Therapeutic environments

Provocation: if we create safe, predictable, relational environments we provide therapeutic spaces that optimise learning for all our children.

Many children are benefited by being raised within safe homes, extended families and communities, however, some children in our schools experience unsafe and harmful environments. Complex childhood (developmental) trauma is often detrimental to a child’s health, wellbeing and learning. This is because our brains are organised in a hierarchical manner; sensory inputs enter the brain stem and are then processed by more sophisticated areas within the brain. The brain stem, reptilian brian or survival brain is essentially the gate keeper to our social, emotional, relational and behavioural functions. The thinking brain cannot be accessed whilst the survival brain is in control and the longer children operate from within a fight, flight or freeze mode the harder it is to get back into and stay within the thinking brain.

Trauma can have a significant impact on a child’s ability to establish and maintain relationships, and in some cases is unfortunately a pathway to the juvenile justice system. However, we can support children to overcome adverse experiences through appropriate interventions.

Working within a regional community we are faced with a distinct lack of available access to trauma-informed therapeutic services for disadvantaged children. However we are abundant in our capacity to care for and connect with each other.

healthy relational interactions with safe and familiar individuals can buffer and heal trauma-related problems

Perry BD 2009. Examining child maltreatment through a neurodevelopmental lens: clinical applications of the neurosequential model of therapeutics. Journal of Loss and Trauma: International Perspectives on Stress & Coping 14(4):248

Within our school we bridge the gap created by poor service provision by providing therapeutic environments and programs designed to specifically meet the needs of our most vulnerable children. We assess these needs using the Boxall Profile to inform and target our strategies.

Dr Joe Tucci from the Australian Childhood Foundation described children’s trauma (in his keynote on June 20th at the Trauma Aware Schooling 2019 Conference, Brisbane) as an “open system waiting for a response”. He explained that from the first moment of an experience of trauma, adversity and stress the child’s (social and emotional) system is awaiting a response; when children are expressing themselves (often through their behaviour) they reveal what relational response their system is awaiting.

Our educators and Nurture practitioners respond to these relational needs and meet children’s social and emotional development where it is at. Often beginning with co-regulating through patterned, repetitive and sensory activities. Kinetic sand, walking, climbing, weighted plush toys, drumming, colouring, mindfulness, Interoception activities and body socks all assist to reorganise neurobiology, developing the ability within children to self-regulate when their stress response system is activated. Following the neuro-developmental sequence we work with children to heal.

Emeritus Professor, Judy Atkinson proposed in her keynote (Culturally informed trauma integrated educational practices for all our children) that schools should be therapeutic environments for children and that whole of communities need to work together to protect children from harm. She went on to explain that cultural competency is learning to work on the ground with people, within the community, in a safe way. Again echoing that this work is relational.

In the absence of sufficient agencies and service providers we do this work ourselves and in partnership with the few agencies and individuals who are willing to work on the ground, with people in our community. We created The Hub, a community space, for families to engage with supports (Art Therapy, Women’s Wellbeing, playgroups, coffee and chat, counselling). We facilitate Circle of Security Parenting courses so as to develop a shared understanding about the need for young children to develop positive attachments with primary caregivers and the importance of this within healthy child development.

Over two days in Brisbane we listened to a range of academics, researchers, educators, and allied health professionals working in schools, discuss a variety of programs and services for children affected by trauma. Many of these were metro-centric. Whilst the vast majority were based in trauma informed practice, outside of formal assessments provided by a Paediatrician or Psychologist there were little diagnostic tools used to identify children’s needs and identify strategies, programs and target support.

When we have children in country South Australian who are waiting in excess of two years for assessments we were not content to wait for interventions to come to us nor were we content to take stabs in the dark. The power of our approach is that the Boxall Profile provides both a developmental and diagnostic profile and can be completed by educators without the need to complete a referral or be placed on a lengthy waiting list.

The Boxall Profile increases the specificity of the strategies used within the Nurture Room and the mainstream classroom; supporting educators to match appropriate activities to the child’s developmental needs. This is the key to the impact of our interventions for children who present with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties. Whole School Agreements regarding trauma informed practice strengthen the targeted support provided to engage and heal children impacted by trauma whilst keeping them connected within a mainstream educational environment.

We increase the number of relationships surrounding our most vulnerable children, providing healthy attachments and a multitude of relational opportunities to support children to organise their feelings and function. We take children back to the point of development where they missed key milestones and begin this work 1:1. It is intensive but the investment pays off because once the child has been supported through their emotional development they require far less intensive ongoing support. Each child’s One Plan is developed using their unique profile and relevant strategies are identified, these may be delivered within the Nurture Group or 1:1 alongside classroom based strategies to support developmental progress so that children can learn to self regulate, relate, communicate and think.

