How To Be a Trauma-Inclusive Adult in Early Years Settings

In any group of under-fives there's probably at least one child carrying some trauma, and you may not know which. It can look a lot like ordinary toddler behaviour. The difference matters, because a cuddle and a story won't reach a child whose survival brain has taken over.

Being trauma-inclusive means setting things up so that child feels safer without anyone needing to know their story. You'll learn to tell a trauma response from a tantrum, and what to do while it passes. Then there are changes to the room that cost little: quieter furniture, a gentler signal than a bell, a clear route to the door. Just as important is you, with a slower pace, a softer voice and a face that says "you're safe" rather than "I'm disappointed".

The trainer's background spans teaching, domestic abuse and safeguarding, and her examples come from children she's working with now.