Quality PBS Training for Social Care Teams

Standards-aligned, evidence-based training to equip staff with essential PBS knowledge

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Aligned with National Standards

Flexible Online Learning

Practical and Evidence-based

Why This Course?

We Know You Want to Provide First-Class Support for People with IDD and Behaviours That Challenge. With growing expectations for evidence-based, person-centred support, ensuring your staff receive high-quality Positive Behavioural Support training is more important than ever. But not all training is practical, well-researched, or aligned with the standards set by regulators and authorities.

You need confidence that your training provider will deliver the rigorous, evidence-based learning your team deserves—training that is engaging, effective, and designed for real-world application.

The First Steps to Foundation in PBS course ensures your staff develop essential PBS knowledge and skills, helping them provide dignified, person-centred support to individuals with learning disabilities and behaviours that challenge.

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What is Positive Behavioural Support?

Positive Behavioural Support (PBS) is a person-centred, evidence-based approach designed to improve the quality of life for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and behaviours that challenge. Instead of focusing solely on behaviour reduction, PBS identifies the reasons behind behaviours and develops supportive, proactive strategies.

PBS-trained professionals play a vital role in:

  • Understanding Behaviour – Using Functional Behaviour Assessments (FBA) to determine why behaviours occur.
  • Creating Supportive Environments – Reducing triggers and fostering positive engagement.
  • Teaching Alternative Skills – Helping individuals develop communication and coping strategies.
  • Using Positive Reinforcement – Encouraging adaptive behaviours over restrictive responses.
  • Collaborating with Teams – Ensuring a consistent, person-centred approach across care settings.

Many direct support staff already support individuals with behaviours that challenge, but without PBS training, they may lack the tools to provide effective, consistent care.

Our First Steps to Foundation in PBS course equips staff with practical knowledge and real-world application skills, ensuring they can deliver high-quality, person-centred support in line with UK standards.

Who Should Take This Course?

The First Steps to Foundation in PBS course is designed for direct support staff in UK social care settings who work with individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and behaviours that challenge.

This course is ideal for:
✔ Support workers and care staff looking to enhance their PBS knowledge.
✔ PBS team managers and registered managers responsible for training their teams.
✔ Organisations seeking to align staff training with UK social care standards.
✔ Professionals transitioning into roles involving PBS who need a strong foundation.

This course does not require prior PBS training and is designed to be accessible, practical, and applicable for frontline social care workers.

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What Your Team Will Learn

📚 Core PBS Principles – How to provide active support and create capable environments that promote autonomy and dignity.

🔄 Disability Models & Their Impact – How different models of disability influence support strategies.

📊 Functional Assessment Basics – Identifying behavioural patterns to develop supportive interventions.

🛠 Behaviours That Challenge – Understanding why behaviours that challenge occur and how to provide effective support.

⚖ Legal & Ethical Responsibilities –  How to implement rights-based approaches, safeguarding, and professional best practices.


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What are the Course Requirements?

To complete the First Steps to Foundation in PBS course, learners must:

  • Complete 10 hours of online learning, covering key PBS principles through structured, self-paced modules, including videos, quizzes, and reflection exercises.
  • Commit to at least 50 hours of supervised, in-person practice within their workplace, ensuring they develop both the knowledge and practical competencies required to deliver PBS effectively.
  • Meet the standards set by the PBS Academy’s PBS Competency Framework and Skills for Care’s First Steps to Foundation Competency Framework, ensuring training aligns with UK social care best practices.

The course costs £60 per learner, and organisations may be eligible to claim up to £55 per learner through the Adult Social Care Workforce Development Fund, making it possible to train staff for as little as £5 per person.

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Learn Faster And Smarter With The Jigsaw Learning Experience

World-renowned

Jigsaw has been providing ABA training for over 20 years. We are world-renowned for our research and practice.

Self-paced

Learn at your own pace, with programmed instruction; active responding, and multiple exemplar instruction.

Accessible

In-person training can be inconvenient and expensive. Our training is flexible and accessible anywhere, anytime.

Adaptive learning

The platform incorporates Artificial Intelligence for a personalised learning experience

The Jigsaw Training First Steps to Foundation in PBS course covers the following topics:

