Trauma-Informed Practice in Early Child Development: Insights from The National Lottery Community Fund's A Better Start Programme
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Introduction
This research explores how trauma-informed practice was developed and delivered in the A Better Start (ABS) programme. It looks at how local areas support babies, young children and their families affected by trauma. It aims to inform:
local delivery organsiations
organisations that fund and plan local services
wider services
Findings
The research found that trauma-informed practice requires whole-system commitment and long-term investment. Training alone was not enough to embed change.
The research found that:
strong leadership helped set a shared vision across services
reflective supervision supported staff wellbeing and confidence
partnerships improved consistency across health, early years, and family services
building trust with families took time and skilled relationship-based work
shared language and understanding improved collaboration
Areas that focused on workforce development and cross-agency working were more likely to embed trauma-informed approaches into everyday practice.