TEAM OF LIFE
Helping Children to Feel Connected, Capable and Confident
Training for the children's workforce
Teaching you to deliver our unique resilience programme
Every child deserves to feel seen, supported, and valued. Our Resilience Programme for ages 7–13 helps practitioners employs sporting metaphors to nurture children’s confidence, wellbeing, and social connection - so they can thrive, not just survive.
Key Features
The Team of Life builds resilience by activating children and young people's support systems and empowers them with the confidence to achieve their goals with the help of their support team.
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Children decide who they would like to think of as being in their ‘team of life’ from among their family, friends and other people who are important to them
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Recognising the skills in their teams helps them to build social support networks and develop children's confidence that they have the back up they need
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Drawing how they worked together with their team to achieve a goal is an innovative way of telling positive stories of achievement and hope that encourage resilience
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Children are reminded that celebrating goals with a team is much more fun than on your own, encouraging pro-social behaviour and social skills development
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Being part of a team makes it easier to think about how to tackle problems together, giving children a sense of belonging and connection
What is unique about Team of Life?
"It helped me realise I am not alone and it's okay to ask for help" - Team of Life Participant
While social factors are widely viewed as responsible for increases in children's mental health problems, most interventions focus on individual challenges. Instead, Team of Life builds "social resilience" by helping children and young people to recognise and build their support networks and become more aware of their strengths and achievements.
Audience
No prior therapy training is required - just a commitment to helping children grow in confidence and connection. The programme is ideal for:
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Teaching and support staff
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Mental health practitioners
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Educational psychologists
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Clinical and counselling psychologists
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Counsellors
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Youth and family practitioners
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Anyone supporting children and young people's social and emotional development
Single Practitioners
Facilitator training package
Help children and young people build support networks and recognise their strengths. Training includes on-demand online video lessons and activities. Study at your own pace: 7 hours of training available 24/7 for 90 days. The package also includes an annual subscription to our platform for support, which gives you access to downloadable resources and online video delivery support.
Organisations
Bespoke training packages for your team or organisation
Develop your team’s skills in our systemic, strengths-based programme for children and young people. Training is available on-demand online or as a 1-day live session (online or face to face). Packages include an annual subscription for support and downloadable resources. Contact us to discuss your requirements.
Schools
Whole school packages
Includes training in our programme for the whole school community enabling you to build social resilience and create a culture of belonging and wellbeing. Training is available on-demand online. Packages include an annual subscription for support and resources.
Wirral Team of Life Story
Our Team of Life Project started out on Wirral and our research took place in Wirral Schools. Dr Vicky Eames also grew up on Wirral, so we are thrilled at how the programme has been adopted there.
Isabell Sutherland
We have been using Team of Life for the last 2 years and have found it a very beneficial intervention to help children build resilience and create a network of support around themselves.
We have used this intervention with small groups of children but have now also started using this on a whole class basis, giving us the opportunity to help build a whole year community. This has been particularly helpful at times of transition, e.g. young people moving from primary into secondary school.
As well as training our own staff, we have funded schools to train staff as we see this as a very valuable resource for schools to use – with or without input from our team.
Dr Fiona Pender
We’ve got a whole cohort now of new psychological professions to try and meet the need that we have to support children and young people with mental health problems . . . [so we are] bringing in narrative approaches through Team of Life and having that focus on what we call a Whole School Approach in developing their resilience in ways other than individual therapeutic interventions in a clinic room.
Jayne Hart
I have delivered Team of Life to 4 groups of young people ranging from year 3 to year 6. I find it is a lovely piece of work. I have seen how some young people have flourished and gained confidence to join clubs in and out of school, plus take part in assemblies and school performances. SENCO's have commented that they can see a difference in the young people who have taken part in Team of Life.
Impact
We know from research on resilience that having multiple sources of support is a significant protective factor for children and young people. Having uncertain sources of support and having to rely mainly on their internal capacity to manage is a risk factor. Over time, young people who describe more uncertain sources of support also describe experiencing more mental health difficulties, and those who report multiple sources of support tend to describe fewer difficulties. We know from our research that Team of Life can help children to be more aware of the support available to them and feel more able to ask for help when they need it.
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Involving children's communities in building resilience, including children's workforce, schools, families and peers
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Capturing children's voices and empowering them to seek support and support others
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Improving prosocial behaviour, helping to reduce exclusions and suspensions in schools
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Creating a safe and supportive environment, helping to reducing absenteeism in schools
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Involving parent/carers and significant others through shared language and celebration
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Involvement of staff teams in Team of Life, building team cohesion and individual awareness of support networks
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When children have safe, supportive relationships and learn to believe in their abilities, they build the confidence to pursue their goals and face challenges with courage
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Through connection, conversation, and care, we can help young people write stronger, more hopeful stories about themselves
Examples of our clients
Practitioners working in the NHS, Local Authorities, Schools and Voluntary Sector Organisations have taken up our training and are adopting our Team of Life Resilience Programme
Outcomes and beneficiaries of the Team of Life programme...
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What are the outcomes?
Team of Life helps children to feel less isolated, be less socially withdrawn and show more pro-social behaviour such as kindness and friendliness
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Who are the beneficiaries?
The programme is aimed at children and young people aged 7-13, although ‘Team of Life’ benefits everyone by encouraging reflection on the important people in our lives.
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Who does it particularly help?
The approach is especially helpful for children and young people who have experienced losses, trauma or hardship, low-level mental health problems, concerns about transitioning to secondary school, difficulties with friendships and self-esteem issues.
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