We need to change the conditions ourselves and provide our children with the fundamental developmental experiences required to support social, emotional, behavioural and cognitive functions. We can provide therapeutic environments that support children to heal from the trauma of adverse experiences associated with inconsistent care, chaotic lives, violence and neglect.

No child has been negatively impacted by trauma aware practices.

Grounded in Truth

Provocation: children learn teachers; if every child has an educator who nurtures and respects them each child will know they are a powerful learner with the resources to overcome adversity.

The theme for 2019 Reconciliation Week is Grounded in Truth: Walk Together with Courage. Reconciliation is essentially about relationships, relationships between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and non-aboriginal Australians. Relationships woven together by the narrative of our colonial history and strengthened through a shared understanding.

June 3rd marks the end of National Reconciliation Week, the anniversary of the Mabo decision and the legal recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the traditional owners and custodians of lands. We acknowledge the first Nations People  – the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples – and pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging.Our school stands in Boandik Country, servicing the present families of Berrin (Mount Gambier).

From Dreamtime to Colonisation Berrin was inhabited by the Boandik people. This country encompasses the areas from Rivoli Bay to the mouth of the Glenelg River. The land is green and fertile, the First Nations people lived off the land, the bounty that each season had to offer and they abided the laws passed down by the ancestors.

The name Boandik is derived from Bung-an-ditj: people of the reeds; inspired by this landscape prior to the colonisation of these lands in the mid-19th Century. The traditional custodians were not aggressive people; they simply had the misfortune of inhabiting what was considered prime pastoral lands, highly desirable to early colonists who quickly altered the environment. Consequently the land was lost, disease took hold and those who posed a threat to livestock were killed. Many traditional Boandik lost their lives, some were massacred and others poisoned – the last of the traditional custodians died around the turn of the century. Those who survived were considered “civilised”; they adapted, becoming station hands, stockman or domestic servants – resulting in the decline of the Boandik people. The Boandik people lost their language and culture.

Natunda was a Boandik woman from Berrin who was given during a murapina (as was custom) to a man from the Pinejunga tribe. Whilst living in the Aboriginal camp at Penola, Natunda engaged in a relationship with stockman, William Brice, who worked on the Cameron Sheep Station. The Cameron’s appear to have adhered to their lease, providing the Aboriginal people access to the land, and upheld their rights to their language and customs, contrary to many at the time.

Annie Brice, was born around 1849 at the Pinejunga camp in Penola, with her mother moving on during Annie’s early years. We know (through sources at the Mary MacKillop Centre, Penola) that Annie spent her early childhood living between the Aboriginal camp and the station. Annie was bilingual, fluent in both the Boandik language of her mother’s family and her father’s English. At a time when her mother’s people were rapidly declining and finding it increasingly difficult to maintain their traditional way of life, Annie was afforded a number of key relationships.

https://anniebricestory.wordpress.com/

The first of which was that of the Cameron family.  Annie was baptized at about 7 years of age, her sponsor Margaret Cameron indicating that Annie was significant in their lives. Annie was confirmed in 1867.  Documentation in convent diaries, by the Sisters, affectionately refer to Annie as Nancy providing evidence that Annie was involved with the local Catholic nuns. It is likely that Annie’s strong work ethic was fostered by these nuns. Annie was welcomed to undertake schooling by Alexander Cameron’s niece Mary Mackillop who began as governess in 1860. Sister Mary McKillop (Australia’s Saint) nurtured the young Annie teaching her to read and write; a skill that would place her in good stead in years to come.

Photo: Mary MacKilliop’s first school house in a stable (Flinders University).

Annie held down a number of jobs as a domestic servant and moved to Gambiertown where she worked with Christina Smith who opened up her home for boarding and ran the School for Aborigines. Christina Smith was a pioneer for reconciliation, at a time when the Aboriginal population was rapidly diminishing. Christina like the Cameron’s allowed the local Aboriginal people to speak their language and keep their culture whilst educating them and providing board. She was an advocate and a protector. Annie Brice was one of the many young Boandik people supported by Ms Smith.

Photo: Christina Smith’s school. (Mount Gambier Library/Less Hill collection)

Annie lived a hard life by today’s standards; as she entered adulthood she forged her own path. Armed with her religion, a solid work ethic, the ability to read and right and her sleeping swag Annie overcame hardship and adversity. Growing up between two worlds Annie developed the resilience and resources to endure life as an Aboriginal woman and a single mother. In the face of prejudice, mistreatment, abuse, injustice, grief, poverty and overwhelming odds she survived. 170 years on her story grounds us in truth and we walk with courage together.

