Trauma-Informed Leadership: Pooky’s Practical Principles

A message from your line manager that just says "we need to talk" can wreck someone's afternoon. As a leader, small things like that decide whether people feel safe enough to do their best work. For some of your pupils and staff, school is the safest place they have.

Safety, choice, collaboration, trust and empowerment are the principles behind trauma-informed practice. Here, each one becomes things a leader actually does. Some you can try today, such as "slow, low, low" to calm your voice in a tense moment, or answering "what should I do?" with a question. Others take longer: walk-and-talk meetings instead of across-the-desk ones, rotating who leads projects, or a clear plan for what you'll share when a child tells you something in confidence.