Introduction to R.I.S.K – A framework to support and cultivate parent infant bonds

Event Details

This interactive training session introduces the R.I.S.K Framework, a practical, baby-focused approach designed to strengthen how professionals recognise, understand, and respond to the needs of infants and their caregivers across services, workplaces, and communities.

Grounded in Infant Mental Health principles and aligned with the Infant Mental Health Competency Framework, this session supports practitioners working with families during the first 1,001 days to hold the baby and the caregiving relationship in mind, whatever their role or setting. The R.I.S.K Framework provides a shared language and structure that can be used confidently across health, early years, social care, voluntary, community, and wider professional contexts.

The session explores the four phases of the R.I.S.K Framework:

Recognise – identifying early signs of stress, vulnerability, or risk within the parent–infant relationship, informed by infant development and caregiving capacity.

Inquire – developing curiosity and confidence to ask reflective, non-judgemental questions that give parents space to share their lived experience.

Support – understanding what supportive responses look like in practice, including signposting, relationship-based interventions, and working within professional boundaries.

Keep in touch – highlighting the importance of continuity, reflection, and maintaining relationships over time to reduce escalation and fragmentation.

Participants will explore how infant mental health is shaped not only by immediate caregiving relationships but also by wider informal networks, formal services, and social and economic contexts. The session draws on ecological and relational models to reinforce that building infant mental health is a shared responsibility across systems.

This is a highly reflective and participatory session, using case examples, discussion, observation, and applied exercises to help participants translate theory into everyday practice. It supports professionals to think about their own role, influence, and confidence when working with babies and families, and to identify small, realistic changes they can embed immediately.
The session is suitable for professionals at all levels who work directly or indirectly with families with babies, including those new to Infant Mental Health as well as those seeking a refresher or shared framework to support consistent practice across teams. By the end of the session, participants will have a clearer understanding of infant mental health, increased confidence in recognising and responding to early relational needs, and a practical framework they can apply within their own role and organisation.