What would a genuinely supportive school day look like in real practice, for children who have experienced attachment difficulties and developmental vulnerability? What are the core features of an attachment-friendly school? How can we promote inclusion and positively affect learning outcomes amongst pupils in need, at risk, in care and adopted? Loiuse Bomber, teacher, therapist, trainer and author of the critically acclaimed number one selling book on behavioural difficulties Inside I'm Hurting, draws on her extensive experience in working with these children and young people. The book is full of practical ideas that can easily be integrated into the busy-ness of everyday school life. Complicated methods and procedures are unnecessary - the good news is that genuine relationship will provide children and adolescents who have experienced relational traumas and losses with the core support they need.

The way we teach our pupils and the way we run our schools is under scrutiny right now. In the midst of all the change going on, we often end up losing sight of the educative tool that is the most important of all - ourselves! Bomber and Hughes' book gives educators permission to engage with pupils relationally. They provide aalternative ways to the kinds of behaviourist models, fear-based approaches and increased levels of power, authority and control still exercised in many schools at present, which disturb already troubled pupils and further prevent them from accessing school. Bomber and Hughes have seen pupil attainment increase through their work in supporting school staff by switching their initial focus to the troubled pupil's attachment system, before engaging the pupil's exploratory (learning) system. The authors also challenge the educational myths that somehow relationships are secondary to learning, rather than essential to enabling troubled children's brains to be freed to work at their full capacity. Every child still does matter. This cutting edge book from a dynamic partnership is essential reading for all those concerned in and with the education of our children.

Many educators are now recognising how significant alternative ways of thinking in the classroom are for optimising engagement and learning. Louise explores how to facilitate quality moments of relationship with children and young people that genuinely reach them, where they are, recognising the impact of trauma on their emotional state, mental functioning and ability, or lack of it, to trust the adults. She helps identify the best way to work in practical terms so that we can teach curriculum as well as healthy behaviours. Honouring biology by building on Perry's (2006) neuro -developmental sequence, Louise provides numerous creative ways of being and doing for those wanting to ensure school is as inclusive as it can be.

This easy-to-use tool provides an observation checklist which enables staff to identify behavioural patterns in children with social and emotional difficulties, analyse the underlying emotional difficulties and establish what kind of help and support the children need. Behavioural responses are categorised within clearly outlined topics, including: * behaviour and relationship with peers * attachment behaviours * emotional state in the classroom * attitude to attendance Checklists and diagrams identify different 'styles' of relating, to help school staff to respond appropriately to the individual needs of each child. A range of handouts include activities designed to provide emotional support, to focus and regulate behaviour and enable the child to develop important social and emotional skills. Suitable for use with children aged 11+, this tool will be an invaluable resource for teachers, teaching assistants, learning support staff, school counsellors and educational psychologists.

Written by experienced clinicians, this book provides an exploration of how educators can easily use Dyadic Developmental Practice (DDP) to help vulnerable pupils to thrive. DDP is an intervention model for children and young people who have experienced trauma in past relationships. Safety and security is increased through offering emotional connection in a variety of ways, helped by the attitude of PACE (playfulness, acceptance, curiosity and empathy). The model gives children the opportunity to experience the relationships necessary for healthy development, emotional regulation and resilience. This book gives educators all the tools they need to embed DDP into their practice, including building connections with students, partnerships with parents, understanding the theory behind DDP, and overcoming the challenges of implementing it in practice. These principles can be adapted to support pupils at all levels.

Emotions can be complicated at the best of times. If something goes wrong right at the beginning of someone's life things can often feel painful and confusing. This book will help explain that there are always good reasons why a person feels the way they do. It will help you learn about emotions like anxiety, how you can live with these emotions, and how safe adults can help you build a calm, strong place inside yourself! Designed to help build emotional awareness, this book offers friendly support for children aged 9-12 who have attachment disorders, anxiety or are overcoming early trauma and is an invaluable tool for anyone supporting children with extreme emotions or attachment issues, including parents and carers, support workers, teachers, and therapists.

When children from insecure backgrounds become adolescents, the challenges they experience themselves and present for those around them can get a lot harder to sort out, before the teenager can fully integrate into society. These adolescents can quickly acquire 'bad kid' or 'anti-social' labels. They may form attachments by joining gangs, but in doing so, further alienate themselves from other more constructive options on offer.The contributors to this much needed book have all worked successfully on the front line with teenagers whose ability to make healthy relationships, or to find learning exciting or even possible, has been severely compromised by their past experiences of trauma, neglect and abuse. Each expert practitioner offers practical strategies, underpinned by attachment theory and their own extensive experience, to enable teachers, psychologists, therapists and social workers to reach out to young people in new ways, establishing genuine connection and real possibilities for learning and hope.