Page 88 - SEN113 SEN Magazine July-August 2021-V3

88 For individualised care and education scenarios the Common Third is a great tool, but in a busy classroom scenario it has an obvious set of drawbacks - but the idea of drawing on a pupil’s interests and strengths has great appeal to many teachers and social care staff. What is important is that this model, which as stated before is the bedrock of social pedagogical interaction in Europe, must be seen in the context of an understanding of the child or young person’s emotional safety. Young people who are in the looked after care system have often been exposed to neglect, violence, abuse, and trauma. An understanding and appreciation of the needs of such young people is vital therefore alongside the possible impact that it may have on the child’s development and also on the ability to learn. It is also understood that this set of disadvantages will be amplified by a young person’s experiences in school, from bullying and a poor sense of self-esteem and possibly poor levels of emotional regulation. The effects of trauma We know for sure that trauma can impact many aspects of a child’s life, and it is important to understand this in detail. According to a report by Alexandra Cook, Joseph Spinazzola, and Julian Ford in 2005, entitled Complex Trauma in Children and Adolescents, they listed a number of effects that result from even short-term exposure to trauma. “Exposure to traumatic experiences has the potential to alter children’s brains, which may cause longer-term effects in areas such as: “Trauma can impact many aspects of a child’s life” • Attachment: Trouble with relationships, boundaries, empathy, and social isolation. • Physical health: Impaired sensorimotor development, coordination problems, increased medical problems, and somatic symptoms. • Emotional regulation: Difficulty identifying or labelling feelings and communicating needs. • Dissociation: Altered states of consciousness, amnesia, impaired memory. • Cognitive ability: Problems with focus, learning, processing new information, language development, planning and orientation to time and space. • Self-concept: Lack of consistent sense of self, body image issues, low self-esteem, shame, and guilt. • Behavioural control: Difficulty controlling impulses, oppositional behaviour, aggression, disrupted sleep and eating patterns, trauma re-enactment.” All of this can prevent young people from achieving the best outcomes in education and in a great many other aspects in their lives. So, what can be done? There are obviously no simplistic answers but building the best relationships at school and elsewhere are very important. Otherwise, we will continue to hear stories like the one I heard the other day from a looked after child. “My form teacher sees me as an individual with emotional needs and gives me time to process them. Another teacher who is also the deputy head treats me like a problem and like a bomb waiting to go off. A careless word from her will undo hours of work by my form tutor.” Understanding the impact of trauma It is important that all professionals working with young people understand the impact of trauma and the power of good relationships, but the government needs to as well. The statistics around education are not the only barometer we need to look at. Care leavers make up to 27% of the adult prison population at any one time despite less than 1% of under 18s entering local authority care each year according to Harker, R. & Heath, S. (2014) Children in Care in England: Statistics. We live in a country where a care leaver is more likely to end up in prison than go to university and that must require a bold response from all levels of government and all the individuals working with the looked after population of the UK. More understanding of trauma-informed practice and looking at the best practice of other countries is a vital first start. ■ Therapy SEN113 senmagazine.co.uk Looked after children