Our work in education

The best schools have always looked to promote the broader well-being of their students. Now, with the roles of the SENCO, CPLO and Designated Teacher being statutory requirements, the task of ensuring that the most vulnerable children receive the services and support they need has become a legal responsibility. Schools are increasingly a hub for the provision of services to children throughout the community.

At the same time, schools are under immense pressure to raise academic standards, which can lead to working practices that focus on the standards rather than focusing on the children. Vulnerable children cannot communicate their pain and distress except through their behaviour; when that behaviour is seen as a threat to meeting academic targets, it is easy to lose sight of the needs of the child. An over-dependence on behavioural approaches that rely on reward and sanctions can ultimately exclude the most vulnerable. Fortunately, current research in neuroscience is showing that attending to the needs communicated by the behaviour of the most vulnerable produces an environment that will help all children to function at their best.

attachment aware schools

There is a growing interest nationally in the links between early attachment experience and children's ability to benefit from education throughout their school career. Pioneering schools have been exploring how daily life for staff and students can be transformed by paying attention to the quality of relationships at all levels. Key knowledge areas include:

• Attachment awareness: Relationship-based discipline, curriculum and staffing
• Making school a safe space for all
• Emotion coaching: An accessible evidence-based approach to helping children manage their behaviour

virtual schools for looked after children

It is a statutory responsibility for the local authority in England to appoint a Head of Virtual School to be responsible for ensuring that the educational needs of children in care are given priority, and that these most vulnerable children and young people can get the benefits of educational success. The Virtual School has great responsibilities, limited budgets, and must engage effectively with the increasingly diverse range of establishments that provide education for children and young people in England.

KCA has been working alongside Virtual Schools to ensure that limited budgets can be put to optimal use, and to enable the Virtual School to become a valued and effective resource for school improvement. Key knowledge areas include:

• Meeting the needs of vulnerable children and all children
• Trauma-informed practice
• Adolescence and transitions

special needs and special schools

Educational settings that provide for the most vulnerable children and young people in our society face particular challenges. It is vital that staff understand the needs of the children, and develop skills in meeting those needs while also being able to account for their interventions in terms of the academic targets of the education system. KCA Associates can combine expert knowledge of relevant research and theory with years of skilled and effective practice, enabling staff to develop their own knowledge and skills, and inspiring transformative practice. Key knowledge areas include:

• Self harming behaviours
• Trauma and behaviour: Communication and co-regulation
• FASD