Transforming Trauma

Laura Purser
Head of Primary, Prep and EYFS, School of Education, University of Buckingham

With pupils going ‘back’ to school, a spotlight has been shone on the need for supporting child mental health. Something always prominent in our minds, but often pushed aside for the numerous demands of the packed curriculum and expectations to deliver progress in the form of attainment. Those who have always put best practice quality teaching and well-being ahead, have known the secret for a long time; that safe, contained and happy children learn and make effective progress. The parallel running pressures of making up for gaps and supporting the vulnerable with positive mental health, is a fine balancing act for teachers. Thoughtful and carefully managed transitions will allow schools to embrace a compassionate approach to the learning environment, where safety and reconnection is at the forefront of planning and re-engagement of pupils into authentic learning will be given the opportunity to thrive.

Barry Carpenter (2020) has designed the ‘Recovery Curriculum’ that promotes ‘a systematic, relationships-based approach to reigniting the flame of learning in each child’. It is a crafted framework of levers that highlight the importance of relationships, community, transparency of curriculum, metacognition and space to re-discover self and encourages planning opportunities for a child’s voice to be heard and validated.

Other organisations that highlight the need for promoting mental health and access to services for children is YoungMinds. Emma Thomas, CEO, believes that teachers do not have to be mental health experts and that by giving teachers the support to signpost, will help blend the insight of expertise of professionals in supporting vulnerable children.  Too few know where and how to get access to support, even when it is readily or more likely, scarcely available. Unfortunately lack of access to support services leads to the risk of trauma and bereavement.

Children are particularly vulnerable due to their inaccurate understanding of cause and effect, which means they are less able to anticipate danger and keep themselves safe and express their feelings. As professionals in education, we need to arm ourselves with the tools to engage in highly sensitive conversations related to bereavement and loss. We need to understand that adults and children have different styles of grief. I like to think of it as river and puddle jumping. Children jump in and out of grief through deep emotional responses that are brief and intense; whereas adults swim in deep rivers of pain that take time to wade through to the other side. Children have a lack of understanding of permanence and therefore the language we choose to use will impact on how they may process this abstract concept. We would have done well to navigate these challenging conversations if teachers can continue to build trust, tell the truth through simple language and avoid using metaphors. If we can, normalise the feelings and check that the child understands they are not to blame. If all else fails, authentic listening and reassurance can go a long way.

We may have heard or be a part of a ‘Trauma informed school’; this is the approach that teachers take in believing that a child’s actions are a direct result of their experiences. It may be a spring boarding off the adage that ‘behaviour is a communication’. Facilitating that when a child disengages or shows inappropriate behaviours, the teacher may ask themselves certain questions, such as ‘what has happened to you?’, rather than ‘what is wrong with you?’. Which could be perceived as intrinsically blaming the individual and reinforcing the perpetuating self-fulfilling prophecy. McInerney & McKlindon (2009), believe that by ‘being sensitive to students’ past and current experiences with trauma, educators can break the cycle of trauma, prevent re-traumatization, and engage a child in learning and finding success in school.’

It is key that as practitioners that we are aware of the possible impacts of trauma on mental health and ways we can support in our classrooms. For example, being aware of attachment, where teachers can provide a secondary secure ‘safe base’ to support insecurity. Awareness of anxiety and depression, at risk of forming from prolonged toxic stress and lack of agency. We also need to be open to the vulnerabilities of self-harm, exacerbated by lack of opportunity or skill to express difficult feelings with less distraction and more time to ruminate. Teachers on our PGCE courses are trained to be cognizant to individual differences and that pupils will display a vast array of behaviours that may be indicators that flag a need for further exploration and support e.g. anger, tantrums and self-blame, clinginess, presenting as withdrawn and anxious, demonstrating behaviours that are regressive and asking questions repeatedly. In particular, anger is often a mask for a multitude of emotions, and it may be that the tools we want to provide our pupils with, when dealing with trauma, are an emotional vocabulary to articulate the wave of emotions inside, rather than allowing them to fall back on overwhelming anger and aggression as a tool for ‘coping’.

By developing emotional literacy, naming and approaching a feeling with curiosity, we may be able to point those towards the perspective of transforming trauma into something for growth. Like the Kinsugi art form, perhaps we can view our cracks as a process of metamorphosis and embrace the art of precious scars, carved from our experiences of trauma.

By Laura Purser, School of Education, University of Buckingham

Laura is the Head of Primary, Prep and EYFS, PGCE Teacher Training https://www.buckingham.ac.uk/education/pgce/pgce-primary & also leads on SEN & Inclusion, Mental Health & Well-Being at The University of Buckingham. She has designed and leads the master’s level NASENCO course, training SENCOs for accreditation. (https://bit.ly/33CPoO9). Laura aspires to ensure that all Teacher and SENCO training develops quality inclusive practitioners who are person-centred to ensure positive outcomes for both learning and positive mental-health and well-being. https://bit.ly/2WIhxl8. – Blog ‘Navigating Your Internal Compass’.

References:

• Carpenter, B. (2020) A Recovery Curriculum: Loss of Life for Our Children and Schools Post Pandemic. http://www.recoverycurriculum.org
• Dweck, C.S. (2008) Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. New York, Random House
• Kumai, C. (2018) Kintsugi Wellness: The Japanese Art of Nourishing Mind, Body, and Spirit, New York, Harper Collins
• McInerney, M. and McKlindon, A (2014), Unlocking the Door to Learning: Trauma-Informed Classrooms & Transformational Schools. Education law center, pp.1-24.
• Seligman, M. Ernst, R. Gillham, J. Reivich, K. Linkins, M. (2009) Positive education: positive psychology and classroom interventions, Oxford Review of Education, 35:3, 293-311, DOI: 10.1080/03054980902934563
• Young Minds (2020) Coronavirus; the impact on young people with mental health needs. www.youngminds.org.uk

To read the full article, please visit https://educationblog.buckingham.ac.uk/2020/07/08/transforming-trauma-by-laura-purser/