School Transitions for Traumatized Children

06/07/21 • 27 min

Remember the child in your school class who was the fidgety one?
Or the one who always had their hand up but was ignored by the teacher because they made apparently stupid remarks?
Or the one that seemed to know exactly what was going on everywhere else but was paying no attention at all to the lesson?

You wouldn’t have known it at the time, but this could have been a sign of a traumatized child experiencing extreme stress.

Making the transition from home to school or from Key Stage 1 to Key Stage 2 can present enormous difficulties for children who have suffered adverse childhood experiences (ACEs).

In this episode, senior teacher and adoptive mother Sami Byrne – who’s also a Therapeutic Lead for the National Association of Therapeutic Parents (NATP) - helps us understand what they are going through.

She gives preparation and coping strategies to prepare children for all the different stages they have to confront during their school lives.
These are tried and tested methods that she has used successfully with her own children and which form part of the document she co-authored with Jane Mitchell entitled The School Transitions Pack available on request from COECT (see below for contact details).

Sami also recommends Rosie Jefferies and Sarah Naish’s book “William Wobbly and the Very Bad Day”.

Other recommended resources include "Harry and the Dinosaurs Go To School" and "Topsy and Tim Start School"
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COECT, The Centre of Excellence in Child Trauma is an umbrella organisation combining resources, research and knowledge from cutting edge experts in the sector – Inspire Training Group, National Association of Therapeutic Parents, Sarah Naish – Keynote Speaker and Author, The Haven – Parenting and Wellbeing Centre and Safer Fostering.

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/CoEChildTrauma

Telephone – 01453 519000

Email – [email protected]

Website - www.coect.co.uk

You wouldn’t have known it at the time, but this could have been a sign of a traumatized child experiencing extreme stress.

Making the transition from home to school or from Key Stage 1 to Key Stage 2 can present enormous difficulties for children who have suffered adverse childhood experiences (ACEs).

Sami also recommends Rosie Jefferies and Sarah Naish’s book “William Wobbly and the Very Bad Day”.

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/CoEChildTrauma

Telephone – 01453 519000

Email – [email protected]

Website - www.coect.co.uk

Previous Episode

How Can You Help Your Hypervigilant Child?

If your child is from a traumatized background you may be asking yourself why they are seem so super sensitive to everything.
Why are they so watchful and guarded? What are they afraid of?
Why do they seem to focus on matters of peripheral importance when they should be concentrating on their lessons or simply on going to sleep?
Why can't they just relax?
Our expert guest this week, Glynis Hough, makes a welcome return to explain what is happening in a child's mind to make it hypervigilant and to make its behaviour disregulated.
She tells us to practice P.A.C.E. (patience, acceptance, curiousity and empathy) until we're blue in the face.
And she suggest a number of other excellent coping strategies.
To help preserve your sanity, she suggests joining one of the NATP's Listening Circles where parents can seek advice and share their stories.
COECT, The Centre of Excellence in Child Trauma is an umbrella organisation combining resources, research and knowledge from cutting edge experts in the sector – Inspire Training Group, National Association of Therapeutic Parents, Sarah Naish – Keynote Speaker and Author, The Haven – Parenting and Wellbeing Centre and Safer Fostering.

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/CoEChildTrauma

Telephone – 01453 519000

Email – [email protected]

Website - www.coect.co.uk

Next Episode

Dealing with Relationship Strain for Parents of Traumatized Children

This week COECT's CEO Sarah Naish talks from personal experience about the strain placed on a relationship when a couple adopts or fosters traumatized children.
Parents can quickly experience isolation within the relationship itself. This is especially the case if one becomes the main carer and the other is not around enough to witness the difficulties that arise.
About 1 in 3 relationships fail in such families unless help is sought.
As Sarah says, raising traumatized children can test relationships to the limit but she presents three effective strategies to combat the problem.
COECT also holds workshops and webinars to help couples put these strategies into practice.
***
COECT, The Centre of Excellence in Child Trauma is an umbrella organisation combining resources, research and knowledge from cutting edge experts in the sector – Inspire Training Group, National Association of Therapeutic Parents, Sarah Naish – Keynote Speaker and Author, The Haven – Parenting and Wellbeing Centre and Safer Fostering.

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/CoEChildTrauma

Telephone – 01453 519000

Email – [email protected]

Website - www.coect.co.uk