This year we hosted a very successful conference for the NHSE with a variety of presentations surrounding the topic of Positive Behaviour Support (PDFs available at bottom of page).

In partnership with NHSE SW Improvement Group, Health Education England and PBS 4 we embarked on a national project designed to achieve PBS implementation and outcomes across the South West of England.

More than 400 people received training and coaching from front line care staff, to community MDT members to operations directors. We learned A LOT along the way about what works, what doesn't work and how to improve practice.

This talk specifically addresses the following:

What does training need to cover?

Who are the right people to be implementing PBS plans/interventions?

What are the main barriers to implementation and how can we overcome those?

A summary of the collaborative southwest project outcomes followed by a discussion of the barriers and learnings from this project, including what worked, what didn’t work (so we can avoid that in the future), and where we plan on going from here.

This presentation explores the importance of staff psychological wellbeing to the quality of care provided by these staff. Research will be presented that suggests a significant problem in this regard for staff working in areas where there are high number of reported incidents of challenging behaviour.

A multielement model of staff support will be presented which is currently under evaluation in a NIHR funded research project at the Tizard Centre.

Dr Peter Baker (BCBA-D) is a Senior Lecturer at the Tizard Centre, University of Kent. He worked as a Consultant Clinical Psychologist in the NHS. He lectures at the Tizard Centre and is widely published in the area of challenging behaviour and intellectual disability. He is the senior editor of the International Journal of Positive Behaviour Support. Current research activity includes emotional support of staff working with people with intellectual disabilities who present challenging behaviour, and evaluation of participation as an aspect quality of life.

Kate Boot is a Speech and Language Therapist and Sensory Integration Practitioner working for Phoenix Learning and Care in the South West of England. She works with people aged 16-25 years old within a specialist college setting and offers consultation and advice to teams working with children who have experienced trauma. She is currently leading the college’s PBS implementation project which has a large focus on PERMA. Kate chairs the Clinical Excellence Network for Speech and Language Therapists with an interest in PBS and is on the Plymouth PBS Networks steering group.

Kate introduces the PERMA model (developed by Positive Psychology’s Martin Seligman) and share how she has facilitated the student voice in developing PERMA profiles for her students and will cover the importance of making accessible communication resources to engage and facilitate conversations with people about what makes them feel good, feel meaningfully engaged with the world around them and with whom and how they enjoy spending their time.

Follow the data! – This workshop focuses on how to use data to make decisions. Jo discusses what to collect to avoid useless data and replication; it then moves on to analysis to make data informed decisions on intervention implementation. No maths required!!

Jo is a Board Certified Behaviour Analyst and has worked using the Positive Behaviour Support model for fifteen years. She works in a range of settings for adults and children, including schools, health and social care services and families homes. Jo develops strategies at the individual and service level to improve people’s quality of life and support. She is experienced at providing clinical supervision to enhance others practice within PBS settings.

Jo chairs the PBS Special Interest Group and along with Paddy runs the PBS Matters podcast discussing the application of the science within the UK with a variety of guests. She also delivers online and in person training to other Board Certified Behaviour Analysts to enable them to maintain their certification. She has a particular interest in ethical practice and providing effective clinical supervision.

Here is the link for WiseBytes to collect your CEUs:

http://www.wisebytes.org/Purchase/#!/PBS-Conference-Certificates-Jan-21/p/275564435/category=0

They say if you know, you know! Many of us are clear that PBS provides a really useful framework for improving outcomes for people. However, some remain unconvinced. This presentation explores why this may be and offers some considerations for how to approach these situations.

Paddy is co-founding director of PBS UK and co-host of the PBS matters podcast.

This workshop explores the language and words used when supporting individuals with support needs, it also looks at the complex terminology of ‘Positive Behaviour Support’ – What does it mean in practice, asking why we use complicated words when we don’t have to – who benefits??

Wendy Wright – Retired Occupational Therapist (40 years’ experience), active member of the Avon & Wiltshire PBS Network Steering Group, previously worked within NHS Assessment & Treatment Unit, the prison service and Social Care provider, supporting individuals with learning disabilities, mental health needs and who may become distressed. Passionate advocator for PBS.Tracy Cox – Consultant Learning Disability Nurse (39 years’ experience) for Community Therapeutic Services, Social Care Provider, previously worked in the NHS as the lead for an Intensive Response Team, Actively involved with Avon & Wiltshire PBS Network Steering Group and participated in Skills for Care Peer review 2019. Passionate advocator for PBS.

Nick presents a behaviour analytic conceptualisation of self-control, and discusses how, if we understand and apply the science, we no longer have to explain goal achievement in terms of willpower.

Nick is a Board-Certified Behaviour Analyst with 21 years of experience using behavioural science to teach people the skills they need to get the life they want. He specialises in setting-wide and individually focused Positive Behavioural Support, provides clinical supervision to other practitioners, and uses behavioural principles to enable people and organisation to achieve their goals. He is the director of the Barratt Behaviour Change Consultancy, and chairs the Applied Behaviour Analysis Forum, a London-based professionals’ group he co-founded in 2008. Nick has served on the board of the UK Society for Behaviour Analysis for 5 years and is a member of the Positive Behavioural Support Academy. In 2014, Nick co-authored a book called Feeling Cross and Sorting it Out, which focuses on the interactional nature of challenging behaviour.

Here is the link for WiseBytes to collect your CEUs:

http://www.wisebytes.org/Purchase/#!/PBS-Conference-Certificates-Jan-21/p/275564435/category=0

Lizzie is at BCBA working as a PBS Specialist Practitioner at the National Autistic Society. Prior to this she worked with Autistic children and young people in a school setting for over 5 years. She has a MSc in Profound and Complex Learning Disability and has also completed the BTEC level 5 in Positive Behaviour Support. Over the last few years, she has focused on supporting the development of a National PBS team within the NAS and helping to ensure a consistent approach to PBS within the organisation. A key part of this is establishing Capable Environments within their assessment and support processes.

• What are Capable environments and why are they so important?

• How Capable environments can be used to improve the quality of life of the people we support

• How Capable Environments can be embedded within assessment and support processes alongside other evidence-based approaches

Working in the family home requires some flexibility in approach! Tia and Adele will discuss how we can adapt our science to meet the contextual needs of family homes.

Topics include (but are not limited to) :

- How to collect data?

- How to modify your language?

- How to work around other competing family requirement!

Adele Grandon has over 30 years’ experience working with people with disabilities including 12 years working specifically with adults with autism. Formerly a manager of an independent specialist college, an ABA based adult day service and supported living and outreach services; Adele is now the Quality & Compliance Officer at SeeAbility.

Adele is also the parent of a 25 year old young man with autism, a severe learning disability and epilepsy who, from age 3-7 participated in an intensive ABA home programme.

Tia has an MSc in Psychology, a MSc in Autism and a PhD in Autism and Behaviour Analysis. She has significant experience working on early intervention programmes with families in their own homes as well as managing PBS teams in social care organisations. She has approximately nine years of research experience and has been working with individuals with learning disabilities and autism for sixteen years. She is also a guest lecturer for Queen’s University Belfast and a published researcher.

This workshop focuses on one community practice network-Avon and Wiltshire PBS Support Network. The network vision, how it has evolved, the challenges and the benefits. Be inspired to join or establish a good practice community network.

Bev Cole, Commissioning Tutor, Bespoke Consultancy and Education Ltd RNLD, Positive Behaviour Support trainer. For many years she worked for Brandon Trust, a charity that exists to improve lifestyles and deliver greater independence for people with Learning Disabilities and Autism. She is a longstanding steering group of Avon and Wiltshire Positive Behavioural Support Network.

Bev has many years’ experience of working with people who challenge, and is committed to see development in services continue. Bev has worked in Provider Services, and Local Authority commissioning and now delivers L5 Commissioning for Wellbeing training to NHS and Local Authority Commissioners and Service Providers.

"What I like about Positive Behavioural Support (among other things) is that the approach can have a massive impact as everyone involved considers and addresses the seemingly small things that upset or annoy people who communicate through their behaviour."

This session outlines the importance of pairing and rapport building including how this fits into the four term contingency. It involves an outline of key research around rapport and practical applications. It also explore the importance of understanding individual preferences and how preference assessments can be used more frequently.

Sam is a BCBA working as the Senior PBS Clinician for PBS4. Sam has many years of experience as a support worker and behaviour analyst working across all age ranges and in various settings. Sam is currently working at PBS4 who have been operating for 6 years and provide support in Hampshire, Dorset, Berkshire, Oxfordshire, and North Somerset. Sam has special interest in training and skilling up teams who are providing direct support using evidence-based methods. Understanding rapport and how to build rapport is a particular interest as this forms the foundations of support and implementation of any further interventions.

Here is the link for WiseBytes to collect your CEUs:

http://www.wisebytes.org/Purchase/#!/PBS-Conference-Certificates-Jan-21/p/275564435/category=0

In this workshop Leah discusses the concept of nontechnical skills, the role they play in applied practice, and why so many practitioners are unfamiliar with these skills. It will identify several ways practitioners may accidentally burn bridges with clients, their support networks, and other professionals, and provide some pointers for achieving nontechnical competence.

An implementation of the tools of Positive Behaviour Support within a forward thinking, person centred organisation with a strong aversion to Jargon

Hamish is currently a Project Leader and PBS lead for Beyond Limits and has been in post for 5 years. They support people who have labels of being complex and challenging to support to leave long stay institutions and live in their own homes with a service that is wrapped around them. He works alongside teams to understand the functions of behaviour that is displayed and implement strategies to reduce these, as well as inspiring teams to discover who the person is and what they actually want. Hamish’s aim is to improve the quality of a person's life and support them to live a life that makes sense to them.

