SIRCC Annual Conference 2006

DETAILS FOR POTENTIAL CONTRIBUTORS/CALL FOR PAPERS

Monday 5th and Tuesday 6th June 2006
The Aviemore Highland Convention Centre

What do we want the conference to include?

Showcasing good practice
Challenging existing ideas
Promoting young people and their views
Identifying evidence-based practice
Responding to the needs of residential child care staff
Setting the policy agenda
Involving international links and other approaches
Academic balance
A wide range of styles of residential child care service

The conference will also include:

Networking
Fun & participation
A balance of managers and practitioners
Partnership and joint working – e.g. health or education
Inspiration and aspiration
Information about SIRCC

Please send in your proposal on the pro-forma, available by e-mail or from the SIRCC web site. If you do not have e-mail, please give us your postal address.

e-mail: sirccevents@strath.ac.uk web site: www.sircc.strathac.uk/

tel: 0141 950 3572


Target Audience and Conference Style
The conference is open to all who are interested in residential child care. The conference aims to provide a supportive networking opportunity, both formally and informally, across any traditional, agency, academic or professional barriers, welcoming participation from areas such as health and education. SIRCC encourages main grade practitioners as well as managers to attend the conference and to come and present workshops. The public and independent sectors are likely to be equally well represented. Although SIRCC is essentially Scottish, there is also a warm welcome to speakers and participants from other countries, and delegates appreciate their valuable contributions.

Practice and Research
It is vital that conference hears from both practitioners, who are involved in sharing their day to day experiences, and researchers, whose work can inform practice. Interest from student researchers is very welcome. We are keen to involve new faces and main grade residential workers.

What are we looking for?
This call for papers is primarily for workshop leaders. If you are interested in speaking to a larger audience, please simply contact the organisers by e-mail in the first instance to let us know of your interest and include the names and e-mail contact details of two referees if you have not worked with SIRCC before or for a long time.

The criteria for proposals:
i. Proposals must come from people with a genuine commitment to and interest in residential child care and should relate to the overall theme.
ii. Proposals should be written on the pro forma and all questions should be answered. They should be submitted by the person presenting and not on behalf of a colleague without the full involvement of the potential presenter in the process.
iii. A clear and appropriate value basis is fundamental and, where possible, the proposal should demonstrate how the workshop will be of relevance to people who work with minority groups and disabled young people. The conference strongly welcomes participants from short breaks and other specialist residential services for disabled young people.
iv. Workshops should emphasise the exploration of a way/ways of working and/or dealing with particular issues that are relevant to a range of delegates who choose to attend. They should not be used as a platform for promoting one service above another. Organisations that have a service or product that they would like to advertise may be able to have a display stand or provide leaflets for delegates who are interested or they can organise a promotional ‘Fringe Event’. Contact SIRCC for more details.
v. E-mail is the preferred method of communication. Proposals will be acknowledged shortly after receipt. Please follow up your proposal if you do not hear from us.

Sending in your proposal
Initial interest is welcome as early as possible and can be sent by e-mail at any time. Full proposals on the pro forma will be required for consideration by 9th December 2005. If you have difficulties meeting this deadline, please contact SIRCC to discuss.

Speakers’ responsibilities once proposal has been accepted
If your proposal is accepted please:
1. Clarify details of actual attendance and financial arrangements before the event.
2. Complete application form.
3. Send in/discuss: (a) booklet information; (b) handouts/photocopying; (c) AV requirements and responsibilities; (d) discuss chairing arrangements; (e) discuss whether you will be required to repeat your workshop.

Workshop Information

Size: Mostly for a maximum of ~ 20 people in 2006. All the rooms are small. Most can be arranged with a u-shape of chairs.
Leader: There is not room for groups of staff to lead workshops this year. Normally there should be one speaker or workshop leader, ie the person who sent in the proposal.
Support Workshops will usually be chaired by one of the SIRCC team. This is mainly to provide support and advice. They will help to ensure that the room and AV are working and that the workshop is not overcrowded. Chairs are usually keen to discuss the format and content of the workshop in advance of the event and are willing to help to facilitate introductions or discussion groups on the day if required.
Timing: This will probably be for a maximum of 60 or 70 minutes. It is better to finish early and allow time for questions than to finish late and miss out on the next part of the programme.
Repeats: It is intended that most workshops will run twice. We will list the workshops on the conference programme and find out which workshops are likely to be most popular before the event.
Content: This must relate to a specific aspect of the conference theme and you must supply details. Workshops on innovative practice, service provision and problem solving issues relating to the theme will be particularly welcomed. You may be able to talk about work that you have done in your own organisation, but must consider the application of your work in a broader context and enable delegate to consider the relevance of ideas within different types of organisations.
Style: Normally workshops are informal and interactive.
Structure: Very brief introductions or an introductory activity usually precedes a short presentation. This may be followed by a practical activity or discussion groups. Original approaches are welcomed. Where relevant, several short presentations are better than one long one, especially after a longer plenary session. At the conclusion delegates should be advised of any organisational matters relating to the conference programme. Detailed guidelines are available.
Inclusion: Workshops, whilst covering specific topics should be inclusive. Please consider the relevance and application of your workshop to people who work with disabled children and young people.
AV: Some PowerPoint projectors will be available this year. You are welcome to bring your own. It is assumed that anyone using a PowerPoint projector will provide his/her own laptop and is able to set up the equipment, although informal help will be available. Specific AV requirements should be mentioned.
Handouts: If producing a handout, one copy should be provided for the conference organiser for the records. If you would like the organiser to make copies for you, please send an electronic copy to the organiser at least 2 weeks before the event. The handout should not be more than 4 sides x A4 pages.
Booklet: If your workshop is accepted, you will be asked fairly early on, to send in one page of general background information about your topic. It does not need to summarize the workshop. This should include the title of the presentation, a logo or other interesting graphic, your name and any contact details or web sites and references that you are willing to give and a little background information. It will be published on the SIRCC web site.
Costs: Where possible speakers are encouraged to attend the whole conference. Only one speaker per workshop can claim a free place. Full conference fees and one night of accommodation can be provided for workshops that run twice. You are welcome to book a second night for which you would be invoiced. If you need to claim travel expenses, this must be stated on the pro forma and will be discussed. Expenses do not include costs of international flights.