Traumatic Bereavement: Supporting Children in Early Years Settings
A course developed by the UK Trauma Council designed to help children in their early years cope with their experiences.
About this training
This evidence-based course has been developed by experts from the UK Trauma Council and is delivered by the Clinical Co-Lead of the Traumatic Bereavement resource portfolio.
Traumatic bereavement
Experiencing a bereavement as a child is likely to be difficult no matter what age, but for young children who are in the early stages of making sense of the world, the death of someone can be overwhelming and confusing. The way that the young child then experiences or understands the death - the meaning they make of it - can result in it being experienced as traumatic. The trauma gets in the way of the typical process of grief and blocks the child's ability to process the loss. This can result in difficulties that can be severe and long lasting.
Traumatic bereavement may be easily missed or misunderstood, meaning that young children’s difficulties are not recognised by adults around them. It is vital that these children are identified and given appropriate help and support.
Aims of this training
Understand what traumatic bereavement is and how to recognise young children at risk in the early years
Develop confidence in having difficult conversations with parents or caregivers of traumatically bereaved children in the early years
Enhance skills in supporting traumatically bereaved young children
Know how to support your early years setting's response to a traumatic bereavement.
Who is this training for?
This course is for professionals that work with young children from age 2 – 6 years in early years and foundation stage settings.
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This evidence-based course has been developed by experts from the UK Trauma Council (UKTC), drawing on the latest research and their own experience of working with traumatically bereaved children and young people in education and bereavement service settings.
The UKTC is a group of leading experts, drawn from a variety of disciplines across all four nations of the United Kingdom (UK). It is the first UK-wide platform bringing together expertise in research, practice, policy and lived experience in the field of childhood trauma. The UKTC is hosted and supported by the Anna Freud Centre.
The course is delivered by Beck Ferrari, a UKTC expert in traumatic bereavement:
Beck has her own independent bereavement service working therapeutically with children and young people, and supporting education settings, and is the Clinical Co-Lead for the UKTC’s recent work on traumatic bereavement. Beck’s early career was as a teacher and SENCO. She completed her MSc in Cognitive Behaviour Therapy at Anna Freud Centre/University College London, specialising in Trauma-Focused CBT. Read Beck Ferrari’s full profile here.
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"Good advice and tools to support the whole family, the child and myself as a practitioner." Participant, November 2023
"It has helped me build confidence in exploring difficult conversations with young children and how to do this in a positive way." Participant, November 2023
"This training was a good balance of theory and case studies that helped to consider the applicability. I loved the considerations of EDI and how they did not feel like a 'one size fits all' or tokenistic addition. Beck was great as a trainer - very calm, containing and inclusive whilst considering this topic sensitively and empathetically." Participant, November 2023
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For the live training segments, we'll be using Zoom. Please ensure your device meets Zoom's system requirements before enrolling. You can test your equipment at Zoom.us/test before the training to address any technical issues.
For self-guided learning, materials, and homework, we'll use Blackboard Learn which is compatible with most devices. For optimal access, please use Google Chrome.
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Upon booking, you will be asked to confirm that you have read and accept our terms and conditions and our privacy notice. Please read these documents before booking:
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