Life Story Work training

Life story work is a process that helps a child to make sense of their life and the things that have happened in it.


The book that is produced at the end of the work is an account of the child’s life conveyed in words and pictures. The book can be used as a tool to help the child understand their past, what was happening in their birth family and what it means to be in care.

A woman and a little girl are sitting at a table painting.
  • It reflects the philosophy of all Children’s legislation & NICE (2013)
  • Children separated from their birth family need to know about their past
  • Their fears may be worse than reality
  • They may suppose things that happened were their fault


Life story gives children back their past in terms of:

  • Information and facts
  • Locating in time and place
  • Why they are where they are
  • It can answer unspoken questions


  • It can replace fantasy & magical thinking with clarity
  • It can help the child make links with their ethnic group, cultural, religious and linguistic identity – identity
  • It can increase self-worth and self esteem
  • It can help the child let go of the past and move on to attach to a new family
  • It is not just a photograph album!
  • Everything builds into the child’s life story
  • Each of us are shaped and formed by the story we tell ourselves and others about our life
  • It is as much about creating a narrative that allows us to think about the future as it is about forming an understanding about the past
  • You are building resilience!


A woman and a girl are sitting at a table doing their homework.
A group of children are sitting on the ground drawing with chalk.
A woman and child are sitting at a table painting eggs with watercolors.