As educators relationships underpin the work we do; we have the capacity like those that shaped Annie’s childhood to make all the difference to a child’s future trajectory. And like Annie our students will be powerful learners capable of navigating whatever life throws at them.

Annie’s Mob – A Summary

Annie maintained a contact with her father throughout her life. She had thirteen children and was married twice. Annie’s first son, Joseph, was fathered by the Penola gaol keeper who likely took advantage of Annie when she was 18 – as she was frequently locked in the cells at Penola. Joseph was placed in the Destitute Asylum and later adopted out. Her next son Walter is believed to have been fathered by a barman with whom Annie worked at the Royal Oak Hotel. When Annie petitioned for maintenance Thomas Burt convinced the courts that he was not the father of Annie’s son. Two year’s later Annie gave birth the Mary Jane (father not documented). The Border Watch (Mount Gambier SA, 12 February, 1876) reported Annie as a “reputed prostitute”. She was charged with ”deserting” her children and ordered that the children be sent to the Industrial School. Annie was successful in gaining a second chance. Another child Minnie was born before Annie married her first husband. Emile Jacquelin fathered Lucy, Annie and Emil. After his death “Nancy Jacquelin, of Mount Gambier, widow, was charged with having neglected to send her children William and Mary Brice to school for 35 days during last quarter. She said the reason she did not send them, was that their earnings was the only support she had” (Border Watch, Mount Gambier, June 28 1882). The Border Watch reported (Education Report 1881, Mount Gambier, June 28 1882) “In some families it is not a question of willingness to send their children to school, but of how they are to exist if they do so. Daily bread is a more paramount consideration than education, and the cases … of Annie Jacquelin, and several others show that we have among us those that are not in a position to educate their children if they are not helped from outside”. Annie had two more illegitimate children, Elizabeth who died within a year of being born and Agnes, before marrying a second time. Her second husband, George David Holmes met Annie in 1887 and fathered Jack, Ethel, Ada and George David.  He brought up their family including Walter, Mary Jane, the Jacquelin children, Agnes and later Annie’s grand-daughter by Walter, Sadie Brice.

(Jaquelin-Furr, M (2017) Annie’s Mob: the story of the Brice/Holmes/Jacqulin Families)

Supporting Transitions

Provocation: when we invest in relationships we must also invest in the transitions, beginnings & endings.

With the beginning of a new term we transition out of the holiday period and back into school life; reconnecting with students whilst re-establishing expectations and routines for learning. The transitions within the school year are an understated affair when compared to the effort that goes into the beginning of a new school year, however, we can not underestimate the importance of all transitions in setting children up for success.

Children learn teachers not subjects. This adage gets bandied around schools, probably because it resonates. The quality of the relationships we develop with our students is the best predictor of the child’s readiness for learning.

Aside from the family home, schools are the most important place for children. We know that children who lack securely attached relationships with primary caregivers do not have a readily available “go to person” when they are in distress and can not manage or organise their feelings independently. For children whose home lives offer inconsistent care and support the most important relationship they have in their lives is with their teacher. School is the space that holds them emotionally. The role educators have is valuable and by extension our schools are the most important community for children with unstable home lives and those who reside in out of home care. Teachers form the heart of the community who raise the child, and apart from parents, teachers have the most important role in children’s social and emotional development.

We invest in the relational aspect of our work in order to create space for learning and development.

Emotions influence engagement and learning. Learning is positively impacted when children feel safe, secure and connected. Conversely children who are disconnected and feel or perceive threat have very little space for learning. Emotional memories can trigger trauma responses. The nervous system responds far quicker than the prefrontal cortex – our bodies react faster than our minds can think. In turn secure children negotiate with words, children without a secure attachment negotiate with behaviour. Transitions often trigger anxiety, even for children who have an experience of feeling safe and secure. Children affected by trauma struggle to have positive expectations and need to be supported to make sense of change. If we work with the thinking brain and within established relationships when preparing children for change we can effectively support transitions and minimise emotional responses that derail learning.

One of the Nurture Principles that underpins our work is:

The importance of transition in children’s lives is understood.

Our educators plan for children’s transitions with the understanding that transition is not an event or an activity but a process. We invest in beginnings, endings and the steps in between.

