Team of Life Resilience Programme

A unique narrative approach to building resilience aimed at children aged 7 and upwards

We offer training for the children's workforce to deliver our unique resilience programme.

Training Options

The TEAM approach to resilience

Our 6 session programme is a systemic intervention that enables children to activate their support network

Available as part of the Team of Life Facilitator Training Package and Schools Package. Can be delivered by any member of the children's workforce following 7 hours training delivered in person or on demand.

<span class="fr-mk" style="display: none;"> </span>Jayne Hart, Education Mental Health Practitioner, Wirral Mental Health Support Team

“Before the Team of Life I didn’t feel like I fitted in with other young people. I had worries about joining the group; what if I said something silly and everyone laughed? What if I didn’t fit in? But it’s like starting the next chapter in your life where you don’t feel alone because everyone is in the same boat. In the Team of Life I learnt skills to manage my worries that I can keep using and I grew in confidence. I made some great friends there who I go out with after school. I also am now part of a drama group and I have a lead role in the play. Overall, I am just more confident and I am doing things now that I would have been too worried about doing; like singing on stage!”
Team of Life participant

“I would tell other parents who are thinking about their child taking part to definitely do it! Since taking part in the Team of Life people have noticed a change; he is socialising more outside of school with friends. I feel more positive about his ability to progress in the future.” Parent

"Great, easy to follow resources, step by step." Teaching Assistant

"Really well designed, professional and accessible." Education Mental Health Worker

"Excellent resource pack" Faculty Assistant

"Helpful resources, very appealing" Behaviour Manager

Downloadable Resources

Session plans and printable handouts

All the materials you need to support delivery of the programme are included with Team of Life Facilitator Training. You will be free to download, print and re-use these resources as often as you wish.

Online Delivery Support

Includes slides and video content

Slides narrated by young people help to engage children and young people who are taking part in Team of Life. The online support ensures smooth delivery and helps to reduce planning time for facilitators.

Example activity

Goal Maps

An example of one of the narrative activities in the programme are Goal Maps. Goal Maps are a really important part of the programme as they help children and young people to share the story of how they worked together with their team to ‘score’ an important goal in their life.

“The goal maps, it kinda gave me an idea of other ways to reach my goals and people I could use ‘cause I have many goals but normally I don’t ask people to help me out, I try and do it solo, but it doesn’t always work out, so it really made me think about other people I could ask for help if I need to achieve a goal.”

Testimonials

Andrew Hastings - Secondary Behaviour Improvement Teacher, TESSA, St Helens Borough Council

"I am now looking forwards to promoting Team of Life to all 9 high schools in St Helens. I will be using the course across schools for those who are at risk of being permanently excluded. I work closely with referred families and i genuinely believe that narrative therapy may build bonds between school, students and parents."

Sabahat Malik – Senior Practitioner, Hertfordshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust

“I have delivered the Team of Life programme as an EMHP to primary school and secondary school pupils. The engagement, progress and positive impact was quick and very much noticeable after the first few sessions. I had great pleasure in delivering Team of Life and loved seeing the fruitful impact it had on children and young people who were in need of the support. The impacts of Team of Life are lasting and truly changing lives. Most of all, the CYPs absolutely loved it and took away valuable, everyday life skills.”

Laura North, Family Worker Buckinghamshire Mental Health Support Team

"One child said ‘ I feel so much happier than I was’’. A child tackled a problem of bullying – loved his advice, ‘’When you are bullied, it is good to tell an adult because holding on is not good’’. From delivering Team of Life I feel it not only empowers the young people but it lets those working with the young person’s to know more about the great support there is surrounding the children! I am amazed that through the Team of Life you uncover so much about the child’s voice, and that promotes empathy and understanding and builds relationships!"

Jayne Hart, Educational Mental Health Practitioner, Wirral Mental Health Support Team

“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.”

Dr Laura Tozer, Clinical Psychologist, Buckinghamshire Mental Health Support Team

“The Team of Life training provided by Riverbank Psychology was incredibly helpful to our team. The experiential learning enabled the team to fully embrace the Team of Life approach and we all hugely enjoyed the training whilst learning a great deal. The training provided the opportunity for the team to learn about each other, consider who is in our own ‘team of life’ and reflect on our values. I would highly recommend this training to anyone who is looking to run Team of Life.”

