Tutor Training: Trauma and attachment awareness by Harvest Daurelle
“Think attachment seeking, not attention seeking.”
Did you know that 17.5% of Looked After Children receive a grade 4 or above in English and maths, compared to 60% of their peers? Looked After Children are also more than five times as likely to have a fixed period exclusion than other children.
We officially kicked off our new Tutor Training series in June with a series on “Understanding the Impact of Trauma and Attachment on Vulnerable Children’s Education.” We are hoping to roll out regular training sessions online (and eventually in person) to our tutors across the country. If there’s a specific training you’d like us to hold, let us know! (you can email in to support@equaleducation.co.uk)
For this series of training, an expert in trauma and attachment awareness with over 20 years of experience working with Looked After Children covered a wide range of issues. These dealt with the trauma experienced by the vulnerable children we teach, revolving around the idea that a brain damaged by neglect and abuse can recover through positive, healthy interactions with others.
To help us understand why our students struggle in mainstream education, we covered the four types of attachment:
Secure,
Avoidant,
Ambivalent,
Disorganised / Chaotic.
As attachment is the building block for language and social interaction, abstract intelligence and brain operation. It is important for effective physical functioning and emotional regulation, where disruptions to the natural attachment process can lead to great harm to the child. Instead of being seen, feeling safe, feeling soothed and secure, the child will be in a constantly heightened state of anxiety and always looking around for the next danger.
We also discussed Adverse Child Experiences (ACEs):
Abuse,
Neglect,
Household Dysfunction.
While 36.1% of children have no ACEs, 12.5% have 4+ ACEs. We must think about how these ACEs affect the students that we work with and how we can attempt to compensate for what they have been through by making sure they have access to an AAA: Always Available Adult (trusted). Factors that can help mitigate the negative impact of ACEs include stable nurturing relationships and supportive communities to help parent/carer and children build resilience.
Relationships are the most powerful therapeutic tool that we have. As one of the most constant presences in the lives of these vulnerable children, we must regularly be aware of the trauma and attachment issues these children have faced and what we can do to help these children overcome this trauma and learn to build healthy, stable relationships.