Our school provides a therapeutic spaces giving consideration to:

• planning for and implementing supported transitions at the beginning and end of the school day, to and from breaks, room and teacher changes. This includes time for handover between the responsible adults (educators, parents/caregivers) and support for social interactions with peers.
• providing predictability across a day and within the week through established and practiced routines supported by visuals and developed rituals.
• preparing children for changes to the regular routine through conversation, take up time and agreed protocols.
• making use of transition toys between spaces to provide familiarity, comfort and meet sensory needs.
• maintaining timely, transparent communication and information sharing practices across all members that form the team around the child. Focussed on collaboratively meeting the child’s needs.
• developing individual transition plans with the child to support beginnings and endings.
• designing endings that actively involve children in planning for their future and supporting children to manage their feelings including saying goodbye when moving on.
• understanding that for some children chaos is familiar, success is unknown and sabotage is a tool to maintain the status quo. We support children to be able to tolerate the discomfort of new experiences rather than making it all go away.

All Behaviour is Communication

PROVOCATION: if educators respond in a developmentally appropriate manner to verbal and non-verbal communication children will know that they are understood without judgement.

As educators we draw on a repertoire of skills to meet children’s developmental and learning needs.

Children who are faced with a curriculum that they do not have the necessary skills to understand often communicate their feelings of frustration and inadequacy through a variety of acting out behaviours.

Drawing on our Nurture Principles we understand that all behaviour is communication.

The starting point of a vulnerable child’s formal reading instruction is lower than their more advantaged counterparts; and unfortunately poor literacy capabilities often correlate with poor life outcomes including health and wellbeing.

Put simply reading is the ability to decode text and comprehend language.

The simplest view of the relation between decoding and reading which anyone has ever seriously entertained is this: Reading equals the product of decoding and comprehension, or R = D x C… We trust it is clear that by comprehension we mean, not reading comprehension, but rather linguistic comprehension

Gough, P. B. and Tunmer W. E (1987)

When one or both of these capabilities is underdeveloped then the child presents with reading difficulties or a reading disability. Children’s reading capabilities form the basis of academic achievement, lifelong success and their social and emotional wellbeing. Within the early years of school, children are learning to read. As they begin to master this skill set they shift into reading to learn and are positioned to access the curriculum.

When supporting vulnerable children we understand that:

• many are starting from behind;
• language and communication are necessary to access the curriculum;
• language skills and self-regulation inform academic achievement;
• behaviour is a form of communication.

Both developmental language disorders and developmental trauma affect children’s literacy learning.

The idea that “behaviour is a form of communication” is simply a lens through which behaviour can be (re)conceptualised. It is a particularly important lens for young people with developmental language disorders, many of whom will not have a diagnosis as such, but will… simply appear to be “tuned out”, uncooperative, disinterested, and/or too easily-distracted by what’s going on around them. Young people with developmental language disorders will also be poor at “reading the play” in social situations, with their difficulty following social banter sometimes resulting in misunderstandings and social exclusion. Social exclusion, in turn, is painful for humans, and we sometimes behave in dysfunctional ways to overcome it.  

The other group for whom the notion of behaviour as a form of communication is helpful is children who have experienced trauma in their early lives. Maltreatment (abuse and/or neglect of various forms) provides children with an over-representation of dysfunctional interpersonal behaviour experiences and an under-representation of experiences in which adults are caring, trustworthy, helpful, and supportive. This can create conditions of hyper-vigilance to threat and expectations that adults are unreliable and unsafe to be around. Sadly, young people in the child protection system (meaning that a notification has been substantiated and their home environment lacks the basics with respect to safety and care) are 12 times more likely than others in the community to be engaged with the youth justice system. This is not the fault of affected children, but it will play out very vividly in their everyday classroom behaviour. It’s worth remembering too, that young people in the child protection and youth justice systems sit at the extreme end of a dimension of risk and vulnerability. There are many more whose language, behaviour and emotional self-regulation profiles are compromised, but not sufficiently to reach threshold for notifications and/or apprehension by police.

(Snow P. 2019)

Alongside literature rich environments and learning opportunities that are intentionally designed to develop children’s oral language, phonemic awareness and vocabulary in the first years of school, our educators deliver a synthetic phonics program. This provides systematic and explicit phonics instruction to teach children the code breaking skills required to become literate learners. Decoding supports meaning making within the reading process and explicit instruction has its place.

We also appreciate the importance of working memory in the learning process. Children’s brains can only hold onto approximately 4 chunks of new information at any one time.

If working memory is overloaded, there is a greater risk that the content being taught will not be understood by the learner, will be misinterpreted or confused, will not be effectively encoded in long-term memory, and that learning will be slowed down.