Claire Owens, Director, Next Chapter CIC

“The Team of Life provides a common language that most students understand… I consistently witness students experiencing an appreciation and understanding of the value of support networks and how this has a positive impact on their lives. I have been particularly struck by the importance of stories, which comes from a narrative approach and how this can be used for children to tell their story, with a deeper understanding of how their experiences shape their attitude towards the future, finding key positive learning experiences from difficult circumstances.”

Dr Hayley Lugassy, Educational Psychologist, Cheshire East Council

"We are keen to begin implementing this wonderful intervention as soon as possible.”

Stephanie Davey, Trainee Education Mental Health Practitioner

"I loved watching the young people grow in confidence throughout the programme and start to share more about their lives with us.’’

Lucy Rothwell, Education Mental Health Practitioner, Alder Hey Mental Health Support Team

Last week we were trained in the Team of Life, which is a strength focused, narrative approach. We thought about how we could use this approach in schools to help CYP identify support systems, strengthen friendships and increase self-esteem. Thank you @riverbankpsych

Reviews

Excellent course

Nadia Laffey

This course was excellent and provided me with all the knowledge and training to run Team of Life sessions myself. The content was a mixture of videos and te...

This course was excellent and provided me with all the knowledge and training to run Team of Life sessions myself. The content was a mixture of videos and text and provided lots of examples, which made the course come to life. I have run one session so far and the feedback has been great. The young people enjoyed working as teams and coming up with different ideas. It will be beneficial for them. Thank you for providing such an excellent course.

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What is Team of Life

Lauren Taylor

Excellent structure and resources with relevant additional readings

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St Helens Outreach Specialist Taskforce

Andrew Hastings

Thank you for the opportunity to participate on your pilot course. My colleague and I work with the most vulnerable and sometimes hard to reach students in t...

Thank you for the opportunity to participate on your pilot course. My colleague and I work with the most vulnerable and sometimes hard to reach students in the borough. We realise that our students have experienced multiple disadvantages from birth and struggle to communicate with professionals in education. Education is viewed as a non essential in some of their households and educational underachievement is entrenched across generations. Through utilising team of life we endeavour to offer students a safe space where they can discover their voices, their support mechanisms and build a positive relationship with my colleague and I. Thank you once again for enhancing the "toolbox" that we carry when we deal with young people.

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Narrative Therapy

Caitlin Holland

Really enjoying this course, learnt so much already

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Team of life

Anita Davis

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Team of life

Anita Davis

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FAQ's

1. Are there any specific qualifications required to deliver the Team of Life Resilience Programme?become a certified facilitator?

No specific qualifications are required to attend the training and become a facilitator. Any member of the children's workforce can train.
2. Are there any ongoing costs to delivering the programme

Access to the Team of Life Online Platform is valid for one year. Following this a small additional fee (currently £40) is charged in order to have continued access to the platform including the online delivery support, regular updates, refresher training, facilitator community and Q&A. The downloadable resources can be printed for use with young people. There is no additional charge for this.
3. How is training delivered?

Training is delivered through an on demand self-study online course. Live online and Face to face options are also available, please contact us for further information about these.
4. Can I copy or share the Team of Life resources with colleagues?

No, this would be a copyright infringement. The resources are for individual use by the person who has undertaken training. This is important to ensure that people delivering Team of Life have the necessary understanding of the approach. If you would like to purchase training as an organisation please contact us on [email protected]
5. Can I attend training as a team?

Yes! We highly recommend attending training in person as a team as you get added team building benefits due to the experiential nature of the training. Why not take time as a team to think about your shared values, support networks and goals? Contact us for more information.
6. What age are the Team of Life Children’s Programmes aimed at?

The programme is aimed at any age and is suitable from the age of 7 and is 6 sessions long.
7. Is Team of Life just for children?

No, Team of Life is for everyone. You can use the approach with families, individuals, adults and staff groups to help build resilience and teams.
8. Do you have to like sport to take part?

No, our research has found that children enjoy and benefit from taking part in Team of Life whether or not they like sport. Team of Life doesn’t involve any sporting ability. It uses sporting metaphors which provide an easy to grasp universal language that is familiar to people of all ages. Space is provided to share knowledge and experience of sport good and bad.
9. Is Team of Life aimed at boys?

No, our research has shown that girls enjoy and benefit from Team of Life just as much.

Ready to learn how to deliver this unique resilience programme?

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