Course Details

CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT · ENGLAND AND WALES

Trauma-Informed Practice

Recognise. Respond. Avoid re-traumatising. Look after yourself.

TEN MODULES · 20-QUESTION ASSESSMENT · ENGLAND AND WALES

CPD HOURS

27 hours

ACCREDITED BY

CPD Standards Office

FORMAT

Blended self-paced

SLIDES

PPT Deck

WATCH

Video Lesson

LISTEN

Audio Podcast

QUIZ

Audio Quiz

VISUAL

Infographic

Overview

Trauma-Informed Practice is a ten-module continuing professional development course for people who already work with the public in England and Wales. It teaches practitioners to recognise the effects of trauma, to respond in ways that build safety and trust, to avoid re-traumatising people through the design and delivery of services, and to look after themselves and their colleagues.

The course is built on the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities working definition of trauma-informed practice (England, 2022) and the Trauma-Informed Wales Framework (2022), both of which draw on SAMHSA’s 2014 guidance. It is pitched at the ‘trauma-aware’ and ‘trauma-skilled’ practice levels described in the Welsh framework. It does not train trauma-focused therapy, safeguarding investigation, risk assessment tools or clinical intervention; those sit with specialist roles under their own regulation and procedures.

Who this course is for

Assumes you already have a role, policies, a supervisor and a service to apply the learning to. Reception, administrative, estates and transport staff are included deliberately: the first ninety seconds of contact often decide whether a service feels safe.

▸ Health — nurses, allied health professionals, GP and hospital administrative staff, mental health support workers, maternity and emergency department teams

▸ Social care — social workers, care workers, registered managers, housing support, supported living and domiciliary staff

▸ Education and youth — teachers, teaching assistants, pastoral leads, youth workers, further education staff

▸ Justice and emergency — police, probation, youth offending, custody and court staff; fire and ambulance crews

▸ Voluntary and community — advice, advocacy, domestic abuse, homelessness, refugee and faith-based services

▸ Leadership — team leaders, quality and safeguarding leads and commissioners planning organisational change

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course you will be able to:

✓
Define trauma and trauma-informed practice using the OHID (England) and Trauma-Informed Wales frameworks, and explain the four Rs.

✓
Describe the ACE evidence base, including its limits, and the wider adversities it omits.

✓
Recognise the stress response, the window of tolerance, triggers and dissociation, and use regulation appropriate to a non-clinical role.

✓
Locate the statutory duties, guidance and regulators that shape practice in England and in Wales, and state where they differ.

✓
Audit physical and psychological safety, use trust-building first-contact and language practices, and repair ruptures.

✓
Offer meaningful choice and shared decision-making, apply the Mental Capacity Act 2005 principles with a trauma lens, and keep transparent records.

✓
Adapt practice with cultural humility, apply Equality Act 2010 duties and the Welsh ‘Active Offer’, and recognise historical and collective trauma.

✓
Respond to disclosure and distress safely, recognise indicators of risk, and escalate through the correct England or Wales pathway.

✓
Distinguish burnout, secondary traumatic stress, vicarious trauma and moral injury; recognise warning signs; use supervision and support routes.

✓
Plan realistic first steps to embed trauma-informed practice in a team or organisation, using a recognised self-assessment tool and measures.

Career path

Trauma-informed practice is increasingly named in person specifications, inspection frameworks and commissioning documents across England and Wales. None of the routes below is a guarantee of employment, progression or pay — those depend on your employer, your profession and your own evidence of practice.

▸ Frontline practice — support worker, care worker, housing officer, youth worker, teaching assistant, receptionist or administrator in a public-facing service — trauma-informed practice strengthens engagement, de-escalation and recording, and is increasingly named in person specifications

▸ Registered professions — nurses, social workers, allied health professionals, teachers, probation and police staff can evidence CPD against their codes (NMC, HCPC, Social Work England, Social Care Wales, and others) — this supports, but does not replace, profession-specific requirements

▸ Leadership and quality roles — team leaders, registered managers, quality and safeguarding leads use Modules 4, 9 and 10 to plan organisational change, self-assessment and supervision — Wales roles may map to the TrACE toolkit, England roles to the OHID principles

▸ Towards specialist work — anyone moving towards trauma-focused roles (therapy, specialist advocacy, IDVA/ISVA, clinical psychology pathways) will need regulated training and supervision beyond this course — use it as foundation, not qualification

This is CPD, not a qualification. Professions regulated by the NMC, HCPC, GMC, Social Work England, Social Care Wales or similar bodies should record it against their own CPD requirements. Roles that require specialist trauma training will need regulated courses and supervision beyond this one.

Course structure

1
Understanding Trauma and Why It Matters

2
Adverse Childhood Experiences and the Evidence

3
Trauma, the Brain and the Body

4
Frameworks, Law and Guidance in England and Wales

5
Safety and Trustworthiness in Everyday Practice

6
Choice, Collaboration and Empowerment

7
Culture, History, Identity and Inequality

8
Disclosure, Distress and Risk: Recognise, Respond, Escalate

9
Looking After the Workforce

10
Embedding Trauma-Informed Practice in Your Service

Each module includes at least one recommended video and an Apply and Reflect task that doubles as CPD evidence. A practitioner-support note precedes Module 8 (support routes include your supervisor, occupational health or EAP, Samaritans on 116 123, and 999 in immediate danger), which is pitched at recognition, response, escalation and referral only, plus a 20-question assessment with a trainer-only answer key.

Frequently asked questions

Q. Is this a qualification or a licence to practise?

No. It is continuing professional development. It does not confer a regulated qualification, registration, or any authorisation to deliver trauma-focused therapy, safeguarding investigation or clinical assessment. Competence is judged where you work.

Q. Is it accredited, and how many CPD points is it worth?

Accreditation, CPD points and certification are set by the provider and any awarding or accrediting body they work with. None are claimed in this pack.

Q. Does it cover Scotland or Northern Ireland?

No. Law, statutory guidance, safeguarding procedures and trauma frameworks differ. The principles travel; the references do not.

Q. Will it teach me to treat PTSD or complex trauma?

No. Treatment is specialist work under NICE NG116 and professional regulation. This course covers recognition, response, referral and avoiding re-traumatisation in everyday practice.

Q. Does it include safeguarding training?

It includes recognition and escalation pathways at awareness level and refers you to your own policies. It is not a substitute for your employer’s mandatory safeguarding training at the level your role requires.

Q. What if the content is difficult for me personally?

That is common and anticipated. A practitioner-support note precedes Module 8, you can pause at any time, and support routes are listed. You are not required to disclose anything about yourself to complete the course.

Q. How current is the content?

Statistics, statutory references and links were checked at time of writing and are dated on the slides. They need re-verification before publication and an annual review.

Q. Can I deliver it as a trainer?

Yes, with the trainer notes and answer key, which are marked trainer-only and placed on separable pages. Trainers should have their own trauma-informed practice knowledge and know local pathways.

TRAUMA-INFORMED PRACTICE · 27 CPD HOURS · ACCREDITED BY CPD STANDARDS OFFICE · TEN MODULES

£25.00

Course Features

Lectures 13
Quizzes 2
Duration Lifetime access
Skill level All levels
Language English
Students 3
Certificate No
Assessments Self