Training and Events
The Common Approach
About The Common Approach
The Common Approach® is a prevention-focused and flexible way of working to help those working with children, young people, and families to work consistently in partnership with them, focus on strengths, place the child at the centre, and consider all aspects of wellbeing.
These aspects fall into six wellbeing areas that align with The Nest: Healthy; Valued, Loved and Safe; Material Basics; Learning; Participating; and Positive Sense of Identity and Culture.
The Common Approach builds on The Nest framework to help you put child wellbeing into practice. If you’re already confident with The Nest, you’re in the right place. If you’re new to it, you might want to start with The Nest: Foundations first; here’s how the two compare.
| The Nest: Foundations | The Common Approach | |
|---|---|---|
| What you'll gain | A shared understanding and language for child wellbeing | Practical skills for strengths-based conversations with children and families |
| What you'll do | Learn The Nest and its six domains, work through case studies, and reflect on how it applies to your role | Learn how to have strengths-based conversations in partnership with children, young people and families, keeping the child at the centre and considering all aspects of their wellbeing |
| Format | Self-paced online course | Online modules plus a facilitated workshop |
| Time | 1.5 to 2 hours | 3.5 hours online, plus a 1.5-hour workshop |
| Includes | Reflection Guide and certificate of completion | Resource kit and facilitated workshop |
| Best for | Anyone new to The Nest, or bringing a team onto a shared language | People who work directly with children and families and want to put the approach into practice |
| Price | $125 per person | $395 per person |
Background
The Common Approach training was first developed by ARACY in 2010 in response to the need for more proactive, preventative approaches in the children and youth sector, established in the 2009 ARACY report, Inverting the Pyramid: Enhancing Systems for Protecting Children
Initially funded by the Australian Government as part of Protecting Children is Everyone’s Business: National Framework for Protecting Australia’s Children 2009-2020. Its development was part of an effort by all levels of government to improve the wellbeing of children, young people, and families through strengthening the capacity of the service system to intervene early in order to keep children safe and well.
The Common Approach is a highly evidenced, best practice approach to child and youth wellbeing. The Evidence for The Common Approach outlines in detail the evidence used in its development along with information on the evaluation and the impact it can have.
How it's currently used
The current training focuses on supporting professionals to prepare for conversations with a child or family, provides a framework for families to develop action plans and check progress, and gives a way to record discussions to develop better continuity between interactions.
The Common Approach is currently being implemented across education, health, allied health, community, and social service organisations throughout Australia, in both government and non-government settings.
Training elements
- a series of online modules (3.5hours study time)
- a facilitated 1.5 hour workshop
- and a comprehensive resource kit.
Key outcomes
Make earlier identification of the strengths and needs of children and their families
Discover the causes of behaviour quicker
Work in a more preventative way
More quickly identify a wider range of useful services and empowering next steps
Improve relationships between families and services in ways that benefit children and families
Course costs and Registration
The course fee is $395 per person.
Please contact the team on commonapproach@aracy.org.au for more information.
TRAINING AND EVENTS
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