The All Wales Challenging Behaviour Community of Practice (CBCoP)

Location: Wales, main quarterly meetings usually take place at Cefn Lea, Dolfor, Newtown, Powys SY16 4AJ

Purpose: The All Wales Challenging Behaviour Community of Practice (CBCoP) enables people to share knowledge, develop good practice and influence policy. CBCoP members share a common interest in improving the quality of life or people with learning disabilities at risk of using behaviours that challenge to communicate and get their needs met. Members support and learn from each other, by sharing good practice that fits within the Positive Behavioural Support (PBS) framework. The CBCoP has developed into a cohesive and dynamic group over the last decade with around 300 practitioners from different sectors on a mailing list. Modest room hire and refreshments costs are funded by the Welsh Government and Public Health Wales provides administrative support. Participants cover their own travel costs, with support from their organisations.

Activities: The CBCoP is an expert reference group with direct representation on the Welsh Government’s Learning Disabilities Ministerial Advisory Group (LDMAG) this feedback loop has slowly but steadily improved policy and practice across health and social care. The success of the Welsh CBCoP is due to the people who participate and regularly volunteer to present good practice and lead discussions on a wide range of topics, recent example include:

  • Primary Prevention : Embedding the super six coping skills in practice
  • New Welsh qualifications in health and social care
  • Reaccreditation of ABMU PBM Positive Behavioural Management training under the new Restraint Reduction Network (RNN) standards 2019
  • Children with complex needs: a model of integrated working
  • The Whorlton Hall - key actions for the Welsh Government Ministerial Advisory Group’
  • Men’s understanding of relationships and sexuality in a forensic setting
  • The Active Support Integrated Care Fund Project in North Wales
  • Implementing PBS in a secure forensic inpatient service
  • A new accessible definition of PBS
  • Changing Cultures in a learning disability Assessment and Treatment Unit

Evaluation continues to be very positive, with over 80% of particpants rating the CBCoP as very good or excellent increasing thier knowledge, and very relevant to their work. Members value the opportunities to discuss a wide range of issues with input of expert speakers, this year for example from Social Care Wales, Public Health Wales, PBS academy, Welsh and Scottish Government Policy leads, Bild’s PBS coaches program, and the Restraint Reduction Network. Members implement PBS from the grassoots up, learning from their success and failures gives them the expertise and passion to influence policy and practice on local and national levels.

You can read more about our progress in 2019 by accessing the 'progress in 2019' document in the resources and documents section.

Who can join/ who the community is for:

Membership is free and open to all interested people, the target audience are practioners who want to develop their skills in PBS and help us achieve our aims of improving the quality of life or people with learning disabilities at risk of using behaviours that challenge. We communicate electronically and meet quarterly in mid Wales with around 50 members actively participating each time, being together in the same room at the same time enables us to network, debate issues and reach a consensus that empowers us to improve our own practice and influence policy from an expert practitioner perspective.

Links to website/ forum: http://www.1000livesplus.wales.nhs.uk/learning-disabilities

Primary contact: David O’Brien - david.o’[email protected]

Resources and documents:

A web-page with the resources and agendas of previous meetings can be accessed here>

Progress in 2019

PBS Standards for Wales