Practical Skills for Difficult Conversations with Children and Young People

Practical Skills for Difficult Conversations with Children and Young People
Online 5 CPD hours From £299+VAT
Online Course, 5 CPD hours
Fri 12 Mar 2027 09:00-15:20

Build confidence in difficult conversations with children and young people

Come together with GPs, practice nurses, youth workers and other professionals working with children and young people to explore practical approaches to sensitive and challenging conversations. Join Dr Stephanie Lamb, GP, Founder and Clinical Director of The Well Centre and Chair of the RCGP Adolescent Health Group, as she shares effective techniques for encouraging young people to open up, asking sensitive questions, overcoming communication barriers and navigating consent.

Book your place to develop your confidence in discussing mental health, self-harm, substance use and relationships with young people. Explore how curious enquiry can help uncover underlying concerns, how to respond when young people are reluctant to engage and how to maintain trust during difficult conversations. Through anonymised case studies and interactive discussions, share experiences, compare approaches with colleagues across the UK and identify practical techniques to take back to your everyday practice.

Improve communication skills

How to encourage openness, maintain trust and overcome communication barriers

Explore practical approaches to communicating with children and young people, from encouraging open conversations and uncovering underlying concerns to responding to sensitive disclosures and navigating confidentiality. Key learning outcomes include:

  • Use curious enquiry to encourage young people to open up and uncover underlying concerns
  • Move beyond checklist-style questioning to make sensitive conversations feel more natural
  • Ask sensitive questions with confidence about mental health, self-harm, substance use and relationships
  • Respond to sensitive disclosures while maintaining trust and recognising when further support is needed
  • Overcome communication barriers when young people are anxious, withdrawn or reluctant to engage
  • Navigate consent, confidentiality and Gillick competence while considering safeguarding responsibilities
  • Manage parental and carer involvement while respecting young people's wishes

Live online learning

Share experiences and put learning into practice

This interactive online workshop offers the unique opportunity to explore challenges around difficult conversations with children and young people, learn from colleagues and develop practical approaches to use in your everyday role. Throughout the day, you will have the opportunity to:

  • Connect with professionals across the UK working in healthcare, youth services and other roles supporting children and young people
  • Take part in guided discussions on encouraging open conversations, sensitive questioning and overcoming communication barriers
  • Explore anonymised case studies to consider different approaches to sensitive situations and disclosures
  • Share experiences and compare approaches to challenging conversations with colleagues from different services
  • Ask questions and gain practical guidance from Stephanie Lamb throughout the workshop
  • Identify realistic next steps to improve communication, maintain trust and support young people in your everyday practice

In-house training

Available as bespoke training to teams of 25 or more people. Please do contact us if you would like this course delivered exclusively to your team, with the content developed to drill into the specific needs of your service. Please email Sarah Kemm or call 01732 897788 for further details.

Learning & development

Oncology National Networking Forums are pleased to be featured on the ACCEND Greater Manchester ePortfolio

The ePortfolio platform is available via the Greater Manchester Cancer Academy and supports professional development in cancer care.

This forum and all of our events are mapped to the ACCEND Framework and can be recorded in the Greater Manchester ePortfolio to help you evidence your learning, reflections and competencies.

To find out more, click on the ACCEND tab.

