Aim
This presentation shares insights from the South Australian Department for Education’s Trauma Aware Schools initiative (TASi), focusing on whole-site implementation, outcomes, and practical strategies for advancing trauma-informed educational practice.

Background/Context
Since 2019, TASi has supported over 250 South Australian schools and preschools with whole-site training and implementation of trauma-informed practices. While this work has seen progress in schools, implementation success has been varied and challenges remain for sustained, long term whole-site and system wide trauma aware cultural change.

Relevance
The presentation will provide insight into experiences of implementing a whole-site trauma-informed practice approach in education contexts.

Contribution
This presentation focuses on advancing trauma-informed practice in education settings, providing insights into implementation processes and embedding whole-site approaches.

Description
Despite increasing focus on wellbeing within educational contexts, there is limited guidance to support educators and education systems to undertake whole-site implementation of wellbeing initiatives. Our learnings have been informed by implementation science in other fields and experiences of our schools and preschools.

To inform this work, the team conducted a short-term investigation on the implementation of trauma-informed practices. This presentation will outline the process, key findings and practical tools co-developed with participating sites. Specifically:
- Key implementation steps tested with sites
- Facilitators and barriers that sites encountered
- The impact of an explicit implementation approach, using site data, educator reflections and student outcomes

Engagement
Practical strategies and recommendations will be offered for schools, preschools, and system leaders seeking to implement or enhance trauma-informed approaches in their own contexts.

Aim:
To demonstrate how re-humanising early childhood practice through connection, co-regulation and relational safety transforms behaviour, wellbeing and learning in trauma-affected contexts.

Background/Context:
In a high complexity early childhood setting in regional South Australia, increasing presentations of trauma, dysregulation and diverse communication needs prompted a fundamental shift in practice. Over three years, a whole site model has been developed where connection is positioned as the primary intervention, grounded in the Early Years Learning Framework v2, the Berry Street Education Model and relational approaches.

Relevance:
This work speaks directly to trauma-aware education by challenging deficit views of behaviour and reframing it as communication. It prioritises emotional safety, predictability and co-regulation, enabling children experiencing trauma, adversity and chronic dysregulation to access belonging, agency and learning.

Contribution:
This presentation offers a sustainable, deeply embedded model that demonstrates improved outcomes for children, strengthened family trust and increased educator confidence and wellbeing. It contributes practical, transferable strategies for embedding trauma-informed practice across diverse education settings.

Description:
Participants will explore a practice based framework including proactive regulation and sensory planning, visual supports, co-constructed agreements, collaborative safety planning and relational family engagement. Real examples illustrate how children experiencing significant dysregulation are supported through neurodevelopmentally informed and restorative approaches.

Engagement:
Participants will be actively engaged through reflective prompts, relatable practice examples and opportunities to apply strategies to their own settings.