This free online social work course covers the values, processes and functions of family support workers in the UK.

This social work training course explores the many roles of family support workers in the United Kingdom. It starts by defining ‘family support’ and outlining the duties and responsibilities of a family support worker. We go through a family support’s daily activities and required qualities before explaining how to become one. We then go through the numerous pieces of legislation, policies and guides available to family support workers. This includes an analysis of developments and changes to several child protection regulations affecting family workers, guardians and those who work with children and families.

The course then explains how to solve common family conflicts. We examine the risk factors and the impact of parental mental health problems and substance and domestic abuse on children's emotional wellbeing and development. We show you how such issues affect parenting and provide ways to help them. The course studies the effect of separation, divorce and failures of parental responsibility on families to train you to be able to handle such sensitive topics and support children in these situations.

We then define ‘safeguarding’ and establish why it is crucial for children’s development. We go through numerous safeguarding strategies that help you to identify needs and offer vulnerable kids early assistance. The course demonstrates how to conduct a high-quality risk assessment of domestic situations. Our final section explains how to establish a positive relationship with families and why doing so is important for a family support worker. If you care about other people and want to use your social work skills to support families, this course is for you! Sign up to turn your compassion into a career and learn how to play a positive role in safeguarding children and creating healthy domestic environments.