Working with Children and Adolescents
Play and Visual Therapy
WWCA Diploma
Standout training programme from Ridgeway College
Delivery Format
In person
Duration
Taken over 18 Saturdays – Full College Days
Entry Requirements
Level 3 Theory & Skills
Our Working With Children and Adolescents Diploma
Completing a Working with Children Diploma offers numerous benefits for individuals seeking to build a career or develop skills in supporting children’s development and wellbeing. Some of the key advantages include:
- Enhanced Knowledge and Skills: The diploma provides comprehensive training on child development, safeguarding, communication, and behaviour management, equipping you with the practical skills needed to work effectively with children.
- Increased Employability: Holding a recognised qualification demonstrates your commitment and competence to employers, improving your chances of securing roles in schools, nurseries, childcare settings, youth clubs, and community organisations.
- Confidence and Professional Development: The course boosts your confidence in working with children by providing you with up-to-date knowledge and best practices, enabling you to create a safe and nurturing environment.
Please get in touch if you would like to complete this course, or please use the enrol form link below.
As a college we are an Organisational Member of the BACP and ISPC, encouraging ethics and standards.
How long is the course?
We’ve fully refreshed this course to offer 90 hours of classroom-based, interactive learning—delivered across 18 Saturdays—and designed to support all learning styles.
Next enrolment: January 2026
This course is ideal for qualified counsellors seeking CPD (Continuing Professional Development) to enhance their therapeutic practice. A minimum of Level 3 in counselling skills (or equivalent) is required for enrolment.
What is involved on the course?
This comprehensive course has been thoughtfully designed to equip counsellors with practical, creative, and evidence-based approaches for working therapeutically with children and adolescents.
It begins by establishing a strong ethical and reflective foundation, covering essential topics such as professional agreements, initial assessments, referrals, and the importance of creating a safe, inclusive therapeutic environment.
Students will also explore their own childhood experiences to deepen self-awareness—a vital component of effective practice—while learning to recognise and respond appropriately to safeguarding concerns.
Foundations of Practice
- Agreements, assessments, and referrals
- Creating Supportive Environments
- Revisiting our own childhood to enhance self-awareness
- Safeguarding Issues
- Working with difference and diversity
Creative and Expressive Tools for Engaging Young Clients
The course integrates a rich variety of creative and expressive tools to engage young clients, including sand tray work, puppets, worry dolls, and dolls house techniques. These methods support emotional expression, build trust, and offer alternative pathways for communication—especially for those who find verbal dialogue challenging.
Alongside these, students will develop skills in relaxation, breathing techniques, and time-limited, solution-focused approaches that are particularly valuable in school or agency settings where sessions may be brief but impactful.
- Play therapy and sand tray work
- Use of puppets and worry dolls in the therapy room
- Introduction to dolls house work
- Relaxation and breathing techniques
- Classroom exercises, assignments, feedback sheets
Creative and Expressive Tools for Engaging Young Clients
Finally, the curriculum addresses a wide range of common childhood and adolescent concerns through both theoretical understanding and practical application. Students will explore CBT and Transactional Analysis within child-centred contexts, learn to work with conditions such as anxiety, OCD, autism, and self-harm, and develop strategies for supporting issues like bullying, separation anxiety, bereavement, and low self-esteem.
Emphasis is placed on goal setting, measuring therapeutic progress, engaging families, and fostering resilience—all while managing endings with care and professionalism.
Completion of the Working With Children and Adolescents Diploma?
Upon completing all assignments and demonstrating your skills throughout each class, you will be awarded the Working With Children and Adolescents Diploma. By the end of the course, you will have gained valuable insights not only about your professional abilities but also about yourself. You will feel confident in your new knowledge and skills, enabling you to feel confident in Working with Children.
“
Completing the Diploma in Working with Children and Adolescents has been one of the most meaningful steps in my professional journey. The course deepened my understanding of child development, therapeutic play, and emotional wellbeing—while also encouraging real personal reflection.
Beth Gooding
Counsellor
”
Join our Courses Today
If you would like to begin your counselling training and would like to know more, please get in touch and we will answer any questions you may have.
Enrol at Ridgeway College...journey through complete counsellor training
please feel free to look through the site and fill in the application form.