Organized by Social Care Skills (SAA Trusted Partner)
Life story work can play an important role in helping children and young people understand their experiences, relationships, identity and personal history. For children who are looked after, have experienced changes in carers or placements, or have lived through difficult and sometimes traumatic experiences, understanding their own story can be particularly important.
However, effective life story work is much more than creating a book, collecting photographs or developing a timeline of significant events. It is an ongoing and sensitive process that can help children make sense of what has happened to them, explore important relationships, understand decisions that have affected their lives and develop a stronger and more coherent sense of identity.
Date & Time: 1st October, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Live Online via Teams
Register here or using you SAA Member discount following this link.
Course Content
The course explores the purpose and value of life story work and how it can contribute to a child or young person’s identity, emotional wellbeing and understanding of their experiences. Participants will consider how life story work can be adapted according to age, developmental stage, communication needs and individual circumstances.
Attention will be given to gathering and organising information, exploring significant people and relationships, understanding family history, placements and transitions, and helping children make connections between past experiences and their current lives. The course will consider the use of photographs, timelines, memory boxes, documents, creative activities, conversations and other approaches to building and exploring a young person’s story.
Participants will also consider some of the more challenging aspects of life story work, including how to approach difficult or incomplete information, separation and loss, family relationships, traumatic experiences and conflicting accounts of events. The importance of avoiding assumptions, judgemental language and adult interpretations of a child’s experiences will be explored.
The course will also examine how professionals can support children to maintain connections with their culture, heritage, community and significant relationships as important elements of identity and belonging.
For more details about our offers and to explore other online seminars, visit Social Care Skills website: https://socialcareskills.co.uk/