Jun 8, 20212 min read

School Transitions for Traumatized Children

Remember the child in your school class who was the fidgety one? Or the one who always had their hand up but was ignored by the teacher because they made apparently stupid remarks? Or the one that seemed to know exactly what was going on everywhere else but was paying no attention at all to the lesson?

You wouldn’t have known it at the time, but this could have been a sign of a traumatized child experiencing extreme stress.

Making the transition from home to school or from Key Stage 1 to Key Stage 2 can present enormous difficulties for children who have suffered adverse childhood experiences (ACEs).

In this episode, senior teacher and adoptive mother Sami Byrne – who’s also a Therapeutic Lead for the National Association of Therapeutic Parents (NATP) - helps us understand what they are going through.

She gives preparation and coping strategies to prepare children for all the different stages they have to confront during their school lives. These are tried and tested methods that she has used successfully with her own children and which form part of the document she co-authored with Jane Mitchell entitled The School Transitions Pack available with the NATP Member's Area under resource section.

Sami also recommends Rosie Jefferies and Sarah Naish’s book “William Wobbly and the Very Bad Day”.

Other recommended resources include "Harry and the Dinosaurs Go To School" and "Topsy and Tim Start School"

Listen to this Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music or listen/download here.

The Centre of Excellence in Child Trauma is an umbrella organisation combining resources, research and knowledge from cutting edge experts in the sector – Inspire Training Group, National Association of Therapeutic Parents, Sarah Naish – Keynote Speaker and Author, The Haven – Parenting and Wellbeing Centre and Safer Fostering.