UK ViSiTS &

EXPERiENCE

EXCHANGES

SFAC offers international visits and experience exchanges to NGOs, governments and the judiciary. 

Visits to the UK

UK visits are an opportunity for NGOs, governments and judiciary from other countries to observe, learn from and question practice in England. Meetings and presentations with those working in the English child protection and care system provide a chance for both hosts and visitors to reflect on current practices and to strategise and problem-solve with international peers. It’s important to note that these visits are not designed for visiting delegations to repeat English models of practice as each country and context requires its own unique systems. 

️Delegations usually include a mix of roles. For example: government officials involved in the care and protection of children, members of the judiciary and lawyers involved in family law, and social workers, psychologists and directors from relevant non-government organisations.

Each visit is tailored to the specific needs and interests of the visiting delegation. This blog post shares an example of what one UK experience exchange visit looked like.

SFAC is able to provide visitors with exposure to many different aspects of the child protection and care system here in England.SFAC’s relationships with:

  • Leeds local authority (local government)’s children’s services (which is rated ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted, the organisation that reviews children’s services in England),  
  • members of the judiciary and Cafcass (a national organisation representing children in court proceedings),
  • and our patron, Baroness Judith Blake of Leeds, who has led local council children’s services through change

mean SFAC is able to provide visitors with exposure to many different aspects of the child protection and care system here in England.

Visits can include:

  • A visit to the House of Lords to meet with our Patron, Baroness Blake.
  • Visits to foster care and children’s homes provided in the not-for-profit and profit sector in UK may be possible.
  • Observations of child protection practice & family support services.
  • How the English system provides care for children who cannot live with their parents (kinship & connected persons care, foster care, guardianship, adoption and small, specialist children’s homes and, where possible, reunification).
  • How the English family courts operate including pre-care proceedings work, how court hearings are managed, the role of the judge, the roles of the various lawyers involved including how children are represented.
  • Meeting with children who have lived experience of care and kinship and foster carers.
  • Meeting with other non-government foster care providers.
  • Meeting with heads of children’s services departments.
"There is much that, with adaptation, we can take inspiration from to improve child protection systems in Paraguay while also respecting the characteristics, culture and context of our country"

SFAC Can Visit You too!

SFAC can also visit organisations and conferences to give talks and presentations on the English systems and practice where this is sought, as well as from practitioners based in Australia and Uganda; 

Having worked with organisations in 50 countries, our team can also connect your organisations to those working in many other countries who are willing to share practice visits and learnings from their own experience.

If you’d like to arrange an exchange experience, please email us at info@sfac.org.uk

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