Overview
A thoughtful, individualised approach to supporting children through everyday and significant change, including access to a bespoke Mulberry Bush transition planning tool.
Develop a more thoughtful and individualised approach to supporting children and young people through change.
Transitions are part of everyday life. They can include small, frequent changes such as moving between activities, classrooms or caregivers, as well as significant changes such as starting a new school, moving home or leaving a familiar setting.
For some children, particularly those impacted by trauma, loss or disrupted relationships, change can bring uncertainty and emotional distress. Behaviour during transitions may communicate anxiety, fear, confusion or a need for greater predictability and support. Rooted in nearly 80 years of Mulberry Bush therapeutic practice, this course explores why transitions can feel difficult and how adults can help children prepare for and make sense of change. It brings together empathy, communication, reflective thinking and practical strategies to support safer and more manageable experiences.
The training includes access to a bespoke planning tool that can be used to develop personalised transition support around the needs, experiences and relationships of an individual child.
The course is designed for anyone responsible for supporting children and young people through changes in their routines, relationships, placements or environments.
It may be particularly relevant to teachers and teaching assistants, SENCOs and SEND practitioners, pastoral, inclusion and safeguarding teams, early years professionals, residential childcare practitioners, social workers and family support professionals, foster carers and adoptive parents, health and mental health practitioners, youth and community workers, and team leaders and service managers.
The course suits professionals across specialist and mainstream settings, and no previous therapeutic training is required. It can be particularly valuable for whole teams, as effective transition planning depends on shared understanding between the adults involved.
For most of our courses, no previous therapeutic training is required. Our sessions provide an accessible introduction while also creating opportunities for experienced practitioners to revisit and reflect on their existing practice.
The Foundation Degree is different, as it is work-based. You must be working with children or young people for at least 16 hours each week, through paid employment or a voluntary role, with opportunities to apply and reflect on your learning in practice. You do not need specific previous qualifications, but you may be asked to complete a short written task as part of the application process.
What you will learn
The course explores the emotional and relational experience of transition, alongside practical ways to prepare children for change.
You will learn about:
- The different transitions children and young people may experience
- Why everyday and significant changes can feel difficult or threatening
- How trauma, loss and disrupted relationships may influence responses to change
- How behaviour can communicate anxiety, uncertainty or emotional distress
- The importance of considering a child’s developmental and emotional needs
- How previous experiences may shape expectations of future transitions
- The role of relationships in helping children feel supported through change
- How predictability, preparation and communication can reduce uncertainty
- Ways to involve children meaningfully in transition planning
- How to identify potential pressure points before, during and after a transition
- Practical strategies that can be adapted to individual children and settings
- How reflection and collaboration can strengthen transition planning
You will also explore how to use the Mulberry Bush transition planning tool to create a more personalised and considered approach for the children you support.
Yes. Most of our courses can be commissioned by organisations and delivered in person or online, adapted to the context, needs and experiences of your setting. Several courses can be delivered to teams of up to 30 staff.
Training a team together can be particularly valuable, as consistent practice often depends on clear communication, shared understanding and a shared language between the adults involved.
Benefits and Outcomes
The course can help practitioners and teams approach transitions with greater understanding, confidence and consistency.
By taking part, you can:
- Develop a deeper understanding of why change may feel difficult for some children
- Recognise behaviour as a possible communication of uncertainty or distress
- Identify children who may need additional preparation and support
- Plan transitions around individual rather than assumed needs
- Communicate upcoming changes more clearly and sensitively
- Support children to feel more involved and informed
- Strengthen continuity between the adults, teams and settings involved
- Reduce avoidable uncertainty and anxiety
- Respond to distressed behaviour with greater empathy and curiosity
- Reflect on how adults’ responses can influence a child’s experience of change
- Develop a shared approach to transitions across your team
- Use a practical tool to support personalised and purposeful planning
A well-considered transition cannot remove every difficult feeling. It can, however, help children experience change within relationships that feel more predictable, thoughtful and supportive.
Mulberry Bush has been developing therapeutic approaches to working with children, young people and the adults around them for nearly 80 years.
Our training is rooted in practice. It draws on the day-to-day experience of our therapeutic schools, alongside established theory, current research and learning from professionals across children’s services. Our trainers have direct experience of working within the field and understand both the value and the emotional demands of this work.
We do not offer simple responses to complex situations. Instead, we support practitioners to develop the understanding, confidence and reflective capacity needed to make thoughtful decisions within their own roles and organisations. Our approach is:
- Collaborative – we seek to work with, and learn from, others who share our vision and principles.
- Psychodynamic – we promote an approach which enables us to understand the meaning of behaviour as communication.
- Reflective – we believe in the value of learning through reflection and experience.
And, we live by our values:
- Expertise – we are pioneers, thought-leaders, influencers and change-makers.
- Empathy – we care, support and work with professional, practitioners and the people we serve to enable them to make their own change and collaborate with and are here for everyone who needs us.
- Everyone – we are a community we collaborate and are here for everyone who needs us.