Welcome to the Foundations of trauma-informed, relationship-based practice course.
This free short introductory course will help you to understand the concepts of trauma-informed and relationship-based practice. We hope it will help you to develop a new way of thinking or become a stronger advocate for the positive ways you already value relationships.
This course is suitable for anyone who is working with, supporting or caring for children, young people, and their families or caregivers. It is especially important if you know that the child or young person you are supporting is likely to have experienced trauma, such as they have needed foster care or they have had to become a refugee.
Perhaps these are experiences that you have had yourself? The course also emphasises the value of looking after yourself and knowing where to find further help and support for anyone who needs it.
The learning in this course is designed to be inclusive and, although it will not have a particular focus on individuals from different ethnic backgrounds, cultures, abilities, genders, or other specific experiences, it will primarily consider children and young people with lived experience of care.
The term ‘care-experienced’ refers to anyone who has been or is currently in care at any stage in their life, no matter how short, including adopted children who were previously looked-after and unaccompanied asylum-seeking children and young people. This care may have been provided in one of many different formal or informal settings such as in residential care, foster care, kinship care, or a supervision order at home.
The knowledge you will gain from this course will be transferable and you will be able to apply what you have learned to a wide range of people from diverse backgrounds, living in a variety of different circumstances that you may support or care for.
You can gain a digital badge that shows that you have completed this course. To be awarded the badge you need to complete all sections of the course content and pass the end-of-course quiz.
Staf is Scotland’s national membership organisation for all of those involved in the lives of young people leaving care. Staf is committed to its values: We Listen, We Care, We Love.

