Session 1F
Tracks
Track 6
| Thursday, October 29, 2026 |
| 11:30 AM - 1:05 PM |
| Meeting room P9, Plaza Level |
Overview
Meeting room P9
Speaker
Ms Christine Taylor
Staff Regional Wellbeing Consultant
DoE North Coast Regional Office
Beyond compliance: human-centred responses to psychosocial hazards in trauma-aware schools
11:30 AM - 12:15 PMAbstract
Aim:
To introduce the Trauma-Aware Psychosocial Consultation Framework, supporting schools to interpret and apply psychosocial hazard responsibilities while centring the human realities of educator work.
Background/Context:
Teaching is deeply relational work. Educators regularly navigate emotional labour, complex student needs, and competing expectations while striving to maintain care, professionalism, and purpose. Psychosocial hazards are increasingly recognised within workplace health and safety legislation; however, many risk management frameworks originate from sectors where hazards are task-based and procedural. In education, risks often arise through relational and emotional labour and the cumulative impact of caring work. Without contextual translation, responses can emphasise procedural controls while overlooking the human conditions shaping educator wellbeing.
Relevance:
Trauma-aware practice calls attention to the conditions in which both students and educators live and work. Consultation processes that foster psychological safety and genuine voice align with trauma-informed principles of safety, trust, collaboration, and empowerment.
Contribution:
This presentation introduces the Trauma-Aware Psychosocial Consultation Framework, offering schools a structured way to translate psychosocial hazard responsibilities into human-centred dialogue and practical action that strengthens collective capability and sustainable ways of working.
Description:
Drawing on practice insights from system-level work with school leaders and staff, the framework follows four stages: understanding context, exploring underlying conditions, recognising protective practices, and strengthening the system. It integrates adaptive leadership with participatory dialogue tools such as the iceberg model, the COM-B framework, and strengths-based inquiry.
Engagement:
Participants will experience reflective prompts and dialogue structures demonstrating how trauma-aware consultation tools can be applied in school contexts.
To introduce the Trauma-Aware Psychosocial Consultation Framework, supporting schools to interpret and apply psychosocial hazard responsibilities while centring the human realities of educator work.
Background/Context:
Teaching is deeply relational work. Educators regularly navigate emotional labour, complex student needs, and competing expectations while striving to maintain care, professionalism, and purpose. Psychosocial hazards are increasingly recognised within workplace health and safety legislation; however, many risk management frameworks originate from sectors where hazards are task-based and procedural. In education, risks often arise through relational and emotional labour and the cumulative impact of caring work. Without contextual translation, responses can emphasise procedural controls while overlooking the human conditions shaping educator wellbeing.
Relevance:
Trauma-aware practice calls attention to the conditions in which both students and educators live and work. Consultation processes that foster psychological safety and genuine voice align with trauma-informed principles of safety, trust, collaboration, and empowerment.
Contribution:
This presentation introduces the Trauma-Aware Psychosocial Consultation Framework, offering schools a structured way to translate psychosocial hazard responsibilities into human-centred dialogue and practical action that strengthens collective capability and sustainable ways of working.
Description:
Drawing on practice insights from system-level work with school leaders and staff, the framework follows four stages: understanding context, exploring underlying conditions, recognising protective practices, and strengthening the system. It integrates adaptive leadership with participatory dialogue tools such as the iceberg model, the COM-B framework, and strengths-based inquiry.
Engagement:
Participants will experience reflective prompts and dialogue structures demonstrating how trauma-aware consultation tools can be applied in school contexts.
Biography
Christine Taylor is a Regional Staff Wellbeing Consultant with the Queensland Department of Education, where she works at a system level to strengthen educator wellbeing, leadership capability, and sustainable ways of working in schools. Her work focuses on trauma-aware practice, Psychological First Aid, and participatory approaches to addressing psychosocial hazards in education. Christine supports school leaders and staff to translate workplace health and safety responsibilities into human-centred consultation and practical system improvements that reflect the relational realities of teaching. She draws on adaptive leadership, trauma-informed principles, and strengths-based dialogue to help educators explore the conditions shaping their work and identify sustainable responses to complexity. Christine is the developer of the HEART framework for educator wellbeing and leadership and is currently writing a forthcoming book exploring human-centred approaches to educator wellbeing in complex school environments.
Miss Alana Moro
Ajuga School
Leading Change: Embedding Trauma-Responsive Practice in Specialist Schools
12:20 PM - 1:05 PMAbstract
Aim:
To explore practitioner reflections on how to effectively shift from a behaviour-based model to a trauma-responsive approach, while maintaining clear, consistent and firm boundaries within a specialist school setting.
