We all have a life history made up of events, experiences and memories. When we live with our birth family we have the opportunity to hear and check out the details of past events and stories handed down within our wider family. Children who are separated from their birth families are at risk of losing this kind of information and rely on the adults in their lives to fill these gaps. Sandra Garner, a specialist in life story work and advisor to UK Fostering says: ‘A child’s lack of knowledge and understanding of their life journey and history can lead to emotional and social difficulties. Ultimately, it can impact on a child’s ability to fully enjoy their present life and future potential.’
What is Life Story Work?
Life Story Work is a way of working that can help children separated from their birth families maintain a good sense of their life journey and identity. A wide range of people can contribute to the creation of a child’s life story. For example, children and young people, foster carers, birth family members, social workers and teachers.
What are UK Fostering foster carers expected to do to help?
- Foster carers are KEY people in the life of a ‘looked after’ child. At a minimum standard, UK Fostering foster carers are expected to:
- Undertake training offered on ‘Life Story Work’
- Create meaningful ‘photo albums’ for children
- Create a ‘memory box’ for children containing various types of memorabilia
What support will UK Fostering offer their foster carers?
- Specific training on Life Story Work
- Good supervision and regular reviews of the work being done for children around Life Story
- Support groups where Life Story issues can be discussed
- Individual consultation with a Life Story specialist
For some foster children a more in depth life story work is needed to support their identity and self esteem. UK Fostering will work in partnership with Local Authorities in producing Child and Family Friendly Life Story Books. This could include the following:
- Gathering information such as case history, photos, family stories, from a range of sources e.g. Local Authority case files, foster carers/previous carers, birth family members.
- Creating a sensitively written story that explains the reasons for the child’s moves, including information about birth family members.
- Support or Therapeutic support in processing Life Story information
- Printing the book and placing a copy of it on x 2 CD’s (one for the Local Authority and the other for the child).
For further reading you may be interested in the following:
- Life Story Work: A Practical Guide to Helping Children Understand Their Past By (author) Tony Ryan, By (author) Rodger Walker
- The Child’s Own Story: Life Story Work with Traumatized Children by Mary Walsh (Foreword), Richard Rose (Author), Terry Philpot (Contributor)
- The New Life Work Model: Practice Guide by Edith Nicholls (Author)
- Life Story Work – What It Is and What It Means: A Guide for Children and Young People By Shaila Shah (Author), Hedi Argent (Author) BAAF
- A Child’s Journey Through Placement by Vera Fahlberg