Wellbeing Education - Professional Training in Therapeutic Wellbeing Practice for Children and Young People
Professional Training in Children’s Wellbeing and Child Therapeutic Counselling
In partnership with IATE and The University of East London
Our courses
Welcome to our courses
If you would like to pursue a career promoting the wellbeing of children and young people please see below the portfolio of courses and training opportunities at IATE in partnership with the University of East London.
The Wellbeing Faculty provides four distinct courses over four years of training including 450 tutor contact hours. These are delivered predominantly over weekends, including 30 hours of remote learning in the final term. These four years include:
Year 1
IATE Certificate in Therapeutic Communication Skills for Children and Young People (Level 4)
Year 2
IATE Diploma in Therapeutic Wellbeing Practice for Children and Young People (Level 5)
Year 3
IATE Diploma in Community Wellbeing for Children, Young People, Families and Organisations (Level 6)
Year 4
IATE Diploma in Child Therapeutic Counselling (Level 7)
Children's Wellbeing and Child Therapeutic Counselling
A Child Therapeutic Practitioner inspires creativity and human relationship to promote the overall wellbeing of children, young people, families and communities. This is a holistic and child-centred approach, tailored to the needs and capabilities of each individual child in the context of their own unique family, care, school and social environment.
Informed by attachment theory, child development, mentalisation, mindfulness and compassion, this is a trauma informed approach to enable children to develop self-awareness, self-confidence, self-esteem, communication and social skills, emotional regulation, agency, motivation, resilience and recovery to reach their full potential.
Child Therapeutic Counselors can work in multi-disciplinary teams sharing influence from youth work, social work, mental health, therapy and education. Child Therapeutic Counselling recognises the necessity to bespoke the mode of delivery to each individual child's needs in context with awareness of diversity, adversity and complexity.
Sports, arts, leisure, communications technology, nature and complementary health can be therapeutically enhanced with research informed approaches to child mental health and emotional wellbeing, child protection and safeguarding in professional ethical practice.
"A lot of people talk a lot about wellbeing but this is really it and I wish we had brought in a wellbeing practitioner to the school to help years ago"
Primary School Head Teacher
Who Can Apply?
Anyone who is committed to making a difference to the lives of children and young people.
Describe your image.
This course makes an excellent introduction to the field of ideas and practice. It can be a valuable stepping stone for anyone who may be considering commencing a new career working with children and young people or considering further Continued Personal and Professional Development.
The courses are designed for people who are seeking to work professionally with children and young people and those who would like to commence work in this field of practice. Anyone who is already working with children and young people is eligible to apply and will receive consultation about placements with reference to potential and limits of competence.
All applicants are required to provide up to date DBS and references. Students who have successfully completed the courses in the past have been from a wide range of backgrounds including:
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Leaders of Wellbeing in Organisations
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Parents, grandparents and young people over the age of 18
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Social Care Workers
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Mental Health Professionals
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Behaviour Consultants and Inclusion Managers
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Therapists and Counsellors
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Arts Facilitators and Practitioners
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Teachers and Teaching Assistants
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Educational or Clinical Psychologists
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Speech and Language Therapists
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Occupational Therapists
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Early Years Practitioners
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Nurses and Mental Health Nurses
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Doctors and Other Medical Health Professionals
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Youth Workers
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Sports Facilitators
... and many more
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Multi-disciplinary: including influence from social work, youth work, mental health, therapy and education
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Creative: the arts, sports, leisure, communication technology, nature and complementary health
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Child-centred: tailored and bespoke, adaptable and applicable to different roles, responsibilities and contexts
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Holistic: multi-dimensional, bio-psychosocial philosophy and approach
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Relational: applying dynamic and developmental concepts to practice
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Experiential: encouraging personal growth and self-development in parallel process with children and young people
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Integrative: multiplicity of theoretical approach within a unifying paradigm for child-centred creative and relational practice
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Pluralistic: multiple formulations of wellbeing and a range of multi-disciplinary perspectives
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Original: innovative creative and relational approaches for children, young people, families and communities
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Safe and Effective: ethical and professional therapeutic practice in safeguarding, child protection, advocacy and children's rights
Distinctive Features of Child Therapeutic Practice Courses at IATE
Entry to the Certificate Course
Level 1 The Certificate in Therapeutic Communication Skills for Working with Children and Young People (One Year Part Time)
Applicants need to be reliable, safe and effective role models, have the capacity to play and be empathic, have reflective skills and an openness to inquire as well as the willingness to work flexibly in complex situations with a commitment to child protection and safeguarding.
All applicants are required to fill in an application form, provide two references, have an up to date DBS and attend an practical workshop, interview and induction.
People are welcomed from a wide range of professional and non-professional backgrounds who have a vision to promote child mental health and emotional wellbeing.
The course team value diversity in race and culture, age, professional perspectives with a genuine strength of the training being it's inclusive values and principles.
At the point of interview students receive consultancy, assessing their needs and capabilities, limits of competence and bespoke appropriate placements.
The first year of the portfolio of three trainings emphasises the value of being familiar with the contexts in which children live, learn and play. The placement requirement is to work with the same group of children for a period of one year in an ongoing way to research the value of relationship over time in a developmental approach.
If you are interested in one of our courses, you can attend a Taster Day (9am to 5.15pm) at IATE including presentations, workshops and interviews. To access this you will be required to book by completing an online application form via the IATE website. Please also ensure you register your interest here so that we can follow your application process.
Join the next Taster Day at IATE
Entry to the Diploma Courses
These Diploma courses normally require successful completion of the Foundation Certificate or equivalent. In some circumstances students may be invited to interview and accepted on to the course on the basis of previous professional training and experience through Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning (APEL).
Each course is distinct in itself and can also be accumulated as a portfolio of trainings towards becoming qualified as a Child Therapeutic Counsellor.
There are training options in key-working, mentoring and creative group work.
All applicants are required to fill in an application form, provide two references, have an up to date DBS and attend an practical workshop, interview and induction.
How we've changed the lives of our students
Wellbeing Education
In their own words - our students & graduates
Laila's experience
Julia talks about her course
"It was a very enriching course with inspiring teaching; I can’t recommend it enough"
Simon
Carpenter/Keyworker
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Professional Placements
Throughout the courses placements require students to have on-going consistent contact with children and young people over time. Placements can be organised, co-ordinated and managed by the course team across education, health and social care. Year one includes familiarisation in the contexts where children live, learn and play and year two can include mentoring, key-working and creative group work. From term two of year two students can commence child therapeutic counselling placements following consultation with tutors and supervisors. In year three students participate in developing their own community wellbeing project and in year four they write up their research case study.
Many students work full time with children and young people and others are in placements on one day a week.
This can include contact with children and young people through the arts, sports, leisure, communications technology, nature and complementary health. Placements have included: musical mentoring, poetry, positive play, martial arts, yoga, dance, rap, sports, games, boxing, cycling, fitness, drumming, gardening, carpentry, crafts, jewellery making, origami, cooking, drama, sand and water play, singing, story making, sculpture, puppetry, comedy, circus, fashion, film, journalism, work in nature and adventure play for the promotion of health and wellbeing.
Placements can also be in the context of on-going employment in any professional discipline within allied health, education or social care applying transferable skills. For placements in child therapeutic counselling it is essential not to have a multiple role or dual relationships with the children and young people.
Course Costs
Course fees for three distinct levels of training
Fees: £4,500 for each course
This includes a non refundable deposit of £960
Payment installment options are available
Additional Costs Include:
£695 registration fee for the University of East London
£250 per term Reflective Practice.
Please note, IATE courses do not qualify for government education funding.
How to Apply
Attend a Taster Day at IATE
Applicants can access the IATE Taster Day which includes presentations and information about the courses, workshops and an interview. All students are required to complete an application form in advance of attending the Taster Day.
Following the Taster Day at IATE and the successful offer of a place in the Wellbeing Faculty on the Child Therapeutic Counselling training, applicants will have an opportunity to obtain further consultation via Zoom with the staff team to talk more about working with children and young people, personal and professional development needs as well as placement requirements and opportunities. Each student will be linked directly through referral to a supervisor / reflective practice facilitator to accompany them on the training.
