Life Story Work: Practice Tool (2022)
Introduction
The resources on this page are designed to help practitioners support care experienced children and young people to understand their own history and life story.
Life story work is an essential social work task and aims to answer the questions: Who am I? Where did I come from? Why did I not grow up with my birth mother or father? It brings together the child’s lived experiences, thoughts, feelings and questions, with memories of birth family and others and the social worker’s understanding of what happened and how decisions were made. It aims to create a coherent narrative that makes sense of the past, present and future and involves ‘doing’, as well as talking.
On this page you will find:
- Life story work practice tool.
- Videos examples of life story work in action, with child actors.
- Example booklets: life story books, later life letters and talking about alcohol, drugs and prison to children.
Professional Standards
PQS:KSS - Relationships and effective direct work | Communication | Promote and govern excellent practice | Purposeful and effective social work | Developing excellent practitioners
PCF - Intervention and skills | Knowledge
This publication is a premium resource
Access the full publication with a one-off purchase or enjoy the benefits of membership.
Life story work – what it is and why it matters: Webinar
This webinar provides a brief introduction into the key elements of life story work with children and what the research tells us about why it matters. It considers which children need the work and when it should be done.
Supporting life story work: the role of managers, Independent Reviewing Officers (IROs) and strategic leads: Webinar
Clarify what life story work is, which children need it and what the research tells us. This webinar considers a number of models of delivery and where responsibility for the work lies. It highlights the support practitioners need to carry out the work and how quality might be assessed.
Ensuring children's life stories are at the centre of direct work
Lizzie Hills, Practice Lead at Norfolk County Council, talks about Norfolk County Council’s approach to life story work and the importance of making sure that children’s life stories, and how they understand them, is at the centre of all direct work with them.