Leading a Shift
Team leaders and seniors stepping up
Handover, the shift plan, safeguarding, sign-offs and knowing when to escalate.
- A handover that leaves nothing behind
- Sign-offs and timescales
- When to call the manager
Team leaders · IWU
Writing an Incident That Stands Up
Incident records that are factual, timely and fair to the child, and that hold up when someone else reads them.
What your team will be able to do
- Facts, not labels
- The child's words and view
- A marked written exercise
Why it matters
Team leaders run the home for most of the week. When the shift lead knows the timescales and the escalation routes, nothing waits for the manager.
At a glance
- Length
- Workshop + written exercise
- For
- All staff who write incident records
- Formats
- Live, in person or online, Licence to deliver yourself
- How it is assessed
- A ten-question check (pass mark 8, one resit on Paper B). A full incident written in the session is marked out of 18 within a week (competent at 12). Within three months, a manager scores one of the learner's real incidents on the same rubric.
- Mapped to
- Reg 35 behaviour management records
- Reg 36 children's case records
- Price
- Live: from £495 for up to 12 staff. Licence: £149 per home for 12 months.
What is included
Slides
Every section of the incident record, with one invented episode followed throughout.
Trainer notes
What to say on every slide, the timings, and the answer keys.
Learner workbook
Teaching sheets, two scenarios and a two-page writing exercise.
Papers A and B
A ten-question check, pass mark 8, and a different paper for a resit.
Rubric out of 18
Six domains scored 0 to 3, used on the exercise and again on a real record.
Recording table
Who records what, by when, ready for your training matrix and Ofsted.
Questions about this course
Is this course accredited?
No, and we never claim it is. It is mapped to the Children's Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and current guidance, and assessed in the home as set out under How it is assessed.
Can you deliver it in our home?
Yes. We deliver in person across Greater Manchester and the North West, and live online across England, using your own policies and examples.
Can we deliver it ourselves?
Yes. A licence gives your own trainer everything listed under What is included, for the homes named on the invoice, for 12 months.
Related courses
Manager Induction
New and current registered managers
Your first 90 days leading the home. A half-day workshop, then a 27-sheet workbooklet worked in your own home and signed off by your RI.
- What you answer for, and what you can delegate
- Allegations, Reg 40 notifications, restraint records
- Supervision, safer recruitment, your monthly rhythm
Safeguarding in the Homes
New residential care workers
Recognise, respond, record and refer, in line with Working Together to Safeguard Children 2026.
- Disclosures and the first conversation
- Allegations and the LADO
- Observed sign-off within four weeks
Book Writing an Incident That Stands Up for your team
Tell us your homes, your team and what is due. We reply within two working days with dates and a quote.