A Trauma-Informed Relational School
At Belmont we are very proud to be working hard to be a Trauma Informed Relational School. We believe in this as the very best practice for the children in our care. At the heart of all we do is relationships – with parents, pupils, staff, and all external stakeholders.
From our ‘Meet and Greet’ practice when pupils arrive at school and to their classrooms, to being Emotionally Available Adults for ALL pupils, we try our best to ensure that our relationship with every pupil is strong and built on trust and respect. Circle time for staff once a week is a vital part of our week. This gives us the opportunity to connect, reflect and build our relationships. This process is then mirrored in the classrooms where the children get to enjoy their Circle time whilst learning key skills of respect, patience, tolerance, and understanding.
Relational Restorative School: At Belmont we support our pupils to become more aware of their bodies, their feelings and their sensations, through the Interoception curriculum. This helps them to become more aware of how they may be feeling when they are dysregulated and having an awareness of their behaviours. By being aware this supports pupils to engage in co-regulation with an emotional available adult and ultimately we support them to develop their own self-regulation strategies. Our relational practice ensures the pupils form trusted and string relationships with the adults that support them in school, thus helping them to develop in these areas. When conflict occurs our pupils are supported to manage the conflict in a restorative way. Alongside the adults pupils will understand what happened, how this made them feel, how others may feel and what can be done to repair their relationship and prevent it from happening again.
All staff and pupils are encouraged to work in a relational manner and to repair any conflict through restorative practice.
Our interventions team, teachers and learning support workers all work hard to provide meaningful interventions to support the relational work across the school. This may include Lego friendship sessions, Talk & Draw sessions, providing a calming down or cooling off safe space, or other interventions that develop social skills and build relationships.
Our ongoing CPD (Continued Professional Development) programme for all staff ensures we are trained in THRIVE, Trauma Informed Practice and Restorative Practice. These principles keep us focused on the using the correct language to help our pupils with their emotional development; building their self-esteem and confidence; highlighting their strengths and areas for development; and resolving conflict when it arises. The caring and supportive environment of our school, and our skilled staff, provide pupils with the time, space and appropriate interventions to develop in a way that prepares them for life beyond Belmont.
We strive every day to ensure everyone feels the benefits of our Relational practice.
