Independent Return Interviewer (Missing from Care/Home)

According to government guidelines, children and young people who go missing from home or care should be offered an independent return home interview within 72 hours of their return to their home or care setting. 

This course is reccomended for practitioners who undertake return interviews, or those wishing to develop their understanding of the return home interview process.

Return Home Interviews Explained

During a return home interview, an independent professional can:

• Begin to understand the reasons why a child or young person ran away
• Identify and report any harm suffered by the child whilst they were absent
• Identify ways to support the child or young person with the issues that led to them running away in the first place.

The aim of these interviews is to identify any risks that the child or young person has, or may face. The outocme of the meeting should be to find alternative ways for the child or young person to cope with their concerns, rather than running away. At its core, a return home interview priorities safegaurding and looks to reduce the risk of harm for the child or young person in question. 

Course Content

Upon completion of this training, learners will:

• Know the context within which return interviews are undertaken, and their purpose
• Understand the push and pull factors involved when children and young people go missing
• Be able to identify the risks that a child may have been exposed to while they were missing, and know when information should be shared to prevent further harm
• Be familiar with a range of practical approaches to use with hard-to-engage children and young people
• Understand how they can help children and young people to keep themselves safe, and reduce the likelihood of further missing episodes by helping young people to find alternative ways of coping with difficult situations
• Be able to create effective return interview records and reports

This return home interview training will be delivered via a live, interactive webinar. The training session will be delivered by a member of our highly experienced training team. 

NYAS is a leading, national rights based charity who deliver a range of services, including return home interview, to care experienced children across England and Wales. We have practical experience within this training area, and your learning will be supported by our expert guidance and a supporting handbook.

You can find all available training dates below - new dates are added regularly so keep an eye on this page for any updates if the dates below don't work for you. If you're looking to discuss bespoke training dates, please email training@nyas.net and our team will be happy to help.