The Challenge

School exclusion significantly impacts children's life chances and is linked to involvement in violent offences. Research consistently shows that violence, addiction, and persistent anti-social behaviour are often rooted in exposure to trauma (Adverse Childhood Experiences – ACEs) and a lack of connection with safe, trusted individuals, termed "social thinning" by the UK Trauma Council. The Youth Endowment Fund and the Home Office have funded this randomised control trial to understand if implementing Trauma Informed Practice (TIP) can prevent young people from becoming involved in violence.

Our Approach

In partnership, KCA and Warren Larkin Associates co-designed this approach with the evaluation team at the Anna Freud Centre and UCL. The 26 schools in the intervention arm will receive the following inputs:

• Collaborative Enquiry: Focus groups and staff/pupil surveys to assess the school’s starting point.
• Whole School Training: Covering Attachment, Trauma Informed Practice, and Emotion Coaching.
• SLT and Pastoral Leads Training: Focusing on therapeutic ideas, reflective practice, resilience building, and policy alignment.

The programme aims to increase staff capacity to:

• understand trauma, ACEs, and collective trauma.
• use relational approaches to manage challenging behaviour.
• strengthen the pupil-teacher relationship to address learning barriers.
• enhance resilience for themselves and colleagues.
• support school leaders in implementing evidence-informed TIP, ensuring systems align, and supporting staff resilience.

The Impact

The evaluation will be published in 2025. Previous research suggests that TIP can positively impact pupil attendance, reduce exclusions, improve emotional regulation, and enhance staff well-being and retention. The goal is to scale this approach to influence educational policy, creating resilient school communities better equipped to support recovery and healing.