Understanding Blocked Care
When the caring stops coming back. A full day for foster carers, adoptive parents, kinship carers and special guardians.
- Duration
- Full day, six hours of CPD
- Group size
- Up to 20 delegates
- Delivery
- In person at your venue, or online live
- Included
- Handbook, evaluation and certificate
The carers' day. Blocked care separated from burnout and from depression, the five parental systems, and how to ask for support in wording that brings help rather than scrutiny.
Who it is for
- Foster carers, at any stage after approval
- Adoptive parents, particularly post-order
- Kinship carers and special guardians
- Separately, the staff who supervise and support them
What delegates will be able to do
Assessed learning outcomes, written as actions rather than as topics covered. They are the same list the delegate handbook opens with.
- Say what blocked care is, and what separates it from burnout and from depression
- Name the five parental systems and identify which of their own has gone quiet
- Tell the four kinds of blocked care apart and say which one applies
- Describe blocked trust and why the adult has to move first
- Repair after a rupture on a day when they do not feel like it
- Ask for support in wording that brings help rather than scrutiny
The programme
Taught in this order. Each section builds on the one before it.
- 01What blocked care is, and what it is not
- 02Five systems, and which one has gone quiet
- 03Four kinds, and they need different things
- 04Blocked trust: the child's side of it
- 05What actually helps
- 06Repair, on the days you get it wrong
- 07Asking, and the week you actually have
Why this is a carers' day rather than a mixed one
Blocked care is difficult to discuss honestly in front of the person who writes your annual review. A carer will not say they have stopped feeling anything for a child while their supervising social worker is at the same table, and a day where nobody says it is a day that does not work.
Where a service wants its whole system covered, we recommend two bookings: this day for carers, and a half day for the staff who support them, which shifts the emphasis to what to offer and how to hear a request for help without escalating it.
Our confidentiality position, which we will not vary
Blip reports attendance figures and anonymous group evaluation results to the commissioning organisation. We do not report anything an individual carer says in the room, and we do not offer a view about any carer or any placement, on the day or afterwards. This is stated to delegates at the start and it is the reason the day works.
The single exception is a disclosure that a child is at risk of harm, which is handled through the carer's own service and discussed with them first.
Who delivers it
Vivien Beni, a Registered Mental Health Nurse and Band 6 Looked After Children Practitioner in NHS CAMHS, holding a live caseload of looked after children with placement breakdown and blocked care. She completed three days of attachment training with Kim Golding in 2023 and Trauma-Focused CBT at Sussex University in 2024, and holds a PGCE in Additional Learning Needs. She already delivers attachment and trauma training to foster carers and parents.
What you get back
Collected from the first delivery, not retrofitted when a tender asks.
- Pre and post knowledge check, used to evidence learning gain
- Anonymous delegate evaluation, results shared with the commissioner
- Optional written reflective assessment for CPD or revalidation evidence
- Attendance register and individual certificates
- Attendance records retained for six years
Fees
In-house delivery for your own team, at your site or online. Most services book this with the half day for supporting staff, and we quote for the pair. Travel is included within Shropshire, Cheshire, Powys and the Wrexham and Oswestry area, and charged at cost beyond it.
In person, at your site
From £1,250
Delivered online live
From £950
Every quote is specific. Cost depends on delegate numbers, location and whether you want the content adapted to your setting. Tell us what you need and we will quote properly rather than sending you a rate card.
What this course is not
- It is not an assessment of any carer or any placement, and no information about individuals returns to the commissioner.
- It is not a parenting course: it is not about managing the child's behaviour.
- It is not DDP, Theraplay, Foundations for Attachment, Nurturing Attachments or Non-Violent Resistance, all of which are separate programmes with their own licensing.
We are explicit about all of this with delegates on the third slide.
Common questions
How long is Understanding Blocked Care and how is it delivered?
Full day, six hours of CPD. Up to 20 delegates. In person at your venue, or online live.
What does Understanding Blocked Care cost?
In person at your site, from £1,250. Delivered online live, from £950. Most services book this with the half day for supporting staff, and we quote for the pair. Travel is included within Shropshire, Cheshire, Powys and the Wrexham and Oswestry area, and charged at cost beyond it. Every quote is specific, because cost depends on delegate numbers, location and whether you want the content adapted to your setting.
Do delegates get a certificate?
Yes. Every delegate gets an individual certificate and there is an attendance register. A pre and post knowledge check evidences learning gain, and an optional written reflective assessment is available for CPD or revalidation evidence. Anonymous delegate evaluation results are shared with the commissioner, and attendance records are retained for six years.
Who delivers Understanding Blocked Care?
Vivien Beni, a Registered Mental Health Nurse and Band 6 Looked After Children Practitioner in NHS CAMHS, holding a live caseload of looked after children with placement breakdown and blocked care. She completed three days of attachment training with Kim Golding in 2023 and Trauma-Focused CBT at Sussex University in 2024, and holds a PGCE in Additional Learning Needs. She already delivers attachment and trauma training to foster carers and parents.
Book this course for your team
Tell us the numbers and the term you have in mind, or email training@blip.org.uk. We reply within one working day.