This 20 hour online course will provide an accessible introduction to how and why children develop as they do – using cutting-edge developmental and neurobiological science and tried-and-tested clinical ideas to unpack the most significant influences on the developing child, and explore key developmental stages.

Once you’ve taken this course, you’ll be able to apply your learning directly to the work you do with children and families – drawing on a deeper understanding of the factors that can affect how children behave, think and feel, in order to provide them with the support they need.

Wondering what the course will be like? Download a summary of student & reviewer feedback (PDF).

• The adaptive infant, and how early experiences can have a profound effect on children’s brains bodies and psyches
• How attachment theory helps us make sense of children’s lives, and how this links with healthy development and resilient processes.
• What is helpful to know about the developing brain and autonomic nervous system, and how we can use this new knowledge in our work
• How new understandings of trauma, neglect and how children cope with challenging experiences can help make sense of the lives of children and young people who are struggling.

We welcome anyone to this course who has a keen interest in the subject area.

In particular, this course is for you if you are working with children and families and wish to learn more about cutting-edge research findings and how these can be used in your direct work.

You may be working in:

• A school
• Social services
• Healthcare
• The voluntary sector
• Or you may be considering work with children in the future.

Know someone who’d enjoy this course? Download a course flyer (PDF) to share with friends and colleagues.

There are no specific requirements for the course, although we suggest you are working with, or have an interest in working with children, or want to learn more about the effects of difficult early experiences on children’s minds and behaviours.

There’s a multiple choice question assessment at the end of the course as well as participation in an online seminar.

This course runs once per month, and you can pick your preferred start date at the beginning of the registration process. You’ll have access to the course and its materials for a total of eight weeks after you’ve registered and paid.

The course delivers 20 hours of learning, the majority of which you can undertake at a time and pace that suits you. In the third or fourth week of your course, you will also be invited to join a live group webinar with one of our clinical experts, conducted via Zoom.

Live webinar dates and times can be found below: