Communicating through play

Children who have endured separation from birth parents, multiple moves and transitions in the care system, isolation and lack of certainty, present unique challenges to local authorities and to the carers who help look after them. They need a delicate balance of nurturing and boundaries so that they can heal and thrive, and modify or change the strategies for safety which they may have developed.

Social workers and foster carers have a challenging task. When major decisions are being made about children's lives, they have a right to be involved, whatever their age or ability, and to communicate their needs. Workers need to understand them, and develop their own knowledge of child development and attachment-building, and the skills to listen to children and communicate with them. An essential skill is the ability to play.

This guide describes a wide range of play techniques that are simple to carry out, creative and can be fun. They will help children to talk about their feelings, fears and hopes. Using case examples, the guide shows how workers can become more skilled at observing and encouraging attachment behaviour, more effective in interpreting and communicating assessment findings to adopters, and better able to help carers understand and use these findings in their day-to-day parenting.

This book is for social work professionals and foster carers.

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