This one-day free training course is aimed at practitioners working directly with care experienced children in a range of settings including family support, youth work, play work, teaching, outdoor and arts activities to have a greater understanding of their support needs. The training will be informed by the experience and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic – which has of course impacted the experience of looked after and care experienced children significantly since March 2020. In particular, this will include consideration of resilience, the impact of trauma and consequent need for trauma informed approaches to be used in order to support individuals. The training will explore the variety of living situations practitioners may come across, the meaning of terminology used, and focus on what young people have said about their experience of being ‘in care’.
The course is fun and involves engaging exercises.
The course will set out the theoretical and legislative framework for children and young people’s participation in Wales and involve techniques that can be used directly with children and young people. The majority of the course will explore the methods that can be used with children and young people on an individual and group bases to include them as widely as possible in decisions that affect their everyday lives. Participants will feel empowered to use practical tools to support children and young people’s participation.
The morning will concentrate on children under 10 years and the afternoon on young people up to 25 years.