Trauma Informed Approaches

The brain grows and develops in a particular order, starting with the basics and gradually building up to more complex skills. First, it focuses on the most essential functions, like breathing and keeping the heart beating. As children grow, the brain moves on to handling emotions, social skills, and thinking skills. 

You can think of this as a “bottom-up” process: 

• The brainstem comes first (controls basic survival functions) 

• Next is the limbic system (handles emotions and relationships) 

• Finally, the cortex develops (enables thinking, learning, and problem-solving) 

Each area of the brain lays the foundation for the next. This means children need to feel safe and settled before they can manage emotions or learn new things. The brain works thanks to special cells called neurons. These cells send messages to each other and build networks, a bit like roads connecting different places. Early life experiences shape how these networks grow, which is why positive relationships and routines are so important for every child’s learning and wellbeing 

The brain is resilient and has huge capacity to heal from events that have caused distress. For more information on this process, please visit the Beacon House website by clicking here.

Attachment theory, created by John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth, helps us understand how early relationships with caregivers affect a child’s emotional and social growth. When a baby forms a close bond with their main caregiver, their brain is busy making new connections. These connections (or “neural pathways”) shape how the child will relate to others in the future. For example, children who feel safe and cared for develop strong “neural highways” that help them feel secure, manage their emotions, and build healthy relationships. 

If a child’s early relationships aren’t consistent or nurturing, it can make it harder for them to handle feelings or trust others. The good news is that these patterns aren’t set in stone - they can change over time through experiential learning, but it’s a slow process. Imagine rebuilding a major road: it takes time and steady support to create new routes. When caregivers are reliably warm and responsive (secure attachment), children are more likely to develop confidence, trust, and positive ways to cope with stress. If early care is unpredictable or emotionally distant (insecure attachment), children may find it more difficult to manage their emotions, behaviour, and relationships. 

For more information on attachment: please go to (inset link)

Developmental Trauma is what we may most commonly be referring to within education settings.  Sometimes, it can also be referred to "Type 2 Trauma".  This is different to "Type 1" or "Single Incident Trauma Events" - which can be associated with PTSD.  

Developmental Trauma can arise from repeated and/or prolonged exposure to traumatic events, and most often, within the context of our relationships with others people.

When children experience ongoing stress, neglect, or difficult events early in life, this can be referred to as Developmental Trauma.  Developmental Trauma can affect both their brains and bodies in powerful ways. This is because trauma can disrupt how the brain usually develops, taking place BEFORE the brain has developed its typical capacities to heal itself.

The lower parts of the brain, which manage basic survival (like heart rate and stress reactions), can become “stuck” in overdrive. This means a child’s body and brain might stay in a constant state of alert, ready to “fight or flee.” When this happens, it becomes much harder for the child to manage their feelings, pay attention, or learn in class. 

If this heightened stress lasts a long time, the child’s body can produce too much stress hormone (cortisol). 

Over time, this can make it harder for the brain to grow healthy connections, impacting thinking, memory, and relationships. Understanding this helps us respond with patience and support, rather than frustration, these reactions aren’t a choice, but a sign that the body and the brain are doing their best to cope 

Developmental trauma doesn’t just impact a child’s emotions and behaviour, it’s a fullbody experience. When a child is under stress for a long time, their body’s systems can be affected in several ways:

 • Their immune system can become weaker, so they might get sick more often. 

• They may experience stomach aches or other digestive problems. 

• Muscle tension, headaches, and trouble sleeping are also common. 

• Their body can swing between feeling tense and on edge (hyper-arousal) and feeling flat or switched off (hypo-arousal). 

Because the brain and body are closely connected, trauma responses can be “stored” in the body. This might show up as ongoing pain, tiredness, or other physical symptoms, even if the original stress or trauma happened a long time ago. Understanding these signs helps us to notice when a child might need extra support, and reminds us that behaviour and physical complaints can sometimes be signs of stress or past trauma, not just medical issues.

For more information on this, please visit the Beacon House website by clicking here.

Dan Hughes’ (2006) PACE Model (click here) is an approach to working with children and young people that focuses on four personal qualities: Playfulness, Acceptance, Curiosity and Empathy. These personal qualities allow adults to support children to further develop their emotional intelligence, self-regulation and resilience. 

PACE is a model that advocates a way of thinking, feeling, communicating and behaving that aims to make children and young people feel safe. This approach can help support learners to develop a sense of safety, belonging and value. Over time and with practice, children and young people gain tools to better understand and regulate their emotions.

For more information and examples of use in practice please see visit our Digital Hub page for professionals by clicking here.

Dr Bessel van Der Kolk is a trauma expert whose work has impacted the way we understand how experiences of trauma can change the wiring of the brain (click here to visit his website). He identified the presence of seven elements that can negatively impact the coping ability of individuals who experience traumatic experiences. They are:

• Lack of predictability

• Immobility

• Loss of connection

• Numbing or spacing out

• Loss of sense of time and sequence

• Loss of safety

• Loss of sense of purpose

The message however is one of hope. Anything we can do to counter or eliminate these elements can contribute to a more resilient and positive outcome. See below for some possible ways to counter their impact:

To counter a lack of predictability you need to: Increase predictability

A clear routine and daily rituals will help pupils feel safe, secure and reassured. Create stability through familiar spaces, activities and staff.

To counter immobility you need to: Increase opportunities for mobilisation

Regular movement breaks, little and often. Body awareness activities and discussions can be supportive of this.

To counter a loss of connection you need to: Increase connection

Pupils need warm social cues to feel and increase connection. Consider how to ensure attachment cues such as facial expressions, eye contact, tone of voice, language and body language are emphasised through communication and play.

To combat numbing or spacing out, you need to: Increase connection with the senses

Think of ways to refocus attention/awareness inwards. Consider any activities that engage multiple senses. 

To counter a loss of sense of time or sequence you need to: Increase structure

Making days very structured with regular times for activities where possible. Create clear expectations for pupils and give them explanations and/or help them be more actively involved.

To counter a loss of safety you need to: Increase "felt safety" 

Adult response hugely impact a pupils' sense of "felt safety".  Consider how to embed warm interactions, using humour and fun. Consider the use of sensory breaks, safe spaces, emotion check-ins etc

To counter a loss of purpose you need to: Increase a learners sense of purpose and value.

Tap into pupil strengths and interests. Setting class or individual goals together. Consider how you may use project work on a topic the learner enjoys in order to build a sense of achievement and promote creativity.