(Martin 2016 p.8)

CESE 2018

As educators we design ways that support children to consolidate new information into long-term memory. For our learners who have experienced complex trauma their working memory may be compromised. This creates barriers to remembering instructions and comprehending, resulting in ongoing learning difficulties.

Our challenge is to remove the barriers to learning by listening to the child and selecting instructional strategies that will support them in their learning.

Starting with the Child

PROVOCATION: When “children are active protagonists” in their own learning and development: the learning processes form the focus rather than the product; children experience learning in a range of contexts; and the starting point is always with the child.

Discovery Learning has been a feature of our Early Years learning program since 2015. Over the past four years we have reflected upon this playful approach to learning and adjusted our practices in response to our research of children’s learning. In the latter two years we began to explore Discovery Learning within our middle and upper primary learning communities to foster children’s active participation in the learning process.

Children’s dispositions to learning and their perceptions of how learning happens proved to be more rigid in the primary years. This was impart due to the pedagogies that had historically dominated children’s learning experiences and educators’ task design.

In order to leverage the pedagogical shift that we had achieved R-2 we needed to establish agreed pedagogical approaches, using evidence based frameworks, whole school. These supported us to reflect upon and strengthen our practice as educators. Our Inquiry Cycle provided a framework for Discovery Learning and the Involvement Scale (Respect Reflect Relate) a measurement tool to reflect on our active learning environments.

It was important that as educators we supported children’s explorations by offering developmentally appropriate experiences, a gradual release of responsibility and modelling curiosity and risk taking. One of the biggest challenges was the older child’s perception that this unstructured learning time was “free time” and therefore available to be used as a social/relaxation period rather than time for exploration and learning.

Through Discovery Learning educators intentionally plan for children’s active exploration. We design opportunities for investigation to orientate children in their thinking and learning.

In reflecting upon our practices we observe that Discovery Learning is successful when:

• educators provide provocations to prompt and stretch children’s learning.
• resources and materials are open ended
• educators engage with children
• learning opportunities foreshadow or consolidate explicit teaching
• learning opportunities stretch children in their thinking.

Provocations are supported by clear learning intentions. Learning experiences are designed to engage children within the General Capabilities of our curriculum.

Oral language, problem solving, motor skills, social and emotional skills all feature within the range of experiences offered to children. Tinker tables, book making, dramatic play, story tables, reading nooks, construction zones and maker’s space provide invitations for learning. As we become more intentional we plan our Discovery Learning based on children’s interest and then design opportunities to stretch our learners.

Upon beginning this school year our educators focussed on strengthening the intentionality of Discovery Learning. In discussions we identified that it is disheartening when a provocation into which we have invested a great deal of planning time and effort garners little interest from the children. Our challenge is to nudge children toward exploration whilst at the same time honouring their learning process.

This nudging occurs best when the educator dedicates their time to engaging with the children and prompting their thinking through questioning such as “I wonder…”, “Do you think…”, “How could…”, “What if…” and “What would you like to find out tomorrow?”.

Self Care

Provocation: if we prioritise self care as educators we nurture ourselves – thereby nurturing our learners.

Self care is a necessity in our work.

Vicarious Trauma is a reality for many educators. Our knowledge and beliefs about mental health allow us to acknowledge, recognise, manage and prevent mental illness in ourselves.

Throughout a difficult 12 month period our team of educators managed a series of complex situations involving children and families – circumstances which many an educator will go an entire career never encountering. This involved not one but multiple incidents that required a repertoire of skill and tested the resolve of some of the most experienced educators within my team.

As professionals we stay calm within the midst of emotional storms – our own and others. When we are well rested and filled with positivity we weather the storm well. At other times we absorb the negative energy as we take control of our emotions and own fight and flight responses in order to maintain a calm exterior.

When the mind thwarts the flow of emotions because they are too overwhelming or too conflicting, it puts stress on the mind and the body, creating psychological distress and symptoms. Emotional stress, like that from blocked emotions, has not only been linked to mental ills, but also to physical problems like heart disease, intestinal problems, headaches, insomnia and autoimmune disorders.

Most people are ruled by their emotions without any awareness that this is happening. But once you realize the power of emotions, simply acknowledging your own can help greatly.

2018, Hilary Jacobs Handel.

Most people are ruled by their emotions without any awareness that this is happening. But once you realize the impact of our emotions, acknowledging their existence can greatly improve your wellbeing.