  • Introduction to Positive Behavioural Support (PBS)
  • Understanding intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD)
  • Models of disability: medical, social, and biopsychosocial approaches
  • The history of support for people with IDD
  •  Legal and ethical frameworks in social care
  • Human rights, decision-making, and the Mental Capacity Act
  • Person-centred planning and social role valorisation
  • The role of the PBS support worker
  • Creating capable environments to reduce behaviour that challenges
  • Active support: encouraging autonomy and engagement
  • Behaviors that Challenge and Functions of Behavior
  • Functional Assessment and Behavior Support Plans
  • Antecedent Interventions
  • Differential Reinforcement
  • Functional Communication Training
  • Extinction Procedures and alternatives
  • Ethical responsibilities and professional conduct in PBS
  • Preference Assessments and Behavioural Skills Assessment
  • Rapport Building
  • Key Rights, Decision Making, Competence and Capacity
  • The Four-Term Contingency
  • Measurement in PBS: data collection and tracking progress
  • Direct and indirect assessment methods
  • Introduction to functional assessment: understanding the functions of behaviour
  • Behaviour support plans: key components and implementation
  • Proactive strategies: preventing behaviours that challenge
  • Reactive strategies: responding effectively and ethically
  • The escalation cycle: recognising and managing distress
  • Reducing restrictive practices and promoting positive approaches
  • Quality of life: enhancing wellbeing and social inclusion
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Invest in Quality Training for Your Team

Providing your staff with high-quality PBS training ensures they have the knowledge and practical skills needed to support individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and behaviours that challenge. By developing a strong foundation in PBS, your team will be better equipped to create capable environments, promote autonomy, and improve overall quality of life for the people they support.

This standards-aligned, evidence-based training is designed to be cost-effective, accessible, and practical, making it an ideal solution for social care organisations looking to strengthen their workforce.

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Developed By World-Leading Behavior Analysis Experts

Our online courses use evidence-based, behavioral teaching strategies and all training materials have been developed by world-leading CABAS® expert Dr. Emma Hawkins, PGCE, BCBA and Dr Niall Conlon, BCBA who is a specialist in online ABA staff training. Our platform offers a proven teaching system designed around the individual that promotes effective learning and enables mastery of the content.

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Support With Insight - Developing Critical Skills
For Individuals, Teams And Families

Land Your Dream Job

There is growing demand for PBS across the education, health and social care sectors. Stand out from the crowd by starting your PBS training journey today.

Upskill your team

Jigsaw Training's accessible and affordable online learning platform makes training your team simple - and effective. Have peace of mind your staff will get quality, evidence-based training to deliver the very best support.

Improve home Life

This training is not just for professionals - it is ideal for parents and family members too. This training will help you develop your own skills to communicate better with your loved one and respectfully manage behaviors that you find challenging.

Start Your 40-hour PBS Training Today from just £60

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Cost-effective Quality PBS training is within your reach

  1. START YOUR TRAINING – Sign up for just £60 and start training today.
  2. LEARN WITH EASE – Work through the course quickly as your learning experience adapts to your preferred style as you go.
  3. SUPPORT WITH CONFIDENCE – Complete the course and know you or your team are equipped with skills to offer the best possible support to the people you support
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Further Training Options

GET THE KNOWLEDGE: Complete the First Steps to Foundation in PBS course to gain essential knowledge in Positive Behaviour Support. This course aligns with the UK PBS Competence Framework and covers approximately one-third of the foundation-level competencies required for direct support staff. Upon completion, you will receive a validated certificate.

APPLY THE SKILLS: The course is designed to be embedded into real-world practice, with a recommendation of at least 50 hours of supervised in-person application. This hands-on experience ensures you can integrate PBS principles into daily support for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD).

CONTINUE YOUR PBS JOURNEY:

For those looking to expand their expertise, the Next Steps in PBS course will be launching soon, covering the remaining two-thirds of the direct support worker competencies. This course will build on the foundation laid in First Steps to Foundation in PBS, helping learners further develop their practical skills and knowledge.

Beyond this, additional training is available for those aiming to become supervisors or managers in PBS services, with even Master’s-level programmes in PBS and applied behaviour analysis (ABA) for those seeking advanced qualifications.

*Note: This training follows the UK PBS Competence Framework and is designed to support direct support staff in social care settings. It does not provide ABA-specific certification..

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How is the Course Structured?

The First Steps to Foundation in PBS course is designed to be flexible, self-paced, and bite-sized, making it easy to complete alongside busy work schedules. The course is divided into structured modules and lessons, guiding learners through essential PBS principles in an engaging and interactive format. Each Module includes

Video Mini-Lectures
Quick Learning Exercises
Recommended Resources
AI Learning Support
Reflection Exercises
 
 

After completing all modules and passing the final exam, learners receive a PBS course certificate. 

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Why Jigsaw Training Works

Jigsaw’s intelligent learning platform combines best practice in instructional techniques with advanced technology to provide an enhanced learning experience – and better outcomes. A study into the instructional technique used on this platform (RULEG based programmed instruction) proved this style of online training was significantly superior to both standard online training and traditional workshop-based training with regard to acquiring knowledge.

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Designed for Social Care Organisations

Unlike traditional in-service training, which can disrupt schedules and require costly agency staff, this self-paced, online format allows learners to complete their training without impacting service delivery. Staff can progress at their own pace, reducing logistical challenges for PBS provider organisations.

Equip your team with high-quality PBS training that is practical, flexible, and easy to implement.

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