Attachment and Trauma Sensitive Schools Gold Award

I am very pleased to share with you that we have achieved the Attachment and Trauma Sensitive School Gold Award. It was lovely to share all our successes with the verification Assessors. Please see attached their comments.

Dear Karen & Katie,

Thank you for registering for the Attachment and Trauma Sensitive Schools Award (ATSSA) at Gold Level, and for providing comprehensive evidence in support of your application. Thank you also for inviting me to conduct the verification for the Award today. I should like to extend my thanks particularly to you, and also to other staff, for making the virtual visit so purposeful and enjoyable. It was a real delight to hear about your continuing journey.

I should like to warmly congratulate you and your staff on achieving the Award, which is an external sign of recognition of your commitment to the steps you have taken at Holly Grove  School to develop a culture of compassion and nurture, and to become a truly attachment- and trauma-responsive setting.  The Award is valid for two years and will run from May 2025 to May 2027, at which point you will be invited to renew your accreditation. 

You have maintained and extended the ATSSA Bronze and Silver Standards, and you shared numerous examples of your attachment- and trauma-sensitive practice.

All nine Gold criteria have been evidenced adequately, and in most cases, more than adequately. The evidence you have submitted comes from a wide variety of sources and of particular value have been my interviews today with you and a range of staff members. All of these confirmed your commitment to the principles of trauma-informed practice: safety, trust, choice, collaboration, empowerment and cultural consideration. You provided me with much evidence to further support my own data gathered today and previously, and this has added depth and context to the completed evidence folders.  There are several significant points that are worthy of special mention:

·Become a Beacon of Best Practice for other schools working towards Attachment and Trauma Sensitive Practice. You are supporting local schools in developing knowledge, strategies and skills through collaboration, training and outreach.  Going forward, you show commitment to continuing to share your own vision with other schools who are striving for meaningful, multi-layered, whole-system wide trauma-responsive practice.

·Provide professional supervision for front line staff and SLT at least termly. Staff interviewed shared examples of the organisational understanding of, and response to, the psychological and emotional fall-out for staff working with children with complex trauma backgrounds. Leaders and other staff regularly access informal and formal supervision, which in turn impacts upon personal and professional well-being. You feel that supervision has a very positive impact; it provides a safe space for reflection; it enables the supervisee to share the emotional labour with an empathic listener, and thus, protects against loneliness, stress, depression, compassion fatigue, exhaustion and burnout. Staff also commented on the importance of being ‘really listened to’ and having their voices heard, of collaborative planning of next steps and problem-solving. Informal and spontaneous supervision is also readily available, particularly after difficult interactions or meetings. You are actively exploring models of supervision to ensure that the provision is tailored to meet the needs of staff at Holly Grove School and two members of staff in particular provide moving evidence about the support, including one-to-one and class supervision, they have been given during challenging periods in their lives.

·Employ attachment- and trauma-informed recruitment, interview and induction processes. I spoke to one fairly recently recruited member of staff, who felt that the process, from recruitment to appointment and induction, was a positive one. There was reference to trauma-sensitive practice in the job specification, which indicated that this was an area of high importance in the school. It was made clear from the first contact with the school and prior to appointment that some students have Social, Emotional and Mental Health challenges, and that many have experienced trauma before arriving at Holly Grove  School. When the applicant arrived at the school for interview, she was welcomed warmly and put at ease. At interview, the candidates felt well-listened to; the interviewers were warm and friendly, prompting and clarifying as necessary. The trauma-sensitive ethos of the school was communicated clearly during the interview. The applicant was informed that she had been successful in a timely manner. The induction process into the school was comprehensive, welcoming, thorough, transparent and engaging, without being over-managed and the newly recruited person felt welcomed, included and well supported from the start. Questions were welcomed and invited during the settling in period and beyond. The staff member spoke about the high level of support she has received from her line manager and members of the SLT. She added that all staff are really helpful and supportive, ‘…like a family, really…’ and this ‘wrap-around’ support has helped her to settle in to ‘really loving’ the role she is in.

·Reference attachment and trauma-informed practice in people’s development plans, performance management, appraisals etc. This is a particular strength of the school. Through the staff interviews today, and through evidence presented in the Evidence Folders, I was able to ascertain that it is a priority in the school for every member of staff to understand and respond to the children’s needs, and this priority drives and informs CPD. The members of staff I spoke to said that the performance management process is a two-way process rather than something imposed by leaders. It is collaborative in nature and staff contribute to identifying their own targets and goals. Staff  are supported to achieve the targets through modelling, CPD and regular check-in. The SLT invest in career development and training needs are given high priority. No shaming or critical practices are used, and all staff are treated with respect and valued for what they bring to the community. Strengths are identified and acknowledged, and where difficulties arise, they are dealt with in a timely and supportive manner. Discussions are transparent and honest and this contributes to an increasingly authentic and congruent school culture. One member of staff shared how her increased work responsibilities have been rewarded by an increase in salary. This, she feels, reflects how staff are valued with much more than ‘lip service’.

·Provide an attachment- and trauma-informed and -responsive physical environment, not only in pupil areas, but throughout the entire school site, including staff and public areas.  

