NCFE urges leaders to prioritise trauma-informed practice

NCFE, the education charity, has urged leaders to make trauma-informed practice an organisation-wide priority rather than leaving it to individual employee.

This comes after research from NHS England found 34.8% of adults had experienced at least one major trauma during their lifetime, equal to an estimated 16.2 million people across England.

Claire Montague, sector manager for social care at NCFE, said: “Trauma-informed practice cannot be something we expect frontline staff to carry on their own. 

“It is a whole-system approach that should influence culture, leadership, policy and frontline practice.

“That starts with leadership and creating a shared understanding of trauma across the workforce.”

Montague added: “Staff need to recognise how trauma can affect behaviour and engagement, while organisations need to consider how their own processes and ways of working can support people rather than unintentionally increase distress.

“Many professionals will routinely support individuals whose lives have been affected by abuse, neglect, violence, loss or other forms of trauma, whether they know about those experiences or not.

“Understanding that context can change the way organisations respond.”