Resilience is all about helping children grow, develop, and feel confident in themselves.

The Resilience Framework website supports practitioners and parents to help children and young people build strong social and emotional skills that they can use throughout their lives.

These skills (competences) act as protective factors, helping children manage challenges, handle difficult feelings, and feel confident and hopeful about their future.

The framework includes helpful tools, such as an online questionnaire and a trauma-responsive conversation guide. These support practitioners and parents to spot children’s strengths and protective factors, as well as areas that may need extra support.

The competences within the framework can also be used to create tailored questionnaires for Early Help or Health Needs Assessments. The Resilience Framework works alongside and strengthens any assessment process.

The website includes a Resource and Education Support section where you can find a range of evidence-based session plans, worksheets and short interventions. These help build the practical skills and protective factors children and young people need to become more resilient.

To access the website, you’ll need to register as a practitioner. Your account will be activated within two working days.

We also have the new Parent Education Hub area for parents and carers.

What does the Resilience Framework offer?

The Resilience Framework was designed to give early years staff, teachers, youth support workers, learning mentors, social care, and health practitioners across Wakefield:

• a consistent, evidence-based, practical approach to building resilience and reducing the risk of poor outcomes
• tools to deliver high quality interventions for all children and young people
• a joined-up programme that supports development from 0–19 years
• an approach that keeps the child or young person at the centre and focuses on their strengths and competence

We hope the framework will support strong multiagency planning and service delivery across Wakefield.

By using a shared approach and language, services can work together to build resilience, reduce risk for all children and young people, and help narrow the gap between those who do well and those who need extra support.

How was the Framework developed?

The framework was created through ongoing input from parents, children, young people, professionals, and local voluntary organisations. Workshops and group discussions, interviews and questionnaires were used to gather feedback as the resource developed.

The research team then combined this local feedback with national and international research to design a flexible framework that practitioners can use in their work.

How is the resource structured?

Practitioners and parents can use the framework flexibly, adapting the example schemes of work (session plans) to meet the age, needs, and abilities of the children and young people they support.

The framework is built around eight key competence areas, outlined below.

1. Loving Myself (SelfAwareness)
2. Expressing Myself (SelfManagement)
3. Working It Out (Positive DecisionMaking)
4. Being Heard (Effective Communication)
5. Living Together (Social Awareness)
6. Keeping Safe (Risk Awareness)
7. Getting Informed (Navigating Information & Support)
8. Knowing Where I’m Going (SelfEfficacy)

Each area outlines the key competences children and young people are expected to develop by certain ages. These ages link broadly to school key stages, but the resource can be used in any setting, even home learning. That is why age ranges are used not key stages. You may work to a child’s developmental age rather than their actual chronological age.

Each competence includes example session plans and interventions that can be adapted for individuals, groups, or children with additional learning needs.

Additional Resources

A range of resources can be borrowed free of charge from the Resilience Library at Young Lives (Lightwaves Community Centre, Wakefield).

To enquire, email info@ylc.org.uk.

Available resources include:

• the ‘Luggage for Life’ emotional literacy programme (focused on transition)
• feelings cards
• issue-based board games
• practical tools such as “beer goggles”
• a collection of books recommended by The Reading Agency to support children and young people with bereavement, loss, and emotional wellbeing

WF-I-CAN Website

The WFICAN.co.uk WF I CAN - An online resource for children and young people in Wakefield website was designed for children and young people to use independently.

It has three age-appropriate sections: Under 13’s, Over 13’s and Over 16’s.

The website offers:

• self-care tips
• strategies to manage change and life’s challenges
• information on topics such as sleep, anxiety and LGBTQ+
• activities based on the Resilience Framework competences (adapted from interventions on the Resilience website)

These resources help children and young people find accurate information and links to trusted websites. Helping them explore new strategies to build their own resilience.