Trauma-Informed Teaching Practice: What It Means For Your School

Have you ever heard the term ‘trauma-informed teaching’ and wondered what that means for your teaching practice or setting? You’re not alone! As awareness of children’s mental health grows, schools are increasingly looking at trauma-informed approaches as a means to support children’s learning and well-being.

But what exactly is trauma? How does it affect children’s development? Most importantly, what can you do as an educator to help children feel safe and supported? Let’s take a closer look.

What Is Trauma-Informed Teaching?

The Department for Education (DfE, 2021) defines trauma-informed practice as:

"A strengths-based framework grounded in an understanding of and responsiveness to the impact of trauma that emphasises physical, psychological, and emotional safety for everyone, and creates opportunities for survivors to rebuild a sense of control and empowerment."

In simple terms, trauma-informed teaching is an educational approach that recognises the impact of trauma on children and actively seeks to create an environment where all children feel safe, supported and ready to learn. While this is particularly important for children who have experienced adversity, research shows that positive relationships, a safe environment and emotional support benefit all pupils (EEF, 2021).

What Is Trauma?

When we talk about trauma, we often think of major, life-changing events—but Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) that lead to trauma are more common than you might think.

ACEs can include:

• physical, emotional or sexual abuse;

• neglect or exposure to domestic violence;

• parental mental illness, substance abuse or incarceration; and

• family separation, loss or instability.

Nearly half of adults in England report having experienced at least one ACE by the time they reach adulthood (47%, Bellis et al., 2014). In fact, 9% have experienced four or more ACEs, which is associated with long-term impacts on education, employment, health and even life expectancy. And it’s children from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds or with disabilities that are more likely to experience multiple ACEs.

With 1 in 5 children in England having a probable mental health condition (NHS, 2023), understanding trauma, its impact and how to mitigate its effects is more relevant than ever.

How Does Trauma Affect the Brain?

Not every child who experiences adversity will be negatively impacted—but, for many, trauma can disrupt a child’s typical brain development in ways that impair emotional regulation, attention and other executive functions. This makes learning as well as making and maintaining healthy relationships more challenging for these children.

Neuroscience research highlights three key areas affected by trauma:

The Amygdala (The “Watchdog”) – The brain’s threat detector becomes overactive, making children hypervigilant and prone to fight, flight, freeze, fawn and flop trauma responses (which you can find below).

The Prefrontal Cortex (The “Thinking Cap”) – The part of the brain responsible for impulse control and problem-solving or executive function. Trauma can inhibit its function, making it harder for children to focus and manage emotions.

The Nucleus Accumbens (The “Motivation Centre”) – The part of the brain’s hypothalamus which plays a role in reward and motivation. ACEs can reduce activity here, affecting engagement in learning and social interactions.

A model of the brain showing the location of the prefrontal cortex, amygdala and hypothalamus (where the Nucleus Accumbens is located).

Dr. Daniel Siegel’s "Hand Model of the Brain" explains how children can "flip their lid" when overwhelmed, meaning their rational brain switches off and their emotional brain takes control. In these moments, logic won’t work—co-regulation from a trusted adult is key within the trauma-informed approach.

Our PSHE curriculum draws on Siegel's work and explicitly teaches children to recognise and manage their emotions and make and maintain healthy, positive relationships.

Common Trauma Responses

For children who have experienced trauma, the school environment can feel unpredictable and overwhelming. This stress can trigger a trauma response or challenging behaviour, such as:

Fight – aggression (e.g. hitting, kicking, biting), shouting, defiance, destruction (e.g. ripping clothes, throwing objects) or self-injury (head banging, skin picking)
Flight – running away, avoiding tasks, hiding, distracting self or others
Freeze – zoning out, appearing disengaged or withdrawn, getting ‘stuck’ in repetitive movements
Fawn – people-pleasing, overly compliant, mirroring other people's opinions, seeking constant approval
Flop – shutting down, appearing helpless, going limp, struggling to intiate tasks

Trauma can also negatively influence children’s learning and relationships in school settings, from their ability to initiate and focus on tasks in the classroom to their capacity to make and maintain positive relationships with their peers and adults.

Common trauma responses to look for in your classroom

What Does a Trauma-Informed Setting Look Like?

Trauma-informed practice requires a whole-school approach that supports both children and staff. This means considering and embedding change at organisational classroom and inter-personal level within schools and classrooms to ensure a trauma-informed culture. This includes school-wide staff training, restorative behaviour policies and an explicit focus on social-emotional and metacognitive learning.

Key Trauma-Informed Strategies

Shared Understanding of Trauma

First and foremost, trauma-informed educators recognise that many children might have experienced traumatic events. They understand the impact of that trauma and how this might show itself and potential triggers that may cause stress in the school or classroom environment.

Safe and Predictable Environments

Clear routines, calm spaces and consistent expectations help children feel physically and emotionally secure.

Strong Teacher-Pupil Relationships

A trusted adult who models supportive and positive relationships is a protective factor against the effects of trauma (Bergin & Bergin, 2009).

Explicit Interoception Strategies

Children are taught how to recognise and manage big emotions - such as anger, shame and frustration - with breathing exercises, positive self-talk, movement breaks and sensory tools.

