We are continuing to live in, and work through, unprecedented times. The Coronavirus public health crisis is continuing to exert huge pressures on families, communities and the services that seek to support them. It is a crisis that continues to make big demands upon practitioners and their managers, requiring them to work in a very different practice environment.

The shape of day-today practice has significantly changed, requiring workers to think differently about how they build relationships, what is entailed in meaningful assessment, and what constitutes a purposeful plan.

A common theme has been the recognition that attention needs to be paid to the workforce in relation to its skills, knowledge, values, and the practice culture in which they are working. It is clear from talking to our partner agencies that colleagues remain committed to training and developing the workforce.

The Making Research Count online programmes have seen record attendances, and it has been evident that there has been a tremendous appetite among practitioners for debate, discussion, and reflection.

Indeed, more widely training and development is believed to have been crucial in terms of maintaining high professional standards, morale, and staff wellbeing during the last 3 years. There is widely held concern regarding the profile of the workforce and its retention and development.

This webinar follows up a series of sessions that were held during the pandemic, and focuses on the role of training, learning and workforce development during the crisis.

This session will explore the components of a strategy that can create a positive environment for practice in this context of protracted uncertainty and crisis. The session will focus on:

• The ongoing challenges arising from the current context for adult and children’s social care for services and day to day practice;

• Research relating to current workforce pressures;

• Emerging research that is being carried out around hybrid working and its messages for practice;

• The meaning of evidence informed practice in this environment, including the way research is utilised in practice development;

• The role of supervision in promoting critical reflection in the context of increased remote working; • The meaning of professional and organisational resilience during the current crisis;

• The relationship between strengths-based approaches to practice and staff development;

• Meeting the needs of a diverse workforce under pressure.

Understanding the Workforce: A Webinar for Staff Development Leads