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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Webinar: How to co-produce end of life research with people with a learning disability
Irene will talk about two NIHR-funded studies: the Victoria & Stuart Project (co-producing a toolkit of co-created resources that help people with a learning disability to be involved in end of life care planning) and the DAPPLE Project (looking at models of palliative and end of life care delivery for people with a learning disability). Both projects involved groups of people with a learning disability. In this session, Irene will use video recordings of these groups that will show: - How we made the Victoria & Stuart toolkit (almost 200 people were actively involved, including 36 people with a learning disability) - How the DAPPLE co-production group works together to think about study findings Irene will talk about the important principles of co-production, and why it is essential that we include the people who matter most. This might give you ideas that you can take back to your workplace – whether you do research or work with people with a learning disability, or not!
Online, Teams
12:00
- 09/09/2026
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Webinar: What is good practice in working with parents in child and family work?
Effective children’s services need to work with parents, yet there is comparatively little research directly observing these often complicated and sometimes difficult conversations. The first half of this talk will share findings from studies observing over 300 recordings of practice to identify key features of effective practice. It will introduce a reliable coding scheme for core social work skills and present key findings from studies using these codes. The second half will compare the views of parents, care experienced adults and social workers with the coding scheme in relation to observations of practice . The seminar will conclude by proposing 4 core dimensions of good practice in working with parents in child and family social work and make suggestions for how individuals and organisations can support excellence in these areas.
Online, Teams
12:00
- 16/09/2026
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Webinar: Supporting people's needs for love and intimacy: what's the role for mental health social care?
This talk will discuss the needs for support with developing positive romantic/intimate relationships of people using mental health services. It will provide an overview of current evidence regarding the views of practitioners and people using mental health services, and the perceived barriers and challenges with discussing or offering support with romantic/intimate relationships. Different models of care and support, and potential learning from other social care sectors, will be considered. This talk hopes to encourage a conversation about whether and how social workers and social care staff could and should be talking to people using mental health services about their needs and wishes for romantic/intimate relationships, and what support could be offered?
Online, Teams
13:00
- 22/09/2026
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Webinar: Can early years support impact children's social care?
There is high demand on children's social care (CSC) from families with young children: one in five children will be referred to CSC services before age five. Given these pressures, understanding whether early years programmes can reduce demand is crucial. This webinar will feature findings from two studies to measure the impact of place-based early years services for families of 0-4 year olds living in disadvantaged areas in Wales and Northern Ireland. Using de‑identified administrative data covering all children born in Wales and Northern Ireland, we examine the outcomes of children born in areas that received Flying Start or Sure Start services. We leveraged interesting policy features in both programmes which created groups of identical disadvantaged areas -- some of which received early years services whilst others did not. This creates natural comparison areas and allows us to see what the effects of being born in a Sure Start or Flying Start area are. Our work collectively provides rare comparative evidence across two systems with different national contexts and approaches to early years. We will discuss findings from both studies on the impact of these policies on children's social care at a time when social care systems face rising pressures and high rates of intervention for under‑5s.
Online, Teams
12:00
- 13/10/2026
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Webinar: Findings from an all-Wales qualitative study on post-child abuse service access (SERENA)
This webinar will present emerging findings from an all-Wales qualitative case study, and associated European literature review, within the SERENA consortium project. SERENA (Assessing and improving access to health and social care SErvices for children RENdered vulnerable by Abuse) is a Horizon Europe-funded consortium project bringing together research from 26 countries across Europe. The team in Cardiff University, alongside partners in Denmark and France, are responsible for mapping existing services for children who have experienced maltreatment and identifying barriers for accessing these services. This has been undertaken using two methods: (1) A systematic literature review of studies across three European countries (UK, Denmark and France) with the aim to understand more about existing research on service availability and barriers, and (2) qualitative interviews with adults who experienced maltreatment as children, and professionals who provide post-maltreatment support services in Wales, Denmark and France. Key findings from the literature review and emerging findings from the Welsh interview study will be discussed, alongside methods, public involvement work, and future plans for the research.
Online, Teams
13:00
- 21/09/2026
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Webinar: Professional perspectives on using the Wales Safeguarding Repository
The Wales Safeguarding Repository (WSR) is a digital repository of safeguarding reviews from Wales. Safeguarding reviews in Wales historically fell under separate processes depending on the type of victim or perpetrator, for example, Child Practice Reviews, Adult Practice Reviews, Domestic Homicide Reviews, and Mental Health Homicide Reviews. However, these reviews often held common themes and sometimes multiple reviews were undertaken for a single incident. In response to this, Welsh Government initiated the Single Unified Safeguarding Review (SUSR), which encompasses all categories of safeguarding review. SUSR Statutory Guidance highlights that professionals should access the WSR for relevant information at all stages of the SUSR process. This webinar provides an opportunity to learn how this relatively new safeguarding review system is working in practice, drawing upon professional insights from an experienced SUSR Chair & Reviewer and the academic lead of the WSR. Examples from recent SUSRs will showcase how the WSR is facilitating higher quality reviews and more robust recommendations.
Online, Teams
13:00
- 08/12/2026
Check out our latest conference.
Informal Carers Conference 2026
‘Informal’ carers are people who look after relatives, friends or others in an unpaid or unsupported capacity. They span the life course and include young carers, informal kinship carers of children and young people, and adults who care for those…
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.