9:00
Registration, technical support and networking opportunity
9:30
Introduction, instructions and course leader’s opening remarks
Dr Stephanie Lamb, GP, Founder and Clinical Director of The Well Centre, Chair of the RCGP Adolescent Health Group
Starting the conversation
9:40
Encouraging young people to open up through curious enquiry
  • Using curious enquiry to ask the questions young people might not volunteer answers to
  • Moving beyond checklist-style assessments to make conversations feel more natural
  • Exploring underlying concerns and barriers around anxiety, school attendance and disengagement
10:10
Questions and answers with your course leader
10:20
Interactive discussion: Sharing approaches to encouraging open conversations
  • What challenges have you experienced when trying to encourage young people to open up?
  • How do you approach asking questions that young people might not volunteer answers to?
  • What approaches have teams found effective for making conversations feel natural rather than like a checklist?
10:40
Feedback from interactive discussion: Sharing approaches to encouraging open conversations
10:50
Screen break
Tackling sensitive subjects
11:00
Building confidence to ask sensitive questions
  • Approaching conversations about mental health, self-harm, substance use and relationships
  • Asking direct but sensitive questions in a way that helps young people feel comfortable opening up
  • Responding to sensitive disclosures while maintaining trust and recognising when further support is needed
11:30
Questions and answers with your course leader
11:40
Case study interactive discussion: What would you do? Stephanie will share anonymised case studies for delegates to discuss, considering:
  • What might make these conversations particularly challenging?
  • How might you approach asking sensitive questions in these situations?
  • What different approaches could help build trust and encourage young people to open up?
12:00
Feedback from case study interactive discussion: What would you do?
12:10
Lunch break
Overcoming communication barriers
12:40
Keeping young people engaged in challenging conversations
  • Understanding why young people may be reluctant to talk or struggle to express their concerns
  • Adapting your approach when young people are anxious, withdrawn or unwilling to engage
  • Managing uncertainty and difficult responses without putting pressure on young people to disclose information
1:10
Questions and answers with your course leader
1:20
Interactive discussion: Sharing strategies for difficult conversations
  • What situations do you find most challenging when trying to engage young people?
  • How have teams responded when conversations haven't gone as expected?
  • What approaches have helped overcome reluctance and encourage engagement?
1:40
Feedback from interactive discussion: Sharing strategies for difficult conversations
1:50
Screen break
Building trust and supporting decisions
2:00
Navigating consent, confidentiality and parental involvement
  • Understanding consent, capacity and Gillick competence when working with young people
  • Balancing confidentiality and young people’s autonomy with safeguarding responsibilities
  • Involving parents and carers in sensitive conversations while respecting young people’s wishes and maintaining trust
2:30
Questions and answers with your course leader
2:40
Interactive discussion: Turning learning into action
  • What approaches have worked well when balancing confidentiality and parental involvement?
  • What key lessons or techniques will you take away from today?
  • What changes could you make to improve difficult conversations in your practice?
3:00
Feedback from interactive discussion: Turning learning into action
3:10
Course leaders’ closing remarks
3:20
Close of day

Your expert workshop leader

Dr Stephanie Lamb is a GP, Founder and Clinical Director of The Well Centre and Chair of the RCGP Adolescent Health Group, with specialist expertise in adolescent health. Through her work with young people, she has extensive practical experience of navigating sensitive conversations around mental health, self-harm, substance use and relationships. Stephanie is passionate about encouraging young people to open up and is currently piloting an approach centred on ‘curious enquiry’, helping professionals ask the questions young people may not volunteer answers to. She brings valuable frontline experience and practical insights to this workshop.

Dr Stephanie Lamb

GP, Founder and Clinical Director
The Well Centre of The Well Centre, Chair of the RCGP Adolescent Health Group

Expected attendees

Bringing together professionals working with children and young people to learn, share and connect

This online workshop is designed for professionals working with children and young people who want to develop their confidence in having sensitive and challenging conversations. This includes, but is not limited to:

  • Paediatric Nurses
  • General Practitioners (GPs)
  • Practice Nurses and Advanced Nurse Practitioners
  • Youth Workers and Youth Support Workers
  • Social Prescribing Link Workers
  • School Nurses and Health Visitors
  • Children and Young People's Mental Health Practitioners
  • Family Support Workers
  • Children's Social Workers
  • School Pastoral and Safeguarding Leads

Past attendee feedback

SBK Healthcare has delivered a range of paediatric training events, bringing professionals together to share experiences, explore challenges and learn from colleagues across the UK. Previous delegates have particularly valued the interactive discussions, knowledgeable speakers and opportunity to take away ideas to improve their everyday practice. Hear what previous attendees have said:

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“This was an extremely informative day that gave me lot to think about to help improve how transition runs within our service. It gave me a lot of good points to think about and how the service could be improved for young people and their families”
- Western Health and Social Care Trust, Enhancing Transition Pathways from Paediatric to Adult Services, May 2026
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“It was a great session, filled with a diverse variety of speakers, all of which were engaging”
- Hope House Children's Hospices, Enhancing Transition Pathways from Paediatric to Adult Services, May 2026
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“The content was really useful as a PAU we are currently more of a ward and it was good to discuss issues we all seem to have and how people have tackled these”
- Birmingham Children's Hospital PAU, Benchmark and Enhance Your Paediatric Assessment Unit, March 2026
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“Very well organised and insightful. Great opportunities to network and share experiences. Was nice to bring in charities to showcase their support for families”
- Alder Hey Children's Hospital, Collaborative Approaches to Optimising Outcomes in Children's Continuing Care, January 2026
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“Thought provoking content, excellent presentations from extremely knowledgeable speakers. Very well organised”
- NHS Greater Manchester ICB (Wigan), Collaborative Approaches to Optimising Outcomes in Children's Continuing Care, January 2026
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“Very insightful, useful discussions and good snippets/ideas to take away”
- North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust (Peterborough), Adapting and Developing your Paediatric Assessment Unit, September 2025
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“Really beneficial and took some ideas away”
- Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals, Adapting and Developing your Paediatric Assessment Unit, September 2025
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“Good to see how people work in different areas, many similarities which is good to see consistency in some areas of planning. Appear to have similar challenges everywhere, was very useful to share ideas. Great opportunity for networking”
- Alder Hey Children's Hospital, Best Practice: Paediatric Complex Discharge, March 2025
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“Expanded the knowledge I had, triggered thought processes”
- Sheffield Teaching Hospitals, Paediatric Complex Needs: MDT Communication Models and Strategies, June 2024
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“Really good delivery, was applicable and relevant, clear to understand and interactive – she had lots of clinical knowledge”
- Northampton General Hospital, Advanced IV Therapy Training for Children's Community Nurses, April 2024

Pricing structure

  • £299+VAT early bird (£50 off) for one NHS or public sector place when booked before 7th January 2027
  • £349+VAT full price for one NHS or public sector place when booked after 7th January 2027
  • £299+VAT colleague rate (£50 off) for each NHS or public sector place when booking 2-3 places
  • Fourth place FREE: team offer when you book 3 places at full price

Discount policy: Only one offer applies per booking  

Please contact Nichola Cadwallader with your enquiries. 

Commercial places are available, please contact Vanessa Jarman for further information 

Booking across different events?

If you and/or your colleagues are planning to attend different events, you can still take advantage of the colleague rate or fourth place FREE team offer, by combining eligible bookings across events with the same pricing structure.

If you are booking multiple attendees for one or more events and would like help arranging your booking, please email Nichola Cadwallader or call Nichola on 01732 897788 for further details.

In-house training

Available as a bespoke course to teams of 25 people or more. Please do contact us if you would like this training delivered exclusively to your team, with the content developed to drill into the specific needs of your service. Please email Sarah Kemm or call 01732 897788 for further details.

You can reserve a no-obligation place whilst you apply for funding.

If your funding has not yet been secured or you would like to hold your place with no obligation whilst waiting for your study leave to be approved, you can reserve your place with us. Please email the reservations team at SBK Healthcare with your details:

  • Booking contact: name, job title, department, email and telephone number
  • Event(s) to reserve for: title and date
  • Delegate details (for each delegate): name, job title, department, email and telephone number
  • Organisation details: name and address

Alternatively you can make a confirmed booking by emailing the above information to the bookings team.

Once you have booked your place, SBK Healthcare will correspond with you using the email address you provided at the time of booking. Within one week of the online training taking place, you will be sent final details of the course including a full agenda, programme timings and your Zoom joining instructions. This email will include a joining link that can be used to access the course.

If you have not received your email two days before your event, do check your junk folder then contact SBK Healthcare on 01732 897788.

