{"id":53989,"date":"2020-09-12T08:00:21","date_gmt":"2020-09-12T15:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/world.edu\/?p=53989"},"modified":"2020-09-11T15:12:26","modified_gmt":"2020-09-11T22:12:26","slug":"why-every-teacher-needs-to-know-about-childhood-trauma","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/world.edu\/why-every-teacher-needs-to-know-about-childhood-trauma\/","title":{"rendered":"Why every teacher needs to know about childhood trauma"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

Mental health issues\u00a0among children are on the rise<\/a>\u00a0due to the impacts of the COVID pandemic, including lockdowns.<\/p>\n

Recent\u00a0reports show<\/a>\u00a0there has been a 28% spike in calls to the phone counselling service Kids Helpline between March and July 2020 compared with the same period last year in Victoria, which is under stage 3 and 4 restrictions.<\/p>\n

This prompted the state government to fast-track its plan to provide every state secondary school with funding to recruit its own mental-health support practitioner by the end of next year. Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews\u00a0announced in August<\/a>\u00a0more than 1,500 school staff would have additional mental-health training in partnership with Headspace to help identify at-risk students as remote learning continues.<\/p>\n

Such moves are important. But in this world of uncertainty, as well as the way the pandemic may be increasing\u00a0instances of family violence<\/a>\u00a0and other types of abuse, all school staff would benefit from having an adequate understanding of the impact of trauma and adversity on children.<\/p>\n

Teachers and school leaders would also benefit from knowledge about trauma and adversity when responding to children\u2019s challenging behaviours. In education, such understanding and techniques are known as \u201ctrauma-informed pedagogy\u201d.<\/p>\n

What is childhood trauma?<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Trauma is the response to exposure to a stressful or traumatic event, or a series of such events or experiences.<\/p>\n

Most children have nurturing home environments, but a\u00a0concerning number<\/a>\u00a0experience trauma through abuse or neglect in Australia. It\u2019s\u00a0estimated around<\/a>\u00a08.9% of children experience physical abuse, 8.6% sexual abuse, 8.7% emotional abuse and 2.4% neglect. The rates could be higher as such experiences are difficult to measure.<\/p>\n

Children may also experience trauma or adversity by observing family violence, parent separation, having a parent incarcerated or with a mental illness, or due to grief from the loss of a loved one. Trauma can occur because of conflict or war, or due to a natural disaster, such as the recent bushfires.<\/p>\n

COVID-19 has led to higher amounts of traumatic experiences and adversity in households. Around one-third of Australian families are going through\u00a0increased financial hardship<\/a>\u00a0and,\u00a0for many women<\/a>, the pandemic has coincided with the beginning of family violence, or an increase in it.<\/p>\n

Trauma\u00a0often has negative effects<\/a>\u00a0on children\u2019s development and behaviour. It can increase the risk of\u00a0depression<\/a>\u00a0and suicide attempts,\u00a0psychotic disorders<\/a>\u00a0such as schizophrenia, and\u00a0alcohol and drug<\/a>\u00a0use.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s important to note, not all children are negatively impacted by trauma \u2014\u00a0some even experience<\/a>\u00a0posttraumatic growth in which they learn more about themselves and their strengths.<\/p>\n

A strong\u00a0body of evidence<\/a>\u00a0shows trauma can affect brains structures linked to learning, and control of emotions and behaviour. These effects can\u00a0make it difficult<\/a>\u00a0for children to learn, make friends and develop positive relationships with teachers.<\/p>\n

Trauma and adversity can also\u00a0disrupt children\u2019s impulse control<\/a>\u00a0in the classroom and on the playground.<\/p>\n

What trauma-informed practice looks like<\/strong><\/h4>\n

The\u00a0Royal Commission into child sexual abuse<\/a>\u00a0recommended schools be \u201ctrauma-informed\u201d. Being trauma-informed does not mean teachers and schools must be trained to treat trauma. Rather they must understand the impact it can have on children\u2019s lives.<\/p>\n

An Australian Institute of Family Studies discussion paper on trauma-informed practice notes:<\/p>\n

To provide trauma-informed services, all staff of an organisation, from the receptionist to the direct care worker and the board of directors, must understand how violence impacts on the lives of the people being served so that every interaction is consistent with the recovery process and reduces the possibility of re-traumatisation.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

So, for schools to be trauma-informed, school staff need to know about the prevalence and consequences of childhood trauma. Increasing the confidence of school staff about how to work with children impacted by trauma and adversity is also important.<\/p>\n

Examples of trauma-informed practice include:<\/p>\n