Dealing with the Impact of Insecure Attachment on learning Bernadette Alexander.

Dealing with the Impact of Insecure Attachment on learning

Bernadette Alexander

Objective

To examine ways in which children with insecure attachment difficulties can be supported in their learning through:

• Whole school ethos

• Whole school actions/interventions

• Classroom actions/interventions

What prompted you to come today?

You have a list of possible reasons in your pack (Handout 1). Choose the one most important to you, or add a reason not on the list. Then.

• Introduce yourself to the others at your table.

• Let others know whether you are an early years, primary, secondary or tertiary teacher, your school type and your role.

• Share your reason for attending today.

Educational Performance of Children Looked After

How many children were ‘looked after’ in England at the end of March 2014?

a) 68,840b) 48,354c) 98,200


How many children were ‘looked after’ in England at the end of March 2014?

a) 68,840b) 48,354c) 98,200

In 2009 it was 60,900


In 2014, at Key Stage 2, 79% of children nationally attained Level 4 in Reading, Writing and Mathematics combined.

What was the attainment in the same benchmark for Children Looked After?• 35%• 65%• 48%• 55%


In 2014, at Key Stage 2, 79% of children nationally attained Level 4 in Reading, Writing and Mathematics combined.

What was the attainment in the same benchmark for Children Looked After?• 35%• 65%• 48%• 55%

A gap of 31%


In 2014, at Key Stage 4, 52% of children nationally attained 5+ A* - C GCSE Grades, including English and Maths.

What was the percentage for Children Looked After?• 12%• 23%• 30%• 36%


In 2014, at Key Stage 4, 52% of children nationally attained 5+ A* - C GCSE Grades, including English and Maths.

What was the percentage for Children Looked After?• 12%• 23%• 30%• 36%

A gap of 40%


Approximately 17.9% of children nationally have a Special Educational Need.

What is the percentage for Children Looked After?• 44%• 55%• 66%• 77%


Approximately 17.9% of children nationally have a Special Educational Need.


49% of these for Social, Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties


Approximately 2.8% of children in England have statements of Special Education Needs/EHCP. What is the percentage for Looked After Children.



Approximately 2.8% of children in England have statements of Special Education Needs/EHCP. What is the percentage for Looked After Children.


Of those, 38.9% are for Social, Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties


What is the percentage of Children Looked After with emotional health that is considered “normal”?

• 30%• 40%• 50%• 60%• 70%


By how much are Children Looked After more likely to have a Fixed Term Exclusion than non Looked After?

• Twice as likely• Three times as likely• Four times as likely• Five times as likely


By how much are Children Looked After more likely to have a Permanent Exclusion than non Looked After?

• Twice as likley• Three times as likely• Four times as likely• Five times as likely


By how much are Children Looked After more likely to have a Permanent Exclusion than non Looked After?

• Twice as likely• Three times as likely• Four times as likely• Five times as likely

Whole School Ethos

1. In 3 words only, describe the ethos of your school

2. Now take 3 minutes to complete the questionnaire (Handout 2)

3. Feedback

A Whole School Policy for Children Looked After

• Reflects the school’s ethos and sets out clearly its commitment to CLA

• Is linked to the statutory framework

• Is linked to other school policies, especially Inclusion, Admissions, Safeguarding, Equality & Diversity etc. in which CLA should be specifically mentioned

• Is specific and detailed in the ways the school is going to carry out its duty to support CLA

• Includes what the school will do to support staff who are working with CLA

A Whole School Policy for Children Looked After• Spells out the roles and reporting duties of key personnel in school,

including Governors, SLT, the DT, and classroom teachers

• Specifies how it will link with external agencies (Social Care, Virtual School, Foster Carers, CAMHS, EP, EWS, Behaviour Improvement Services, etc.)

• Specifies how the Pupil Premium Plus for CLA may be used

• Shows how progress of CLA in all aspects of school life (academic, pastoral and extra-curricular) will be tracked and monitored

• Shows what interventions and supports will be used when CLA are not progressing in line with their peers academically and personally

Whole School practice to support the learning and progress of CLA

• Transition Planning

• Staff Training

• Alternatives to punishments such as detentions and exclusions• Commitment to consistency with discrete flexibility

• Whole school commitment to having high expectations and raising aspirations

• Whole school commitment to CLA engagement in extra-curricular activities which raise self-esteem and confidence

Whole School practice to support the learning and progress of CLA

• Key Relationships

• A Safe Space

• The Designated Teacher

• The Personal Education Plan

• The CLA Information and Strategy Sheet

The Designated Teacher• A leader with enough clout to affect whole school and individual

change

• Experienced in strategies and interventions to support vulnerable children

• Able to advise and train other staff in such strategies and interventions

• Either a member of SLT or with direct access to SLT/Headteacher and the CLA Governor

• Experienced in multi-agency working

• Able to track and monitor progress of all CLA in school at least each half-term

• Extremely determined and dogged

The Personal Education Plan is vitally important because…

• It is the most effective tool we have in driving forward standards in the Education of Children Looked After and the effective use of the Pupil Premium Plus Grant

