
Elevating how services approach cultural connections with children
S.E.L.F© Tool
The S.E.L.F-practice tool is based on the premise that culture is influenced by four equally important elements:
-
Settlement which considers the journey migrants and new arrivals or refugees experience in moving from and adjusting to a new country.
-
Ethnicity which considers how one's heritage, history, country of origin and traditions impact family roles, norms, behaviours and thinking.
-
Language which considers spoken and written communication, dialect, terminology and accent.
-
Faith which considers spiritual and religious beliefs, practices and rituals.


The S.E.L.F practice toolkit supports practitioners to consider and explore the four elements of culture in working with culturally diverse children, families and communtiies. The tool provides prompts to facilitate curiosity questioning to guide information gathering and interactions with children, carers and families.
The tool facilitates conversations to enhance practitioners' understanding of the unique individual experiences of children and families from diverse cultural backgrounds and in turn, more effectively inform assessment, decision-making and interventions.
The tool is applicable in practice conversations with staff, teams and management as well as sector and community colleagues.