Background/Context:
Traditional behaviourist approaches often prioritise compliance over understanding underlying need. Emerging research in trauma-aware education highlights the importance of relational practice, co-regulation, and recognising behaviour as communication. This presentation draws on school-based experiences within a K–12 setting supporting students with complex mental health needs, where staff have engaged in ongoing reflective practice to embed trauma-responsive approaches over the past 8 years.
Relevance:
This presentation aligns with trauma-aware education by demonstrating how reflective practice can support sustainable shifts in mindset, language, and response to student behaviour.
Contribution:
The session offers practical insights into the challenges and successes of transitioning to a trauma-responsive model, providing attendees with strategies to support staff reflection, consistency, and cultural change within their own contexts.
Description:
Using practice reflections and case-based examples, this presentation outlines the process of embedding trauma-responsive practices, including shifts in language, student behaviour support frameworks, environmental adjustments, and staff collaboration.
Engagement:
Engagement will be via oral presentation supported by evidence-based theory and lived examples, alongside guided reflection prompts to support application within participants’ own settings.
Keywords:
Ajuga School, trauma-responsive practice; practice reflection; behaviour as communication; consistent whole-school language; connections over compliance
Contribution Format:
Practice Reflections
To explore practitioner reflections on how to effectively shift from a behaviour-based model to a trauma-responsive approach, while maintaining clear, consistent and firm boundaries within a specialist school setting.
Background/Context:
Traditional behaviourist approaches often prioritise compliance over understanding underlying need. Emerging research in trauma-aware education highlights the importance of relational practice, co-regulation, and recognising behaviour as communication. This presentation draws on school-based experiences within a K–12 setting supporting students with complex mental health needs, where staff have engaged in ongoing reflective practice to embed trauma-responsive approaches over the past 8 years.
Relevance:
This presentation aligns with trauma-aware education by demonstrating how reflective practice can support sustainable shifts in mindset, language, and response to student behaviour.
Contribution:
The session offers practical insights into the challenges and successes of transitioning to a trauma-responsive model, providing attendees with strategies to support staff reflection, consistency, and cultural change within their own contexts.
Description:
Using practice reflections and case-based examples, this presentation outlines the process of embedding trauma-responsive practices, including shifts in language, student behaviour support frameworks, environmental adjustments, and staff collaboration.
Engagement:
Engagement will be via oral presentation supported by evidence-based theory and lived examples, alongside guided reflection prompts to support application within participants’ own settings.
Keywords:
Ajuga School, trauma-responsive practice; practice reflection; behaviour as communication; consistent whole-school language; connections over compliance
Contribution Format:
Practice Reflections
Biography
Alana Moro – Project Officer
Alana Moro is a Project Officer at Ajuga School who is passionate about embedding trauma-aware practice through whole-school approaches. She believes students should be at the centre of all decision-making, with strong, authentic relationships forming the foundation for engagement and growth. Alana advocates for clear, predictable routines and consistent practices that support regulation and safety for all learners. She works collaboratively with staff to drive sustainable change, supporting the development of shared language, and systems that enhance both student outcomes and staff confidence.
Mrs Leah Smileski
Principal
Ajuga School
Co-presenter
Biography
Leah Smileski – Principal, Ajuga School
Leah Smileski is the Principal of Ajuga School, a K–12 specialist setting supporting students with complex needs. She is deeply committed to leading a trauma-aware and responsive school culture grounded in courage, connection and growth. Leah’s leadership is underpinned by the belief that “when the adults change, everything changes,” and she works alongside staff to embed relational, reflective and consistent practices across the school. She is passionate about building staff capacity, fostering strong partnerships, and creating environments where both students and educators feel safe, supported and empowered to thrive.
Rochelle Gardiner – Relieving Assistant Principal
Rochelle Gardiner is the Relieving Assistant Principal at Ajuga School and an experienced educator who is passionate about innovation, high expectations and trauma-aware practice. She is committed to creating engaging learning environments that meet the diverse needs of students while maintaining a strong focus on growth and achievement. Rochelle thrives on collaborative practice and continuous improvement, supporting staff to reflect, adapt and embed effective strategies that prioritise both wellbeing and learning outcomes.
Miss Rochelle Gardiner
Assistant Principal
Ajuga School
Co-presenter
Biography
Rochelle Gardiner – Relieving Assistant Principal
Rochelle Gardiner is a Relieving Assistant Principal at Ajuga School and an experienced educator who is passionate about innovation, high expectations and trauma-aware practice. She is committed to creating engaging learning environments that meet the diverse needs of students while maintaining a strong focus on growth and achievement. Rochelle thrives on collaborative practice and continuous improvement, supporting staff to reflect, adapt and embed effective strategies that prioritise both wellbeing and learning outcomes.
