In recent years, the conversation around trauma and its impact on students has gained significant traction.
As educators, it is crucial to understand and integrate trauma-informed practices to foster an inclusive and supportive learning environment.
Why is it so important for PE teachers to be trauma informed?
Physical Education offers a unique environment where the dynamics of physical activity, personal interaction, and emotional vulnerability intersect. For many students, PE can be a source of joy and a vehicle for positive self-expression.
However, for those who have experienced trauma, this setting can trigger anxiety, fear, and disengagement. Understanding the nature of trauma and its pervasive effects on a student’s behaviour and learning capacity is vital for several reasons:
Creating a Safe Space: PE classes often involve activities that require close physical proximity, competition, and exposure to potential failure or embarrassment. For trauma-affected students, these situations can be particularly daunting. We need to create an environment where students feel physically and emotionally safe.
Developing State Regulation and a Sense of Belonging: PE can be used to help regulate young people’s state and their sense of belonging. For trauma-affected students these can be areas that they particularly struggle with which has knock on effects across the rest of their school life and beyond. We have a golden opportunity that few other teachers have.
Building Trust and Relationships: Trust is a fundamental aspect of any educational relationship. Trauma can severely impact a student's ability to trust others, including teachers. Being trauma-informed helps us approach students with empathy, patience, and consistency, which are crucial for building trust.
Promoting Inclusive Participation: Trauma can manifest in various ways, including withdrawal, aggression, or avoidance of activities. PE teachers who are trauma-informed can recognise these signs and adapt our teaching strategies to ensure all students can participate meaningfully.
How might trauma impact engagement in PE?
Trauma can have profound and varied effects on a student’s engagement in PE. These impacts can be both direct and indirect, influencing physical, emotional, and social aspects of participation.
Physical Impact: Students who have experienced trauma may exhibit heightened stress responses, including increased heart rate and muscle tension. These physiological reactions can make physical activity uncomfortable or overwhelming, leading to avoidance or minimal participation.
Emotional Impact: Trauma often leads to emotional dysregulation, where students may struggle with intense emotions such as fear, anger, or sadness. In the context of PE, these emotions can be triggered by competitive activities, fear of failure, or negative body image, resulting in disengagement.
Cognitive Impact: Trauma can affect cognitive functions, including concentration, memory, and executive functioning. Students may find it challenging to follow instructions, remember rules, or stay focused during activities, which can hinder their engagement and performance in PE.
Behavioural Impact: Trauma-affected students might display a range of behaviours such as withdrawal, aggression, or defiance. These behaviours are often misunderstood as laziness or disobedience but are, in fact, coping mechanisms. Understanding these behaviours in the context of trauma is crucial for PE teachers to respond appropriately.
What can we consider to support all students?
Implementing trauma-informed practices in PE requires a deliberate and thoughtful approach. Here are several strategies that we can consider to support all students:
Building Strong Relationships: Foster positive relationships by showing genuine interest and care for each student. Consistent and supportive interactions can help build trust and make our students feel valued and understood. Psychological safety cues such as smiley faces, open body language, active listening and attuned voices are key to this.
Creating Predictable Routines: Establish clear and consistent routines to provide a sense of stability and predictability. Students who have experienced trauma often find comfort in knowing what to expect.
Providing Choices and Autonomy: Allowing students to make choices about their participation can empower them and reduce feelings of helplessness. Offer alternative activities or modify tasks to accommodate different comfort levels and abilities.
Mindfulness and Relaxation Techniques: Integrate mindfulness and relaxation exercises into the PE curriculum. These practices can help students manage stress, improve emotional regulation, and enhance overall well-being. This worked surprisingly well with my Year 8 sporty boys.
Professional Development and Training: Ongoing training in trauma-informed care is essential. We should seek professional development opportunities to understand trauma's effects and learn effective strategies to support affected students.
Integrating Emotional Regulation and a Sense of Belonging: The RISE Approach
We have a unique opportunity to use movement to develop emotional regulation and a sense of belonging among students. This advantage arises from the curriculum time, facilities, and equipment available to PE classes, which other subjects frequently lack.
Repeaters: Repetitive activities such as running, walking, or yoga offer physical benefits and serve as avenues for regulating the nervous system and reducing stress. These activities calm the amygdala, widen the window of tolerance, and help students access their prefrontal cortex, enabling better thinking and learning.
Inclusive Teams: Team sports provide opportunities for social connection and a sense of belonging. As students work together to achieve common goals, they experience the release of oxytocin, fostering feelings of camaraderie and support.
Stress Busters: Many students grapple with pent-up emotions and frustrations. Stress-busting activities like boxing, weight training, contact rugby, or yoga offer outlets for releasing tension in a safe and controlled way. These activities calm the amygdala, widen the window of tolerance, and help students access their prefrontal cortex, enhancing their ability to think clearly and learn.
Energisers: High-energy activities such as circuit training, skipping or dance invigorate the body and trigger the release of neurotransmitters like dopamine and serotonin, promoting feelings of happiness and motivation. Energisers help students reconnect with the world around them.
The RISE approach provides a wide range of activities that you are already delivering in schools. This allows students to choose activities that excite and engage them, fostering a sense of agency and enthusiasm.
I Invite You To Reflect On These Questions:
Understanding Trauma: How well do you understand trauma and the potential impact on your students?
Creating Safe Spaces: What psychological safety cues do you currently use to make your PE classes feel safe and welcoming for all students?
Using Movement: Do you teach how movement can help your young people regulate themselves and feel a sense of belonging?
Professional Development: Would you benefit from additional training to integrate Trauma Informed PE into your practice to support your young people?
The role of PE teachers extends beyond teaching physical skills; it encompasses nurturing the holistic development of students. By adopting trauma-informed practices, we can create a more inclusive and supportive environment that acknowledges the diverse needs of all students.
A Solution For You: Trauma-Informed PE Teacher Training Course
Integrating trauma-informed practices into PE classes can be challenging without proper training and resources.
Recognising this need, we've developed the Trauma-Informed PE online teacher training course, based on our own experiences of implementing in an inner-city school and supporting hundreds of other schools, to equip educators with the knowledge and tools to support students effectively.
Our course follows a comprehensive 7-step roadmap designed to empower you to transform relationships, engagement, behaviour, attendance, and academic progress within 90 days, and a child's life chances in the long term.
Find out more here:
Taking The First Step
We have created the ‘Enhancing Engagement Scorecard’ to help you track your progress in implementing Trauma Informed PE practice within 2 minutes.
This scorecard acts as a valuable tool for self-reflection and continuous improvement. Click on the link to take the first step and get your score.
Taster Course For You
Once completed we will send you a login to our ‘Taster Trauma Informed PE Course’ so you can develop your understanding of what a trauma-informed approach is, what Adverse Childhood Experiences are, and how this affects children in the classroom at the moment and their life chances, based on the ACEs studies.
Take the first step today to creating a better future for you and your young people here.
Join Our Waiting List
We offer a range of services from courses, keynote speaking, consultancy and our book 'Time to RISE Up - Supporting Students' Mental Health In Schools'.
You can join our waiting list here and we will reach out to you:
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Thank you for all you do for your young people. Have a brilliant week.
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