Children in Scotland launches two new eLearning modules to support practitioners and young people through trauma

Created specifically with children and young people in mind, Let's talk trauma: a guide for young people and professionals, is a vital resource for professionals and young people to work through together. The psychoeducation content for this module was developed by trauma experts from Kibble (click here for more), in collaboration with Children in Scotland, and explores how trauma can affect everyone's brains and bodies differently.

Dan Johnson, Clinical Director at Kibble, said: "We were really keen to develop this module as we knew there was a surprising lack of free and quality resources like it. Having something that can help explain what trauma is – and in a way that young people can respond to – can be invaluable. Hopefully it will increase understanding and be a small yet important part of young people recovering. It has been a pleasure to work alongside Children in Scotland and shows what can be achieved through collaboration".

Marie Harrison, Senior Policy Officer (Children’s Rights) for My Rights, My Say, said: “It has been a pleasure to be involved in the development of this eLearning course. Our Service teams work alongside children and young people who have experienced trauma, and we know how important it is for them to have relatable, clear, meaningful information and support available.

“With this module, we hope that children and young people who have experienced trauma will gain a sense that they are not alone, and that their feelings and emotions are valid. Trauma can be a difficult thing to talk about and many children tell us that ‘it isn’t a big deal’ or ‘I’ll get over it somehow’ or ‘it’s only what I deserve’, so we hope this amazing resource will allow children and young people to open up conversations and discuss their worries, fears and hopes for the future, supported by people close to them.”

Encouraging young people and practitioners to identify ways to cope with and recover from trauma, as part of the course, Children in Scotland’s Services team created “characters” from a composite of children and young people’s experiences, which were then voiced by actors from the Theatre School of Scotland (click here for more).

Marie added: “It was important for us to work on the character development for this module – we wanted the characters to be relatable and, as far as possible, representative of some of the different types of trauma children and young people can experience. We wanted to make sure that the characters amplify and highlight the truth about trauma – that all children and young people will react differently and there is no one right or wrong way to deal with it. What is important is to ensure that young people get the support they feel they need, not what others dictate should happen.”

Speaking about the development of the new training modules, Simon Massey, Children in Scotland’s Head of Engagement and Learning, said: “Our two new courses provide excellent learning opportunities, which fill gaps around supporting practitioners while providing clear information to young people. I’ve been impressed by the knowledge and enthusiasm demonstrated by those developing them and would encourage anyone who is working in their field to access the modules for free on the Children in Scotland eLearning Hub.”

Launched in December 2020, Children in Scotland’s eLearning Hub provides a range of online programmes in collaboration with organisations and services across Scotland’s children’s sector, and the two new trauma courses will join a new module on Getting it right for every child (GIRFEC) launched last month and a course on understanding visual impairment in preschool children which will launch later in 2024.

For more information on the new More Than My Trauma courses, click here to visit our eLearning Hub