Understanding, engaging and communicating with children and young people
Advanced Communication Skills training specifically for professionals working in child and youth-centred environments where effective and compassionate communication is vital in interactions with young people and their families or guardians.
Professionals who work with young people are doing extremely skilled and sensitive work, not just in the health or teaching service they provide but in their understanding of the complex issues facing children and young people as well as the legal framework and family dynamics that form the context of their work.
The Department of Health guidelines for working with young people outline a highly developed and knowledgeable approach, requiring the professional to have a strong capacity for understanding and communication with this young audience within a culturally sensitive and inclusive service.
Professionals are regularly navigating issues of consent and confidentiality with family relationships which are often complex. Safeguarding and equality and human rights issues underlie all work done with young people.
Expert-led training on child and youth communication
Professionals leave with increased confidence, knowledge and skills to offer young people friendly services.
" It was a positive, safe environment to practice difficult conversations in a non-threatening way. Lots of interaction, limited PowerPoint ”
Directly addressing the requirements of the Department of Health service guidelines, it will increase the capacity of workers to engage with young people in sensitive or difficult conversations and support them to make their own informed choices.
The training includes:
- Understanding how to bring the best out of children and young people during interactions and support them to make decisions
- Understanding how the brain and nervous system processes information and how stress impacts on behaviour, clear thinking and communication
- Recognising young people’s need for safety and connection provided by warm responsive adults.
- Developing down to earth, practical communication skills.
- Considering the environment and relationships offered by your service and how they might be made more ‘young people friendly’
- Understanding the legal frameworks around work with young people, particularly regarding safeguarding, consent and confidentiality and working with Fraser guidelines.
- Exploring the appropriate offering of emotional and psychological support and having clarity about the boundaries between every day support and the need for specialist referral.
- Considering how family relationships affect a young person’s well being and how to involve parents and carers appropriately within clear assessment of the young person’s needs,
- Developing key attitudes of acceptance, compassion and empathy
- Practicing skills of listening, clear information giving, age appropriate communication