March has been the month of PACE Training for Young People at Heart. PACE (Playfulness, Acceptance, Curiosity, Empathy) is a model of caring and parenting developed by Dan Hughes. It helps support and form secure attachments with children and young people who may have experienced difficulties in early life. By adopting the PACE model, the hope is that our Foster Carers will enhance their skills in implementing therapeutic parenting, leading to increased placement stability for children, and better outcomes for both Carers and our Young People alike.
Young People at Heart provided PACE training for every staff member and foster carer across the organisation throughout March and will offer more training courses as we welcome more staff and foster carers.
The training was led by PACE trainer Lynette Eastwood. Lynette is a Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist who has worked with Local Authorities, Fostering Agencies and Residential Settings delivering models such as PACE and Theraplay. This is a change in the way we all work, and we hope that this as an opportunity to be trained in a model that is likely to make a real positive impact for both ourselves and the young people we care for.