Why all early childhood educators need to know trauma informed care

Early childhood education plays a profound role in shaping young children’s futures, but how equipped is the sector in supporting young children with trauma?

While formal processes exist for more severe cases, which warrant the involvement of child protection, Kathy Warwick says subtler, albeit damaging, examples can go unnoticed.

She says it’s important that early childhood educators can recognise and support those who have been exposed to trauma, given the pivotal role they play in a child’s development.

“Preschool and kindergarten is often the first-place children build relationships with those outside the family, so it is the first opportunity to make a real difference to children experiencing trauma.

“It’s also a stage of life that plays a central role in the developmental journey, so it’s important to identify those who need extra support,” she said ahead of the Children & Young People at Risk Summit.

Reframing challenging behaviour

A difficulty in meeting the needs for children with trauma is the behavioural challenges they sometimes present with.

“Children with traumatic backgrounds can become aggressive or dysregulated, and this is often mistaken for and treated as naughtiness.

“In actual fact, this behaviour is trying to tell us something. And since young children can rarely articulate what is going on, we need to explore what that is,” Ms Warwick said.

As one example, a young boy who became verbally aggressive towards educators during ‘mat time’ was observed by trauma consultants.

They noticed that, when given the choice, the boy preferred to play facing the room, with his back against a wall – something that was not possible during mat time.

Further probing revealed that the young boy had been exposed to violence in the home, and had witnessed his father injuring his mother.

“Facing the room, without any children behind him was his way of feeling safer – and his aggression was his way of communicating that,” Ms Warwick said.

“Instead of punishing the aggression, small tweaks made him feel more comfortable. He now does mat time with has back against the wall, and isn’t placed in the middle of a crowd of children. He needs time to build his sense of safety with the educators and in the room.”

Ms Warwick says this approach also improves working conditions for educators.

“Handling aggression and dysregulation can overwhelm educators, who are already under strain with challenges to staffing retention. With the right supports, they need not struggle so much with challenging behaviours.”

What to look out for

Ms Warwick says trauma in early childhood is often relationship based, and usually takes one of five forms, according to the Australian Childhood Maltreatment Study.

“There is physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, neglect, and exposure to domestic violence.”

These experiences can manifest behaviourally in a variety of ways, with each case being different. However, among the trauma sub-types, there are a few common red flags.

“Children who are really withdrawn, or who become aggressive in specific situations may warrant further attention.

“Another thing to watch out for is children who become distressed but who don’t seek any support. They might sit there sobbing in the middle of the room without approaching an educator to make them feel better. This can sometimes mean they are not having their emotional needs met at home.”

Conversely, Ms Warwick and team also observed a young boy who repeatedly sought comfort for injuries – real or fabricated.

“We discovered that the boy had spent a lot of time in hospital and seeking the emotional support he had received there, as a coping mechanism. This would cause him to feign or exaggerate injury as a way of reliving that support,” she said.

Non-pathological approach

While a trauma informed care lens can help identify these behaviours, Ms Warwick emphasises that not all problematic behaviours are pathologised.

“We don’t assume that any child who gets angry must be living with trauma. Instead we take the view that being curious about and learning to understand behaviours can help us better meet the needs of any child – particularly those with trauma.”

To help childhood educators do this, Ms Warwick and colleagues deliver the TraCS (TraCS – Trauma Consultancy Service) program that provides a trauma informed approach to the work of educators in the preschool environment.

This program was established in response to the huge influx of referrals from kindergarten teachers, who were managing complex behaviours and vulnerabilities that didn’t meet the threshold for child protection, but were still concerning.

“These educators were really overwhelmed by what they were managing – really, dysregulated, aggressive or withdrawn children.

“We knew there was a body of knowledge around trauma can could help, and we wanted to blend that with their pedagogical expertise to help fill a gap in the system.”

Further insight

Sharing more about this initiative, Kathy Warwick will present at the upcoming Children & Young People at Risk Summit, on 19-20 November at the Rendezvous Melbourne.

The inaugural event is themed ‘engaging the disengaged’ and will feature insights from Emma Gierschick OAM, Woman of the Year 2019, Nominee Victorian Woman of Honour 2019 & 2020; Natalie Lewis, Commissioner, Queensland Family & Child Commission; and Dr Cher McGillivray
Assistant Professor, Clinical Psychologist, Bond University, Director, Seed of Hope Psychology.

Learn more and register your tickets here.

About Kathy Warwick

Kathy Warwick is a qualified Social Worker and Head of Trauma Consulting (TraCS) at the Alannah and Madeline Foundation. She has worked with vulnerable children and families in the statutory and non-government sectors more than thirty years.

This includes eighteen years in Child Protection in Australia and the UK, and a role at the Early Childhood Parenting Centre. Here, she delivered community and family services’ programs to support highly vulnerable and ‘at risk’ infants, children and their families.

Having spent her entire career in the trauma-space, Kathy understands its impact on development and attachment, and values the role of TraCS in helping young children reach their potential.

She is also passionate about supporting professionals who work with vulnerable children, and helping them do their “wonderful work”.