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Challenging students and their families don’t go away because we avoid, mock or punish them - their pain simply finds another form within the school community.

Being kind is often thought of as common-sense. But being kind is not just saying things that makes students feel good today. Being kind is talking about the difficult things that helps the students get better tomorrow.

If you're worried about hurting a students’ feelings, it's a sign that you haven't earned their trust. Honest and tactful feedback is an expression of care.

Start with what you can see - building skills in being an astute observer of student behaviour. Then move to understanding your observations- building increasing complex explanations. Then decide on what you can amplify and change in service of learning.

Expressing gratitude to your students reminds them of how they matter.

The leading symptom of having been traumatised is fear. Traumatised children are, above all else, scared. Scared of getting close to others, of being abandoned, of being humiliated. Scared of their bodies, of their emotions & of the world.

A students style of attachment will determine their attitudes to and behaviour in relationships - the amount of trust they place in teachers, their emotional resilience and their definition of love.

We must model persistence to teach it. The achievements we savor in supporting students start with struggle and end with hard-earned mastery.

All challenging behavior is a result of a choice of fear over love and learning.

You don’t calm your students anxieties by telling them that everything will be fine. In many areas of their life, it won’t. Instead, build their capacity to believe that you will be there to help them survive even the most horrid of circumstances.

You don’t calm your students anxieties by telling them that everything will be fine. In many areas of their life, it won’t. Instead, build their capacity to believe that you will be there to help them survive even the most horrid of circumstances.

Trauma informed teachers understand that some students feel both confident, entitled and unfairly treated AND like a fraud, an imposter, ashamed of who they are. The acceptance of both these sides of the student begins their healing.

To gain the trust of our students, we have to show our broken and flawed sides: we’ve failed, so they can tell us of their failure; we’ve been hurt so, they can admit to being hurt.

Inclusive practices can appear as tokenism and fearful political correctness. Being trauma informed is about integrating the inclusive values and diverse voices into all decision making.

Offering choices and options to promote engagement in an activity that’s beyond a students’ capability or preference often fails. Curriculum design must begin with what know about the student, not just the lesson to be taught.

Teachers who give their students self-regulation strategies before spending sufficient time understanding the students’ difficulties are invariably left frustrated. Attempts at helping, without empathy & understanding, are perceived as coercive control.

Equity of access is just as important as effectiveness of interventions. Abandoning evidence based practices is just as harmful as not serving those in need. Impactful support begins when we are regulated and curious about why strategies fall short.

Never underestimate the effort it takes for staff to go home on time, and how difficult it is for them to attend to work when they want to be with their family and friends. Recognise the sacrifice and remember to thank them for their work.

Idealism about inclusion without pragmatism leads to false hope. Espousing trauma informed values without practical solutions leads to burn out and cynicism.

Be slower to judge students and quicker to forgive. It's hard resenting and learning about your students at the same time.