SEND

Trauma Informed Practice at Lionheart School

Vision statement

To provide a nurturing and inclusive environment where pupils feel safe, valued and empowered to overcome challenges, thrive academically and develop emotional resilience.

Our aim is to create a culture of understanding, support and growth that promotes the holistic well-being of all students, linking to our values of Respect, Strength and Achieve, helping students build a strong foundation for the future.

Rationale – why adopt a trauma-informed approach?

The trauma informed approach at Lionheart School recognises the impact of trauma, adverse childhood experiences (ACE’s) and attachment on a child/young person, their wellbeing, development and ability to be ready to learn and engage in their education.

We recognise that not all young people will have experienced trauma; however by adopting trauma informed principles and practice this will benefit all students through the focus on building positive relationships and connections.

There is growing research that indicates Positive Childhood Experiences (PCE’s) can reduce or mitigate the impact of ACE’s, with it highlighted that this is possible through the provision of safe and nurturing relationships and environments. These can be provided across the school, home and wider community.

With this in mind we support our student’s wellbeing and readiness for learning through a holistic approach to education where the individual needs of the child/young person are central to our practice and individual children/young people are supported to recognise and meet their holistic needs, to promote their safety, wellbeing and engagement in all areas of their lives including their education.

Ethos of the Trauma Informed Approach at Lionheart School

To provide the children and young people that have experienced trauma and who attend Lionheart School with access to an environment and support that recognises the impact of their trauma on their wellbeing, development and ability to access and engage in their education.

To provide an environment and support that is safe and sensitive to the needs of the individual students that access it to prevent further or re-traumatisation.

To support the school system of ‘People, Place and Purpose’ by providing a safe environment, with a relationships first approach, promoting a sense of belonging, identity and self-efficacy.

The staff team are knowledgeable and confident with understanding the importance of attachment and the impact of ACE’s for engaging children and young people in their learning. We seek to identify barriers to wellbeing and learning and support the children and young people to address these, empowering them and promoting feelings of safety, choice and control over their lives.

Model

At Lionheart we implement the PACE Approach (Playfulness, Acceptance, Curiosity Empathy Approach), this approach was developed by Dr Dan Hughes, Child Psychologist, as a way of thinking, feeling, communicating and behaving with the aim of helping children and young people to feel safe.

Alongside this, as part of our planned future professional development, we will utilise Dr Hughes’ Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP) model, implementing elements of the DDP model to enable us to provide support for children who experience challenges with feeling safe and secure as a result of traumatic experiences.

DDP seeks to support children/young people to establish, repair and maintain relationships.