PACE Training

Training courses for foster carers, residential workers, teachers, welfare workers and social workers

Dan Hughes attachment parenting model of PACE (Playfulness, Acceptance, Curiosity, Empathy) is a model of caring/parenting which helps support and form secure attachments with children and young people who may have experienced difficulties in early life.

The PACE model is being recognised more and more as an effective model of care for both fostering agencies and residential resources, when working directly with children within their care.

Feedback from our expert PACE trainer, Dawn Samuels:

‘PACE training has become one of our most sort after courses over the past 6 months, it has been delivered to many local authority’s as well as Independent Fostering Agencies. The feedback has been outstanding and as was anticipated it has started to change the way of thinking for many of those working with children and young people. Although PACE is a not a new concept, we are now using it in conjunction with understanding and working with the therapeutic needs of children.

The training has to date helped those working with children understand not only the children on a new level, but also and which is ultimately most important it lays the foundation’s for carers and workers to understand themselves and the way they think, feel and communicate with children and young people, on a new level also.This is a new paradigm of thinking for many and it challenges their old way, method and model of parenting/caring. This is not an overnight change but I have found that once the seed is planted and your intention is to work more therapeutically with children it opens up a way.

The PACE training covers Attachment theory and the impact of trauma and developmental trauma, in a way that allows you to really appreciate and put into perspective why we are having to deal with the challenging behaviours of children especially looked after children. The PACE training allows carers to question what has not worked for them in the past and perhaps why it has not or is not working? It looks at the importance of relationship building and how until a relationship is established with a child or young person it is very difficult to start to work on their behaviour, and subsequently help them to feel safe and trust.

During one of the training sessions a mature carer had a call from the school about the negative behaviour of the young person he was looking after and he said just by being on the PACE training today his response was completely different than it would have been the day before. These are the instant changes that are being made. He said he was going home to manage the situation using a playful approach opposed to an angry response.
What is a usual revelation on the PACE training is that many of the delegates attending, have in some aspects been using element of PACE in their practice but was not identified as PACE.

• By the use of Playfulness you’re able to help build the relationship
• By the use of Accepting of a child you’re helping them to feel better about themselves as you are not judging them and their inner being
• By the use Curiosity you are helping a child to understand why they do what they do.
• By the use of Empathy is a foundation for helping child start to love themselves.

If we create a society with children /young people who value themselves and see themselves as being worthy of love, we will be eventually change behaviours. PACE is an excellent training course that is changing behaviours by changing the way we value ourselves, reflect on our practice, feelings and communications and build positive relationships children and young people.

This 1 day course meets the requirements of the Training, Support and Development Standards for foster care: 3.4 b, 5.1 a, b, c, 5.6 c, 6.3 b, 7.3 d, e