EPISODE NOTES

In this episode, Claire talks with Noureen Lakhani, a trainee Educational Psychologist to discuss the impact of trauma on children’s learning.

For over three years, Noureen has explored her interest in child psychology: in particular looking at how children’s brains develop and investigating the barriers which might impact on learning and education. Noureen discusses the effects of trauma on children and young people’s lives and how professionals can better understand these experiences.

 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Trauma: a reaction to an event outside the range of usual human experiences.
  If a person reacts to an event in a way that is unusual to other people, or the individual is very distressed, then they have experienced trauma. It may be just one distressing event that an individual encounters, but the effects of that can be vast and could influence many areas of that person’s life. The traumatic experience might occur in childhood but a person might not see the effects of it until later in life.

• The importance of building relationships with children and young people.
  Invest time to allow children to become more comfortable and confident with engaging in conversations, and repeat these experiences. Over time, children will understand that their teacher cares about them, notices them, is interested in hearing what they have to say, and this will hopefully lead to them feeling safe and secure enough to talk about their experiences.
• Have your say in a national research study.
  Noureen is currently carrying out a research project exploring teachers’ views on working with children who have experienced trauma. Anybody working in a UK state-funded nursery, primary or secondary school can participate. The ten-minute survey can be completed online and the link can be found below or via Noureen’s Twitter page: @noureen_lakhani

BEST MOMENTS

“At the tip of the iceberg you might see someone whose behaviour is confusing or someone who is not progressing at the expected rate of learning. However, when you get underneath the surface of the iceberg, you will see there might be a whole range of unmet needs or gaps in the foundations as a result of the early experiences of trauma.”

“Every behaviour that a child is using is a form of communication to us as the adults, as the teachers; and it’s really our ‘in’ to see if we can find out what they are trying to communicate to us.”

“Be aware of your own thoughts, your own views, your own biases towards trauma, towards systems, your own beliefs, your own privileges, your own responses to things. All of these are incredibly important.”

“It’s so important to know that you cannot pour from an empty cup. As teachers, we need to be reflective and introspective and look after our own needs especially if we’re working with children who have experienced trauma.”

“[Trauma is] a very emotional wound. It comes from a very shocking event, repeated life threats, or frightening experiences that might cause very negative, long-lasting effects. It can start from childhood and it can have such huge impacts on your academic functioning, your emotional relationships and the way you respond to everyday situations.”

“What’s important to realise is that not everyone who experiences adversity or a difficult situation will experience trauma. The reason why something is traumatic is whether you are supported by an attuned or caring other [person] through the adversity and the experiences that you’ve had.”

“What’s important to remember is that traumatic events can lead to difficulties with our education and with our learning. It’s really important that our teachers, our educators and our education professionals have an awareness of trauma so that they can adopt strategies to support children in the classroom.”

“Make time to talk in the classroom. Whether it’s small conversations when walking in the corridors or longer times such as having a dedicated space in the day. Maybe just after registration in the morning or in the afternoon where you can have these emotional conversations and make it really well known to your pupils and to your children that there is a safe and brave environment in the classroom for discussing things that might be worrying.”

“Trauma is not something that’s going to go away overnight. It’s something that so many young people have. It’s such an important part of the government’s work at the moment to really make sure mental health is at the forefront of so much of our work. If we can make sure our teachers are part of the solution then we’ve really done our bit.”

 

VALUABLE RESOURCES

Noureen Lakhani – Twitter: https://twitter.com/noureen_lakhani

Noureen Lakhani – LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/noureenlakhani/

Children’s trauma research: opinio.ucl.ac.uk/s?s=70548

Classroom Secrets Kids: https://kids.classroomsecrets.co.uk

The Teachers’ Podcast: https://www.facebook.com/groups/TheTeachersPodcast/

Classroom Secrets Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ClassroomSecretsLimited/

Classroom Secrets website: https://classroomsecrets.co.uk/

LIFE/work balance campaign: https://classroomsecrets.co.uk/lifeworkbalance-and-wellbeing-in-education-campaign-2019/

 

ABOUT THE HOST

'My mother is a teacher. I will never be a teacher.' - Claire Riley

Claire arrived at the end of her performing arts degree with no firm plans to move into the entertainment industry. A fully funded secondary teaching course seemed like the perfect way to stall for a year on deciding what to do with her life. Turns out, teaching was her thing. 

Three years in a challenging secondary school - check. Two years in primary schools with over 90% EAL children - check. Eight years doing day-to-day supply across 4-18 - check. If there's one thing she learnt, it was how to identity the best ideas from every school in terms of resources and use that knowledge to create something that would work for teachers far and wide.

In 2013, Classroom Secrets was born. Claire had seen other resource sites and wanted to add something to the market that she felt was missing. More choice + More quality = Balance.

Claire is a self-proclaimed personal development junkie and is always looking for ways to learn and improve. It's usually centred around business, her new-found passion.

In 2019, Claire launched The Teachers' Podcast that hits the charts on launch and is listed in the top 200 educational podcasts most weeks.

The Teachers’ Podcast is a series of interviews where Claire meets with a wide range of guests involved in the field of education. These podcasts provide exciting discussions and different perspectives and thoughts on a variety of themes which are both engaging and informative for anyone involved in education.

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