The cumulative nature of our work takes it’s toll. We recharge during the holiday period, revitalising ourselves before embarking upon another term or school year.

Our work is at times difficult and challenging. At other times it depletes us of our reserves. As educators we approach this work with expertise and empathy all along maintaining a relentless focus on the learning.

It is therefore necessary to prioritise our mental, physical and emotional wellbeing. There are a myriad of strategies including exercise, mindfulness and placing clear boundaries between work and home.

Our work is steeped in emotion – ideally this would all be positive and well managed. However there are substantially more negative affects than positive ones. The challenge is to effectively manage the negative affects so that they don’t weigh us down.

A playful approach to learning can also extend to our own wellbeing and self care. Playfulness can release positive hormones – endorphins, serotonin and dopamine – which influence our mood. Being too serious can negatively impact our mental health and wellbeing. Whilst our work is serious we can absolutely have fun doing it.

The challenges of our working lives should not have a detrimental effect nor diminish our quality of life.

In order to nourish our wellbeing we need to take time out to recharge. During the summer break I prioritised family time, enjoying everything that summer brings.

This morning my four year old and I delighted in our morning tea (coffee and hot chocolate) in the shade of our gum trees before I returned for my first day at work. I am rejuvenated and ready for the year that comes and this is because I stepped away entirely. I trust my colleagues achieved the same during their break.

The challenge is to maintain this equilibrium as we immerse ourselves in our work and the school year unfolds. By prioritising self care we create space to design and facilitate rich learning experiences for our children.

The Learning Community

Provocation: The Learning Community – a belief that there is an inclusive and ethical process that means that every single child can be in a place that allows them to encounter and come in to their own way of being.

Steve Biddulph’s writing often resonates with the ideologies of our educational project. In his article The making of men: It’s all about belonging he poses the question “Who is recruiting boys into responsible, enlivened, joyful, nurturing manhood?”. He goes on to say

Terrorists, crime gangs, random killers, delinquent kids, violent partners, and dare I say it, dismal male political leaders, are all on a continuum. All lost boys… Communities have to embrace young male energy, give it a purpose, and steer it carefully and specifically, with friendship, direction and warmth, towards real contributing manhood. Or the village, and planet, will burn.

Whether it be our boys or girls we are capable of designing learning communities that engage adults from the wider community in being with and nurturing our children. By providing relationships in various forms we connect children through a sense of belonging that anchors them within a wider community.

The pioneering American psychiatrist, Dr. Karl Menninger, observes that today’s children are desperately pursuing “artificial belongings” because this need is not being fulfilled by families, schools, and neighborhoods. For many troubled children, belonging will only be found in relationships with adults who recognize, in the words of Menninger, that “living with and loving other human beings who return that love is the most strengthening and salubrious emotional experience in the world.”

Larry K. Brendtro, Martin Brokenleg & Steve Van Bockern

Creating a network of adults who nurture children creates emotionally healthy children. Emotionally healthy children are powerful learners. We create these networks of adults through volunteer programs where community members contribute by mentoring and supporting our children. Our volunteers work alongside staff within the relational aspect of our project because it takes a village and we exist in community.

Within our Learning Assistance Program children are provided with a consistent relationship, time with an adult mentor who reflects to the child that they are worthy through their unconditional positive regard for that child. Our LAP volunteers provide complimentary support for the practice of academic, social and emotional skills. They show an interest, listen, offer advice and provide a relational point of reference outside of the traditional parent/child, teacher/student.

Within a Learning Community education is everyone’s responsibility, all adults are teachers and each contributes to connecting and growing the child.

Stand Up, Speak Out

Provocation: if educators model and teach respectful relationships we provide children with the skills and ability to relate without violence.

As a White Ribbon School we develop a culture of respect and equality through curriculum, policies and strengthened family and community partnerships.

In 2015 we made a commitment to building a safer, more respectful and productive school community. We began by:

• establishing a school Behaviour Code – Learning, Respectful Relationships and Safety.
• building a culture of respectful relationships and promoting non-violence.
• providing children the opportunity to learn and experience respectful relationships.
• embedding models of respectful relationships in school culture and learning activities.
• influencing sustainable cultural change in the wider school community to prevent the perpetration of violence.

We developed a shared understanding that every child’s right to learn also includes the right to learn respectful relationships. Educators therefore acknowledge that they have the responsibility to explicitly teach, model and reinforce these skills and abilities.

Consideration is given to the high levels of domestic violence that exists and is perpetrated every day in our community. We recognise that this impacts our children and families. We are sensitive with respect to the messages regarding family violence we communicate to children through our aWhite Ribbon and Child Protection Curriculum.

