The government’s behaviour tsar has urged caution over adopting trauma-informed approaches, but being a trauma-informed school is not about being “soft” on pupil behaviour – in fact it is challenging for all concerned. Virtual school head Darren Martindale explains
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A lot has been written about attachment-aware and trauma-informed practices in education in recent years. And while these two areas are not exactly the same, there are a lot of commonalities.

In fact, a useful term has been developed for such approaches and the work that is being done to promote them in schools: TIAAS, which stands for trauma-informed and attachment-aware schools.

TIAAS refers to a range of inclusive pedagogical practices, and their basis in human psychology and brain development.

While many care and education settings have developed their understanding of attachment and trauma as the basis for a sound, rational approach to supporting many children who struggle with behaviour and emotional wellbeing, it has received an increasing amount of attention lately, as well as a certain amount of criticism.

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