SAM ROWLANDS, Member of the Welsh Parliament for North Wales, has welcomed news that Wrexham University is hosting this years’ annual Therapeutic Child Care conference.
Research centred around a project designed to support emotion regulation for children and young people through engaging activities will be one of the keynote topics at the conference next month.
Mr Rowlands said: “I am delighted to see Wrexham University continuing to flourish and become a major player in important research and projects.
“These days more than ever it is vital that children and young people have the support they need and it is great to see local schools being involved in the pilot project.
“It is good to see the university is once again helping to put Wrexham and North Wales firmly on the map.”
Wrexham University is organising the conference in collaboration with The Consortium for Therapeutic Communities.
Dr Tegan Brierley-Sollis, Lecturer in Policing, Criminology and Trauma-Informed approaches at the University, will give a keynote talk focussed on a pilot project taking place in a number of schools across North Wales, where children are using a workbook, based on an animation entitled ‘Navigating the Storm’.
The pilot is being led by Dr Brierley-Sollis and Lisa Formby, Research Lead for Education, with support from staff from a number of subject areas and departments from across the University, including Criminology, Education, the TrACE (Trauma and Adverse Childhood Experience) team, Civic Mission and Recruitment teams.
The workbook can be delivered in the classroom or tailored for one-to-one settings with children and young people, and includes a range of activities to encourage emotional processing and regulation, such as arts and crafts, music-based activities, mindfulness and more.
Dr Brierley-Sollis will present the project findings and insights at the tenth annual Therapeutic Child Care conference, taking place on Friday, May 2 at Wrexham University, which is aimed at practitioners involved in the care, support and education of children and young people.
Dr Vivienne Dacre, Principal Lecturer and Programme Leader in Therapeutic Child Care at Wrexham University, who is one of the organisers of the conference, said: “This one-day event is a fantastic continuing professional development (CPD) opportunity for practitioners, to empower them to feel confident that they have the tools they need to support the children and young people that they work with.
“The aim of this year’s conference is to highlight the importance of understanding what we collectively need to put in place to prevent or minimise the risk of any negative health or social outcomes, of things such as adverse childhood experiences, traumatic events and environments that can cause harm.”
More information about the conference, including how to book your place, can be found here.