• It is part of the legal document which is the Care Plan and is used in each Review of the Care Plan

• It brings the main professionals in the Team Around the Child (TAC) together to discuss the child’s future life chances and seeks to make them accountable through Action Planning

The PEP is a “living and useful” document

The Designated Teacher is essential in ensuring the PEP is a “living and useful” document in which….• The child’s voice is heard and recorded

• Current attainment is recorded against targets

• The rate of progress is recorded

• Evidence from each of the child’s teachers & other professionals as to why the child’s attainment and progress are as they are is produced, discussed and recorded

The PEP is a “living and useful” document

• Evidence about the child’s personal, social and emotional development is produced, discussed and recorded

• Evidence of the child’s part in the whole school community and wider activities to promote their academic and social development is produced, discussed and recorded

• The contents of the PEP are disseminated to all the child’s teachers/teaching assistants/other school professionals and acted upon

The CLA Information & Strategy Sheet

• Gives basic information about the child including prior data, targets, strengths and weaknesses

• Gives types of behaviours child may display and any know triggers

• Gives strategies to support learning to be adhered to by all

• Gives strategies to support self-regulation to be adhered to by all

• It should be reviewed at each Personal Education Plan meeting

• Each teacher who teaches the CLA should have a copy as

Consistency is key!

Dealing with the impact of Attachment and Trauma on Learning

Lunch Time

Praise Song for My MotherYou wereWater to meDeep and bold and fathoming

You were Moon’s eye to mePull and grained and mantling

You were Sunrise to meRise and warm and streaming

You were The fishes red gill to meThe flame tree’s spread to meThe crab’s leg/the fried plantain smell replenishing replenishing

Go to your wide futures, you said

Grace Nichols

Supporting Children Looked After in the Classroom

In an ideal world, how would we like our classroom to be?

1. What would it LOOK like?2. What would it FEEL like?3. What would we like our pupils to LEARN there, in addition to

the knowledge to meet national expectations in terms of levels and grades?


What “tools” do we have at our disposal in terms of;

• The physical classroom (e.g. lay-out of room)

• Curriculum and Learning (e.g. differentiation)

• Teachers and Teaching Assistants (e.g. tone of voice, use of language)

Using Handout 8, list the various tools we have at our disposal and then consider how they might be important in the teaching and

learning of children with attachment trauma.

Supporting Children Looked After in the Classroom;Research and Experience tell us…

• Laughter releases the hormone Oxytocin which, in turn, reduces stress and so can be helpful in developing a relationship. There is no ban on laughter in the classroom!

• The developmental age (social and emotional) of traumatised children can be up to 2 years below chronological age

• Often, our CLA need to learn to be dependent before begin taught how to be independent learners.

• Inexperienced teachers need to be taught how to deal with the heightened emotions of traumatised children without becoming emotional themselves

• Teaching can be extremely stressful; those staff who are dealing with traumatised children need to be properly supported and know at all times that that support is at hand


• Always remember that behaviour is communication. Once you understand what the child is telling you through their behaviour, make suggestions of alternative behaviours the child might use.

• The behaviour of a child who is in a state of heightened stress and anxiety cannot be “corrected”; only when the child has regulated, when they brought back to a state of calm, can the behaviour be dealt with

• Troubled students often require a high level of routine, predictability, clear activities in sequence, so the teacher needs to set out what they will be doing in the lesson, signal transitions clearly and don’t give much choice

• Beware of grouping all your vulnerable children together, either when setting classes or groupings within class


• Traumatised children tend to take language literally- avoid sarcasm or ambiguous language

• Research tells us that traumatised children often cannot link cause and effect. Surely this must give us pause as to the use of repetitive sanctions, such as detentions?

• Many children are in care because of repetitive modelling of anti-social, dangerous and damaging behaviour by their primary care-givers, sometimes over many years. To counter this, they need repetitive modelling of healthy, wholesome and socially positive behaviour, over many years.

• Sanctions often have little impact on repetitive, almost compulsive, behaviour patterns.


How would you support …

Keeping in mind:• What you learned about the needs of children who have

experienced trauma from Dr Gore Langton• ALL the “tools of the trade” you have as a school and as a teacher• The Dan Hughes sheet in your pack • A few pointers and the use of language sheet etc.

answer the question concerning one of the children in your pack. 15 minutes preparation with 15 minutes for feedback.

Recommended Reading

Bomber, L (2007) Inside I’m Hurting: practical strategies for supporting children with attachment difficulties in school

Bomber, L (2011) What About Me Inclusive strategies to support pupils with attachment difficulties make it through the school day

Cairns, K (2002) Attachment, Trauma and Resilience

Geddes, H (2006) Attachment in the Classroom. The links between children’s early experience, emotional well-being and performance in school

A Parting Thought

Anyone who claims the I am a dreamer who expects to transform Hell into Heaven, is wrong.I have few illusions.There is only one thing I shall not concede:That it might be meaningless to strive in a good cause.

Vaclav Havel

Dealing with the Impact of Insecure Attachment on learning Bernadette Alexander.

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Transcript of Dealing with the Impact of Insecure Attachment on learning Bernadette Alexander.