Participants are required to have their cameras on for an interactive experience.
Maximum of two people per screen
Sessions are recorded for quality assurance purposes. They are only viewed by SCTS staff and deleted within 14 days.
£50.00 3 hours
This is the first instalment of our two-part PACE for Parents programme. All participants must complete Module One before attending Module Two, as this session establishes the shared understanding and boundaries required for safe, effective learning.
Both modules should be booked together.
** If a session is missed, credits are not carried over - a new session will need to be booked **
(Please scroll down for FAQs)
Parents and carers supporting children who have experienced trauma, neglect or disrupted attachment are often under significant pressure. Relationships can feel strained, behaviour can escalate quickly, and traditional parenting approaches may not work as expected.
This course introduces the PACE mindset as a trauma-informed, relational approach that helps parents respond to children with greater understanding, emotional safety and consistency. It supports families to move away from control-based responses and towards connection, regulation and trust, while remaining clearly boundaried and appropriate for group delivery.
The overarching aims of the PACE for Parents programme are to:
Support safe, trusting relationships
Equip parents and carers with a relational mindset (PACE) that promotes emotional safety, trust and connection for children who have experienced trauma or attachment disruption.
Promote trauma-informed parenting
Support caregivers to move beyond behaviour-focused approaches and develop greater understanding of a child’s inner world, including feelings, needs and stress responses.
Strengthen regulation and reflection
Enable parents and carers to support emotional regulation in their child, while also developing awareness of their own emotional responses during challenging moments.
Participants will:
Gain a clear, accessible understanding of developmental trauma and Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), and how these can affect brain development, behaviour and relationships
Understand why children with complex histories may show intense or confusing behaviours, and how these behaviours often communicate unmet needs rather than deliberate defiance
Explore attachment theory and how the PACE approach supports the development of safer, more secure relationships
Participants will develop a working understanding of the four elements of PACE and how they can be applied flexibly in everyday family life:
Playfulness – using warmth, lightness and emotional connection to reduce tension and shame
Acceptance – communicating acceptance of the child’s feelings and inner experiences while maintaining clear boundaries around behaviour
Curiosity – adopting a non-judgemental, wondering stance to understand what behaviour may be communicating
Empathy – validating emotions and helping children feel understood and supported during distress
Participants will:
Learn how to respond to challenging behaviour with connection before control, supporting co-regulation rather than escalation
Develop verbal and non-verbal communication skills that promote emotional safety and trust
Reflect on their own emotional responses, including stress and “blocked care”, and explore strategies to remain calmer and more regulated during difficult moments
To ensure safety and clarity, PACE for Parents is not:
A space to discuss individual cases or personal family situations
Therapy, counselling, or one-to-one intervention
A forum for advice or guidance about relationships with social services, legal processes or court proceedings
This course is designed as structured, group-based parenting education, suitable for local authority commissioning and wider family support pathways.
It is essential that all participants begin with Module One, as this establishes shared understanding and boundaries. Attending Module Two without this foundation may feel overwhelming and is not recommended.
1. What is the PACE for Parents training?
PACE for Parents is a practical, trauma-informed course based on Dan Hughes’ PACE model designed to help parents connect emotionally and support their child’s regulation and attachment.
2. Who is PACE for Parents aimed at?
This training is ideal for current parents/adoptive parents, guardians, and family members supporting (or applying to support) children who may have experienced trauma or have attachment needs, helping build secure, emotionally safe family relationships.
3. How will PACE for Parents support my child?
PACE empowers parents to respond to challenging behaviours with connection instead of control, supporting emotional regulation, reducing conflict, and fostering safer, trust-filled attachments at home.
4. What does the PACE for Parents course include?
The foundations of the PACE approach. It includes live instruction, real-life examples, guided exercises, and practical tools to begin applying Playfulness, Acceptance, Curiosity, and Empathy at home.
5. Is the PACE for Parents training evidence-based?
Yes, the PACE model is grounded in attachment theory, neuroscience, and decades of clinical practice. Families report greater emotional connection, better behaviour regulation, and more peaceful parenting after using it.
6. How do I book the PACE for Parents training?
Book both Module 1 and 2, add them to your basket, and complete payment. You’ll receive confirmation and access details by email so you can join the live online sessions.
You can read feedback from parents and carers who have attended our training HERE.
Delivery: Live training via Zoom
Format: Taught input, small group work, paired activities and whole-group discussion
Participants receive a certificate of attendance and downloadable resources to support reflection and learning records where required.
Resources: Downloadable handouts and resource library provided
Those wishing to pursue formal certification in Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP) or to explore PACE in more depth are invited to visit the founder’s website.
This option is aimed at an audience with prior knowledge of the subject and isn’t suitable for. Those that are new to the subject would be better with our standard course.
Generic training can leave staff feeling unprepared for the real-life scenarios they face. Our tailored approach ensures the content, delivery method, and case studies are directly relevant to your sector (e.g., education, healthcare, sport, charity, corporate), your local policies, and the specific vulnerabilities and risks present in your community.
We design engaging, practical, and compliant training across three core areas:
Invest in training that transforms knowledge into action. Equip your team with the confidence and competence to protect those in your care proactively.
We recognise that sometimes groups need more time for discussions and group work. This can mean that a two-hour session is just not long enough to explore the curriculum and engage in question and answer sessions. So we are you offering the opportunity to extend the session by an hour to allow your trainees the chance to explore the curriculum fully!
