Date: 15th September 2026
Time: 12noon - 1.30pm
This Lunchtime Seminar focuses on the development of a short breaks fostering service for children with disabilities over the course of 11 years within the Southern Health and Social Care Trust.
Delivered by Mark Irwin, Operational Manager for Short Breaks, the session will explore why viable, quality alternatives to traditional service models, including residential care, are achievable, and what it takes to make them work. Participants will gain insight into why a “one size does not fit all” approach is essential, the importance of senior management support, and how an “all one team” ethos can drive meaningful change.
The seminar will also cover how innovation, risk-taking and standardisation can work hand in hand, and why learning from research and becoming the research is key to spreading good practice in the real world.
This session is particularly relevant for social workers, social care staff, commissioners, and community and independent sector professionals, as well as parents and carers and middle to senior management. It is free and open to anyone to attend.
