Virtual School Victoria (VSV) staff recently undertook training in Making Space for Learning with the Australian Childhood Foundation to enable VSV to become a trauma-informed practice school. This means that all VSV staff are learning new skills to better teach and support students who have experienced trauma.
Malcolm McIver, VSV Assistant Principal: Student Engagement and Wellbeing, said trauma is not experienced as a single episode in most cases.
‘The human brain and body continue to react as if the stress is continuing even after the traumatic situation has passed. This means that traumatised and stressed children and young people may be unable to concentrate due to the constant state of tension,’ he explained.
‘Our full day of training has increased staff’s capacity to recognise the impact of trauma on student engagement and learning. Moreover, it enables staff to better respond to students’ needs through teaching practice and their Learning Advisor role.
‘Bringing trauma-informed practice to VSV supports the direction of our strategic plan. It can be seen in the new Social and Emotional Learning program for students in Years 7 – 10,’ he said.
‘VSV is working hard to improve engagement and learning outcomes for all students.’
As the school’s efforts to implement trauma informed practice unfold we will be sharing information with parents/carers and exploring ways to work together to better support students.