There is a strong focus on the physical environment at Holly Grove  School, with the safety and comfort of all being a priority. Leaders recognise and prioritise the importance of a comfortable sensory and physical environment so the physical environment is organised in such a way that children, visitors and staff experience felt safety within the school. Leaders also understand the necessity of felt psychological and emotional safety and strive to ensure that people feel physically and emotionally safe in the school itself and also when engaging in offsite activities. Whilst human relationships are central to co-regulation at Holly Grove  School, it is recognised that interacting with outdoor spaces helps to soothe or regulate the body’s stress response system and the outdoor environment is used effectively as a place to decompress, rest and relax.

·Strive to ensure that all meetings and communication systems between all participants and stakeholders employ the principles of multileveled safety. This is a particular strength of the school. Communication systems are transparent and easy to access. All staff interviewed said that they feel well-informed and receive regular information and briefings. It is clear that at all times, great care is taken to ensure that communications throughout the system are positive and inclusive. Compelling evidence was shared relating to the many and varied communications systems, which are invaluable. Leaders and  managers are flexible about the approach to deadlines and ensure that staff are empowered to have a good home/work balance. There is a clear and shared understanding of the purpose, focus and aims of staff/team meetings. The school works hard to develop strong, trusting partnerships with parents and carers and external partners such as Social Workers, based on open communication. Communications with parents and carers are addressed sensitively and thoughtfully, ensuring that parents are ‘kept in the loop’ whether or not they live with their child, and when painful or challenging issues are raised, school staff are supportive and empathic, striving to make a safe space for difficult conversations.

·Planning of services includes collaboration with representation of ‘lived experience’ of children, parents/carers and staff at all levels within the school. Decisions, large and small, are made in collaboration with staff, families and children. There is great emphasis on team work and a true desire to understand each other’s strengths and weaknesses, ensuring that people are best placed to draw on their strengths. Leaders are always willing to try out new ideas and suggestions and have a ‘can do’ attitude. In addition to collaboration with staff and children, the school works closely with families to  develop practice and strategy to meet needs at every level, for example, how they support families to access individualised support in response to their own unique needs. A very moving example was shared about a mother who has experienced significant trauma, and how support was finely tuned, sensitive to what she could tolerate and access, rather than using a one-size-fits-all model. Leaders show commitment to continue to grow collaborative, inclusive leadership, informed and guided by the lived experience of all members of the school community, embracing co-production and personalised care. There is a recognition that all agencies, partners and participants have a significant impact on experience, process and outcomes, and therefore, all need to contribute and be heard.

·All policies respect culture, gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and physical ability. The organisation has a detailed understanding of the diversity of their service users and provides resources that are accessible and reflect that diversity. Staff have an understanding of how cultural and historical influences can impact on individuals using the service. One member of staff, echoed by others, summed up the approach to cultural diversity and humility when he said that regardless of characteristics and differences, everyone is accepted and celebrated. All faiths are celebrated and supported. Newsletters are translated for parents and carers as required. There is a focus on equity versus equality, and from an early age, children are taught that equity is providing various levels of support and assistance depending on specific needs, characteristics or abilities.

·Organisational language and non-verbal communications are based upon the key principles of trauma-informed practice.  Strengths- hope- and resilience-based language is used in all communications and policies. There is a focus on avoiding institutionalised language and you shared examples of how you ‘humanise’ language, resisting jargon and distancing language. Staff are aware of language, both verbal and non-verbal, that can be triggering. Written records and reports use strength-based language rather than drawing on a deficit model and terminology has been changed where necessary, for example, moving away from ‘Behaviour Support’ towards ‘Supporting Regulation’. There is a deep awareness that language can play an important role in the context of trauma, and staff recognise that how they speak about children to colleagues, parents and carers and to the children themselves is impactful, and can shape opinions. They understand that the words that are used and the way in which we speak and communicate is crucial.

Whilst there can be no doubt that excellent practice is a whole-team achievement, it is also only fair to say that the most significant factor in achieving the ATSSA Gold Award is the inspirational, strong, and visionary leadership of the Headteacher and the SLT.

This is just a brief snapshot of the evidence I gathered today and previously through virtual and onsite visits and reading the evidence in your Gold Folder. It would be impossible to communicate adequately in this letter the breadth and richness of your practice. In short, Holly Grove School is a trauma-informed and trauma-responsive organisation, which prioritises improving systems and practices, making them healthier, more relational and interpersonal, more cohesive, more integrated, more reflective, and more interconnected, not only focusing on the pupil population, but by ensuring that trauma-informed  knowledge, narratives, language, values, principles, assumptions and processes are embedded deep into the culture of the whole school, and are owned, moulded and maintained by everyone who is a part, regardless of role or status.

I hope that you will celebrate your achievement with pupils, staff, families, governors and other stakeholders to celebrate the school’s commitment to its children and whole community, successfully removing barriers to learning and participation in the life of the school. I have felt particularly privileged to share your journey and am delighted make the Gold Award to you. Tony and Bridie add their congratulations to mine.

Yours sincerely,

Dr Jennifer A Nock, CPsychol, AFBPsS, PhD, BSc (Hons)                Bridie White LLB