Children want to talk about what respectful relationships look and feel like. They are interested in gauging the parameters of what is and isn’t acceptable within a relationship. They are capable of developing positive behaviours, social skills and relationships. 

Today we celebrated White Ribbon Day with a community breakfast. One of our children spoke as a White Ribbon advocate and we pledged the oath to stand up, speak out and act to prevent violence.

This work is not isolated to a White Ribbon event once a year. Celebrating White Ribbon simply starts a conversation. The real work is much more complex and must be enacted in an ongoing manner; through our curriculum, policies and school culture.

Nature Play

Provocation: if we give time for children to explore, play and learn outdoors we nurture their social and emotional capabilities, cognitive development, curiosity and resilience – developing powerful learners.

Learning occurs in a range of contexts.

The reciprocal process of learning occurs through relationship with each other and with the environment.

Needing Trees: The Nature of Happiness 2015

• Spending time in nature has the ability to influence a person’s happiness because it has direct effects on the brain and hormone secretion.

• Viewing nature activates areas of the brain linked with the dopamine reward system, triggering happiness- induced recall and feelings of wellness, whereas viewing urban scenes activates areas of the brain associated with anxiety, fear and unpleasantness.

• Viewing natural environments produces more alpha wave activity compared to viewing urban environments – brain activity that has been shown to be greater in creative individuals.

• Nature reduces the body’s response to stress, with cortical secretion and irregularity decreasing with the more green space a person is exposed to.

• The biophilia hypothesis states that because of our origins we are innately connected to nature, with activities that enhance our engagement with the natural world receiving neurological and biochemical positive feedback.

• Exposing children to environments that reduce stress and increase wellbeing has long-term effects on the structure of the brain and happiness later in life.

We understand that active learning environments enable greater opportunities for children to engage in learning.

Playful contexts provide opportunities for students to develop their social competence and creative and critical thinking.

Our beliefs about the importance of play in children’s development underpin shared definitions of play and playful learning which are embedded within whole site teaching and learning agreements. These guide a consistent approach to high quality practice.

The ongoing challenge is for educators to provide an appropriate balance between proactive planning for children’s play and respecting children’s autonomy to play without interference.

We encourage staff to review and challenge current practices. If we believe children are powerful and rich in potential, then we provide opportunities for structured and unstructured play within the daily program.

Free play is an unstructured child-initiated activity where the focus is on emotional and social relevance… Playing may take place indoors or outdoors, and it is not specifically related to the curriculum.”

Hyvonen, P. T. 2011

Nature Play involving sticks, loose parts, climbing trees, real tools and bare feet provide a plethora of developmental benefits. Unstructured play outdoors, whatever the weather, provides authentic learning experiences that encourage:

• body awareness

• fine and gross motor skills
• risk taking
• creativity
• problem solving
• independence
• social skills
• communication
• resilience
• self-confidence.

Paediatric occupational therapist Angela Hanscom writes in her article The Unsafe Child: Less Outdoor Play is Causing More Harm than Good:

…sometimes too much protection can cause more harm than good. We are keeping them from attaining the very sensory input they need in order to grow into resilient and able-bodied people. They need to climb, jump, run through the woods, pick up sticks, jump in mud puddles, and fall and get hurt on occasion. These are all natural and necessary experiences that will help develop a healthy sensory system–foundational to learning and accomplishing many of life’s goals.

Learning in nature provides the opportunity to influence positive wellbeing. Natural environments reduce stress, increase happiness and can have positive long term effects upon the way the brain is structured influencing the body’s response to stress.

Educators intentionally build nature play opportunities into our Nurture Groups. Recently our children were taken on what was intended as a cubby building excursion to the Leg of Mutton Lake. What occurred was much more.

We observed a child (whose significant mental heath issues have inhibited school attendance for more than two years) smiling, laughing, playing and connecting with others. We observed another (whose fundamental need for control frequently results in conflict and escalating aggression) look to others for guidance and accept support when bush walking and exploring the natural landscape.

Children collected loose parts, delighted in the early spring flowers, quietly observed a wallaby and climbed the crater edges of the remnants of the volcano. They hypothesised , inquired, explored. Older children supported younger children to step outside their comfort zones. Children took risks and set their own limits, stretching themselves as they developed confidence.

They became lost in the bush and discovered the wonder of their childhood.

These experiences are not isolated to a once off excursion, educators weave these experiences back in to the Nurture Room. In the literacy, numeracy, social, emotional and cognitive development that forms the learning program.

I wonder what they will discover when next we venture into the forest.