Restorative Discipline

Punitive responses have been replaced with open conversation and conflict resolution techniques to promote accountability without reinforcing blame and shame.

Curiosity Over Compliance

When challenging behaviour occurs, trauma-informed educators get curious and ask, “What happened to this child? What unmet need is this behaviour communicating? Or What do they need to feel safe?” rather than “What’s wrong with this child?”

What Does the Research Tell Us?

There are several structured programmes that aim to support trauma-informed practice in schools, including:

Attachment, Regulation, and Competency (ARC) Framework: Focuses on building secure relationships, emotional regulation, and self-competence.
Healthy Environments and Response to Trauma in Schools (HEARTS) Programme: Emphasises school culture change and staff professional development.
Nurture UK: Uses attachment theory to support children struggling with emotional and social difficulties.

However, whole-school trauma-informed models have yet to be rigorously evaluated and there currently is no definitive guidance about what exemplifies best practice. Systematic reviews (Maynard et al., 2019; Avery et al., 2020) highlight challenges in comparing models, as schools apply trauma-informed practices in different ways.

Adopting trauma-informed practices requires substantial investment in time, training and emotional labour. That said, emerging evidence suggests that trauma-informed approaches benefit both children and staff well-being—helping to create calmer, more connected classrooms (MacLochlainn, 2022). There is also strong evidence supporting specific trauma-informed strategies:

Restorative practices have been linked to improved behaviour and reduced exclusions (EEF, 2020).
Metacognition and self-regulation strategies can help children manage stress and stay engaged in learning (EEF, 2018).
Strong teacher-pupil relationships are associated with improved behaviour, engagement and academic attainment (EEF, 2021).

While early research is promising, further research is needed to fully understand :

❓ Which trauma-informed approaches work best, and for whom ❓
❓ How whole-school trauma-informed models deliver long-term academic outcomes ❓
❓ How do different components (e.g. staff training, emotional regulation strategies) interact❓
❓ What are the potential unintended consequences, such as teacher workload and emotional burnout ❓

Seven Tips To Help Your Children Feel Safe and Secure

As children’s brains are highly malleable, positive relationships with trusted adults can also help mitigate and protect against adverse outcomes. Schools adopting trauma-informed approaches aim to reduce children’s physiological and psychological distress through safe, consistent learning environments and positive teacher-pupil relationships. These strategies aim to reduce stressors, enhance academic engagement and attainment and improve life chances into adulthood.

Trauma-informed teaching isn’t about ticking a box or adding another initiative to your to-do list—it’s about doing things differently in ways that benefit all pupils. Positive relationships with trusted, supportive adults through connection, co-regulation and reflection are at the heart of trauma-informed practice.

Try starting with:

1. Give Every Child A Warm Welcome: This is a simple way to build trust and lessen children’s anxiety on entering the classroom.

2. Establish Predictability: Schedules help children feel secure in what’s coming next, as does responding consistently and calmly.

3. Offer Choices: Provide small decisions to give children a sense of control and empowerment.

4. Co-Regulation: When a child is dysregulated, connect and calm children first before reflecting and problem-solving.

5. Model Self-regulation: Show children how to pause, take deep breaths and manage their emotions.

6. Embed Regular Mindfulness & Movement Practices: Simple activities like stretching or using sensory tools can help reset the nervous system. So, build these in throughout the day.

7. Prioritise Curiosity Over Compliance: Prioritise children’s safety and emotional well-being by considering what the child is trying to say with their behaviour or what unmet needs are they trying to fulfill. Instead of using: “Stop speaking to me like that”, “Listen”, “Calm down” - what could you use? Instead of “Calm down!”, try “What’s going on for you right now?”

These small, thoughtful shifts can positively impact on children’s well-being, engagement and ability to thrive in school. These strategies are even more powerful when supported by school-wide policies such as:

- Staff training on trauma-informed practice
- Restorative behaviour policies
- Explicit socio-emotional and metacognitive teaching and learning
- Counselling or pastoral support for children
- Ongoing CPD and coaching for staff

Final Thoughts: You’re Already Making a Difference

Trauma-informed practice isn’t about being perfect—it’s about being present and reflective. Although approaches and evidence-informed guidance are still evolving, research tells us that:

1. Positive relationships, a safe environment, and emotional support help ALL children—not just those who have experienced trauma.

2. A calm, predictable, and compassionate classroom improves learning and behaviour.

3. Small, consistent changes —from a warm greeting to giving children space to regulate—can make a lasting difference.

Every interaction matters. The way we respond to pupils can either reinforce stress or help them feel safe enough to learn.

Help your children to thrive in your classroom

Looking for practical resources?

Social-Emotional Learning:

Our PSHE curriculum is designed to help children to recognise and manage their emotions and make and maintain healthy, positive relationships.

You can download FREE resources from our Mental Health Collection, such as our Yoga Pose Cards or our Design Your Own Emoticon activity.

You can also find plenty of FREE to download CPD resources to support your next staff meeting, such as our Oracy Framework or Questioning Strategies Guide.

Would you like more classroom-ready resources or training materials for your staff team? Let us know in the comments!