents negotiate child welfare. Parents are also working as activists to change child welfare policies, progammes and systems. This presentation focuses on how to create and manage a parent advocacy programme that supports parents, helps families and improves child welfare systems. These programmes operate within governmental agencies and as independent organizations. The presentation is based on the Practice Guide: Creating and Managing a Parent Advocacy Programme. It is designed to help parents and their allies who have created or are in the process of creating a Parent Advocacy Programme. The Guide was developed under the auspices of Cardiff University’s CASCADE Centre, written by David Tobis and Clive Diaz, with input from two parent advisory groups. Topics covered include: What is Parent Advocacy and Why it is Important; the Role of Parent Leadership; Preparing an Agency; What Parents Want Peer Advocates to Know and Do; Support and Training Parent Advocates Need; Training Staff Need to Work with Parent Advocates; and Developing a Strategy to Promote Parent Advocacy. The presentation includes many resources available free on-line. Everyone who attends will receive a free copy of the Practice Guide.
Online, Teams
17:00
- 12/11/2025
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.
Our third webinar in our conference series – On the Journey: Navigating Mental Health “Supporting people with mental health problems to build social networks and reduce loneliness: lessons for practice and research from intervention trials” Abstract People with mental health problems are more likely to have smaller networks and experience loneliness and social isolation than… Read More
Our fourth webinar in our conference series – On the Journey: Navigating Mental Health Abstract The ability to form strong relationships is viewed as central to mental health recovery. Few studies have explored the experiences of people with mental health problems in forming or maintaining romantic relationships. This study addressed this gap through conducting focus… Read More
Our second webinar in our conference series – On the Journey: Navigating Mental Health “Webinar: What works to improve the mental health of care-experienced children and young people: Systematic review evidence” Abstract The mental health and wellbeing of care-experienced children and young people remains a major concern. To date, it has not been clear which… Read More
Our first Webinar in our conference series – On the Journey: Navigating Mental Health Abstract In this presentation, offered as a basis for discussion, Peter, drawing on his own and other people’s lived experience, aims to help us rethink both understandings of mental wellbeing and distress and helpful ways of addressing the difficulties we may… Read More
Last year, a group of hosts in and around Cardiff, some from CASCADE, worked together to provide Christmas dinner and a celebration for care-experienced people. The team were filled with nerves ahead of the big day, with referrals still coming in up to the week before Christmas. A chef volunteered three days of their time… Read More
** WALES ONLY** Parent Advocacy Online Workshop (Wales) We are inviting social work practitioners and managers, parental advocates, parents, advocacy managers, family support workers and academics in Wales to participate in an online workshop on parental advocacy and its effectiveness in supporting parents whose children are open to social care. The event is part of… Read More
Understanding care pathways and placement stability for infants in Wales with Dr Laura Cowley from Population Data Science, Swansea University on 4 October 12:30-14:00. This presentation provides new empirical evidence about entry routes to care, pathways through care, and placement outcomes for the very youngest children in the care system in Wales. By addressing questions about… Read More