Relational Learning

Provocation: Cultivate ways to build relational learning, and give time to be with children and explore the learning together.

One of our Nurture graduates recently demonstrated how far he has progressed since commencing his Nurture journey. Throughout the last few weeks we have observed him successfully navigate a series of complex social and emotional situations by regulating his emotional state, drawing upon his established networks of support, communicating effectively and using the repertoire of strategies we have been practising with him throughout the past four years.

Transferring to our school after being placed in care, Ethan (as we will refer to him) was and is affected by complex childhood trauma.

Childhood trauma stems from any combination of adverse experiences:

• abuse (physical, emotional, sexual);
• neglect (physical and emotional);
• exposure to alcohol or substance misuse;
• living with a family member who’s depressed or has an unmanaged or undiagnosed mental illness;
• divorce or separation;
• having a family member who’s incarcerated;
• witnessing domestic violence or a sibling being abused;
• homelessness;
• living in a war zone;
• immigration;
• involvement with the criminal justice system;
• racism;
• involvement with the child protection system.

Ethan’s complex trauma occurred due to the cumulative effect of his early childhood experiences; his placement situation exacerbated his trauma creating toxic stress which was damaging his developing brain.

Toxic stress in the schooling environment presents as difficulty following instructions. Consequently Ethan was perceived as being “naughty”. However this was not deliberate defiance it was rather his brain shutting down.

Developments in Neuroscience have provided us with the understanding of the neuroplasticity of children’s brains and the brain’s ability to heal. As educators we have the ability to nurture children’s growth through the use of trauma informed practices.

Our relationships, as educators, with our most complex children are a part of the narrative of who they become.

These are not naughty children. They are children who have learned some sophisticated ways of being that keep them safe.

Ethan struggled with parentified behaviours, disorganised attachment, poor emotional regulation and at the age of 9 was unable to read. Due to his disrupted schooling and the abuse he experienced Ethan did not have a template for how to manage himself within the school setting nor did he trust the adults within this environment. School was a stressor in itself creating in Ethan a constant state of anxiety and hyper vigilance. Consequently he spent the vast majority of his life feeling stressed and overwhelmed.

Neurochemicals that are released in an anxious child are designed to trigger fight or flight responses, the natural end to the fight or flight response is intense physical exertion either by escaping the situation or fighting for one’s life. This pent up energy meant that Ethan regularly left his learning space or “went off”. In one school term Ethan’s fight and flight responses caused over $5000 damage to school property. And whilst his amygdala directed traffic his cortex was in hiatus.

The key to supporting children who have experienced abuse related trauma is to create a relational environment in which their experiences directly address the delays and difficulties that have resulted from the trauma. In general, these environments aim to: foster a sense of predictability in children’s routines; connect children to relationships with peers and adults who are supportive and consistent; keep children calm; build children’s memory and cognitive functions as a way of them understanding their experiences of abuse and their effects; contain and influence children’s behaviour; support children to shape their internal emotional reactions associated with fear, anger, shame and disconnection.

We developed a team around the child. A team who listened, understood and acknowledged his feelings. We wrapped around him and at times quite literally. There were days I felt the pounding of his heart against the palm of my hand whilst co-regulating with a child whose body was firing adrenaline at a pace that seemed almost too intense to be contained.

In the absence of therapeutic services we created a therapeutic environment within our school.

We gave our time to being and exploring the learning together. We established the relational concept of trust through repeated experiences, continuity and a safe base from which he could gain the support he needed. We believed he was capable and we communicated this every day.

And over time he began to connect.

And then he began to read.

And now he can navigate his social and emotional world independently by selecting from a range of strategies… well most of the time.

Traumatised children have received messages about relationships with adults that reflect the agenda of those who have abused them. These messages undermine the confidence that traumatised children have in all adults. Traumatised children need repeated opportunities of positive exchanges with adults to change the lens they carry about how relationships are experienced.

Australian Childhood Foundation, 2006. Responding to children who have experienced abuse related trauma – Ideas for school based treatment.

If we understand that all behaviour is communication… we listen. If we believe children are capable, competent and rich in potential… we start from where the child is at and include the child in their learning processes. If we believe children are the subject of rights… we treat children with respect and dignity and we do not blame or shame them. If we believe there are inclusive and ethical processes that mean that every single child can be in a place that allows them to encounter and come in to their own way of being… we create learning communities for every child.

Our most valuable resources to support children’s learning are the educators in our schools. When we give time to exploring the learning together with the children – the social, emotional and intellectual – then we support them to grow.