Practice sessions are available. If you would like to attend a zoom practice session before the event takes place, please let us know by emailing bookings@sbk-healthcare.co.uk. You will have the opportunity to meet an SBK Healthcare staff member who will ensure you are able to access zoom, that your camera and microphone work and you are fully set-up for the day. This is optional but if you do wish to attend, please use the same device that you plan to use on the day.

On the day, when registration starts, you will be able to join the course by initially entering a waiting room when there may be a short wait. The forum will include screen breaks, as well as topic themed interactive sessions which will take place in the breakout rooms.

Click here to view the specially created 5-minute video that will walk you through how to get the most out of attending your SBK Healthcare interactive online forum.

Certification of attendance

A certificate for Continuing Professional Development will be given to every fully registered participant who completes the course, as a record of your continuing professional training and development.

Registration fees

You will be sent an instant payment option or invoice on registration. Your payment is required in advance. If your fee has not been received prior to the event, and you are not able to provide a PO or proof of payment, you will be asked to make a credit or debit card payment on the day.

Modify registration

To let us know if your details are not correct when you have already registered, please email the bookings team.

Cancellations and substitutions

A full refund of fees will be made only for cancellations received within the first 48 hours of the booking being made. Notice of cancellation must be received in writing by emailing the bookings team at SBK Healthcare. Should you need to cancel your registration after this date, the registration fee remains payable in its entirety although a substitution will be accepted and conference documentation will be provided. Substitution attendees for delegates unable to attend after registering are acceptable at any time.

Event changes

It may be necessary for reasons beyond the control of the conference organisers to alter the content, speakers or the timing of the programme. We will endeavor to keep you abreast of such changes but any unavoidable change to the format will not constitute a reason to refund the fee. Should the event be postponed, we will endeavor to reschedule the event. If, for reasons beyond the control of the conference organiser, the event is cancelled, a full refund will be made. We do not accept any liability for any incurred costs resulting from a postponement or cancellation.

Privacy notice

To view the details on how your data is being collected and used, please view our Privacy policy.

About the ACCEND Framework

The ACCEND Framework is designed to enhance cancer care by providing a structured approach to education and professional development for healthcare professionals.

  • It defines the essential Cancer Capabilities in Practice (CiPs) and offers a tailored educational structure to support progression at every stage of a cancer care career.
  • Launched in January 2023, the framework aims to transform career pathways and improve training and development opportunities across the cancer workforce.
  • It provides access to the education and training needed to meet role-specific competencies and includes dedicated resources for nurses, allied health professionals and those in cancer-related support roles.
  • The ACCEND Framework delivers a nationally agreed career and education structure underpinned by clearly defined capabilities in practice.

Map your learning

All Oncology National Networking Forum courses listed on the ACCEND Greater Manchester ePortfolio are fully aligned with the ACCEND Framework.

You can easily log your attendance and map your learning to the Cancer Capabilities in Practice (CiPs) through the ACCEND Greater Manchester ePortfolio.

To do this:

  • Register and log in to the Greater Manchester ePortfolio
  • Click ‘Add Entry’
  • Select 'Choose an item from the library'
  • Change the provider to Oncology National Networking Forums
  • Choose the relevant event you have attended (or plan to attend)

This tool offers a central space to track your professional development, reflections and achievements - supporting your ongoing career in cancer care.

Click here to access the Greater Manchester ePortfolio


Sponsorship engagement

Our role at SBK Healthcare is to bring industry together with healthcare professionals so that you can educate and inform your audience. These trail-blazing oncology delivery forums offer dedicated presentations, Q&A, networking and discussion time, each sponsor will be fully immersed into the event and able to effectively engage with your NHS audience.

Your event, managed by us

SBK Healthcare also provides in-house forums. Working closely with you as the client we can research, produce, market and deliver the conference or online forum that best suits the audience and meets your goals.

Reach out today

If you would like more information on our sponsorship options an in-house forum or if you wish to discuss your needs and what solutions may be appropriate for your business, please contact:

Vanessa Jarman
Contact: 01732 897788
Email: Vanessa.Jarman@sbk-healthcare.co.uk