Now is the time to update our school policies and practices

With exclusion rates soaring in recent years, we can no longer overlook everything that has been learnt about the impact of what are known as Adverse Childhood Experiences (Felitti & Anda 2010) on children’s minds and bodies, and how the nervous system functions best. We know that relationships are essential for recovery and for settling to learn: but our UK educational practices are still geared to withdrawing relationship when times get tough, leading to escalation of challenging behaviour and further rejection for already traumatised children and young people. This has to stop.

Many educators are now recognising how significant alternative ways of thinking in the classroom are for optimising engagement and learning. Louise explores how to facilitate quality moments of relationship with children and young people that genuinely reach them, where they are, recognising the impact of trauma on their emotional state, mental functioning and ability, or lack of it, to trust the adults. She helps identify the best way to work so that we can teach curriculum as well as healthy behaviours. Honouring biology by building on Perry’s (2006) neuro -developmental sequence, Louise provides numerous creative ways of being and doing for those wanting to ensure school is as inclusive as it can be.