Dr Andrew Bamber is a Clinical Psychologist, he qualified in 2012 from University of Hertfordshire and has specialised in working with children with LD and Autism, initially with Positive Behaviour Autism Learning disability Mental health Service (PALMS) in Hertfordshire and most recently in Learning Disability CAMHS in Bristol. He has been a guest lecturer on both the Hertfordshire and Bath Doctorate in Clinical Psychology DClinPsy courses. His lecture is on the integration of PBS with multi-disciplinary working in Child LD Mental Health Settings in the NHS with reference to his recent case studies.

Emily started her career in a direct support role and has previously been a Registered Manager of a service supporting people who display behaviours deemed as challenging. More latterly Emily has worked within a local authority and clinical commissioning group leading a variety of strategic programmes and ensuring high quality provision across the disability sector. Emily has led work recognised nationally as best practice and has a particular passion for people with a disability or mental health issue who are viewed as complex, believing that every behaviour has a purpose. She has a BSc in Management and Leadership of Health and Social Care Services, a MSc in Psychiatry, and has recently completed the PBS UK courses - Practicing PBS, Systemwide PBS & PBS Train the Trainer. Emily currently works for Saracen Care Services.

Practicing PBS: A case example in a supported living setting. Emily whilst learning from the courses, has benefitted the support services she works within. She also discusses the direct impact on an individual whose quality of life has increased, and the decreased frequency of behaviours which could be described as challenging.

Norfolk County Council has lead on an initiative to change care across the county by offering free training to all LD residential and support-living providers on PBS. This session will explore how the initial idea came to fruition and support those who are looking for ways to change the ethos within their own organisations with practical examples.

Tom Bassett has spent most of his career in special educational needs as a teaching assistant, teacher and SENCo. Currently working for Norfolk County Council adult social services as a Transformation Manager and Consultant, whilst study part-time at the Tizard centre on a Masters in PBS/ABA, he has pushed forward the PBS Training initiative in Norfolk.

This session discusses lessons from PBS4’s development on how to achieve positive behaviour support in social care. We share information on clinical leadership and culture development. It also explores challenges we have faced, mistakes we have made, and lessons learnt. The video concludes with our ambitions for PBS going forward and our hopes to share our learning to inspire others to develop similar supports.

Jonathan is a Learning Disability Nurse with MSc in Applied Behaviour Analysis. Jonathan founded PBS4 with the ambition of showing how PBS can be delivered at high quality in social care settings. PBS4 has been operating for 6 years and provides support in Hampshire, Dorset, Berkshire, Oxfordshire, and North Somerset. Jonathan is also Chair of the RCN Learning Disability Nursing Forum and Trustee for the Loddon Foundation. Jonathan’s previous experience includes working as CQC’s Learning Disability Policy Manager, work as a Project Manager for Department of Health (South West) reviewing services for people who are in contact with the Criminal Justice System, and setting up Intensive Support Services in Southern Health.

This discussion briefly looks at the background, purpose and process for the PBS training peer reviews and how they link with Skills for care’s endorsement process for learning providers.

This video helps PBS learning providers think about whether they wish to join the process and become peer reviewers. It will also help individuals, families, support providers or commissioners understand how peer review can help assure them of good quality, reflective PBS training.

Nick discusses the science behind PBS and how it can be applied to a range of different client groups.

Nick is a Board-Certified Behaviour Analyst with 21 years of experience using behavioural science to teach people the skills they need to get the life they want. He specialises in setting-wide and individually focused Positive Behavioural Support, provides clinical supervision to other practitioners, and uses behavioural principles to enable people and organisation to achieve their goals. He is the director of the Barratt Behaviour Change Consultancy, and chairs the Applied Behaviour Analysis Forum, a London-based professionals’ group he co-founded in 2008. Nick has served on the board of the UK Society for Behaviour Analysis for 5 years and is a member of the Positive Behavioural Support Academy. In 2014, Nick co-authored a book called Feeling Cross and Sorting it Out, which focuses on the interactional nature of challenging behaviour.

Here is the link for WiseBytes to collect your CEUs:

http://www.wisebytes.org/Purchase/#!/PBS-Conference-Certificates-Jan-21/p/275564435/category=0 

COVID-19 has presented challenges for PBS practitioners conducting assessments or providing behavioural supports to individuals. That being said, a lot has been learned over the past year about how we can still be effective.

This session outlines some key tips for working remotely including:

• Strategies for direct assessment and functional behaviour assessment
• Monitoring implementation, and
• Behavioural skills training - from a distance!