National Guidelines for Trauma-Aware Education in Australia

Abstract

The National Guidelines for Trauma-Aware Education in Australia were developed in response to a rapidly growing interest in trauma-aware education across the country and to address the lack of site- and system-level guidance for application of trauma-aware practices in schools and early childhood services. Although research into trauma-aware education was increasing and resources and training and support programs were being developed across Australia, there were no nationally agreed upon guidelines providing consistency to thinking, policy, and practice. Drawing from public health and health promotion models for establishing guidelines for trauma-aware policy and practice, the Guidelines were developed through a thorough process of incorporating research evidence and expert and end-user input. The Guidelines were developed across 2017–2019 and were finalized in 2021 and provide an important first step in a national response to trauma-aware education in Australia. This article will describe the “story” behind the development of the Guidelines. It is hoped that this “story” will help others considering development of systemic resources to inform the establishment and enhancement of trauma-aware policy and practice in schools and early childhood education services.

Transforming trauma-informed understanding into trauma-informed practice: The Reflective Circle Education Model

“…Teachers also need to understand their own unique motivations and emotional reactions which require the opportunity for deep and critical reflection. Recognised in the recent National Guidelines for Trauma-Aware Education (Howard, 2021), schools are required to provide ‘support, supervision and reflective practice to address the personal and professional impact of this work on educators’ (Howard, 2021, p. 5).…”

“…Deep levels of reflection and empathetic connection are required to fully understand another's behaviours (Schore, 2010). Therefore, after initial staff training in trauma-informed education, it is recommended that professional supervision and critical reflection be provided at a school level (Howard, 2021).…”

International Trauma-Informed Practice Principles for Schools (ITIPPS): expert consensus of best-practice principles

“…Although these are not school-specific, they can provide guidance to the education sector about appropriate trauma-informed and responsive policies. In Australia, broad guidelines for how the education sector and schools can become trauma-informed have been developed (Howard, 2021). There are also many comprehensive and useful trauma-informed practice programs available internationally for schools, some at no cost; for example, Compassionate Schools (Hertel et al, 2009) and Harvard Trauma and Learning Policy Initiative (TLPI) (Cole et al, 2005).…”