Attachment & Trauma Sensitive School

At Foxfield we are an Attachment & Trauma Sensitive School and are pleased to have achieved the Attachment and Trauma Sensitive Schools Award (ATSSA) at Bronze, Silver and Gold Level.
At Foxfield Primary School, we believe that every single child deserves the opportunity to achieve their best possible long-term outcomes, regardless of their unique start in life. Before children can learn and thrive, they first need to feel completely safe, valued and understood.

We are incredibly proud to be officially accredited as an Attachment and Trauma Sensitive School by the Attachment and Trauma Sensitive Schools Award (ATSSA). This national recognition highlights our deep commitment to supporting children who have experienced early emotional hurdles, adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), or attachment difficulties.

The Award aims to ensure that everyone within the educational environment has a good knowledge of the needs of children and young people who have experienced adversity and of the strategies and resources that are available to meet such needs. This awareness of how to support children and young people’s emotional needs and development is a key factor in promoting better learning and mental/physical health outcomes for all learners. 

​The Attachment and Trauma Sensitive Schools Award  is an external sign of recognition of the commitment of schools and to the steps they take to develop a culture of compassion and nurture, which plays a pivotal role in getting children and young people into a state of ‘learning readiness’. The award is issued only to those educational establishments that can demonstrate that they have met its rigorous quality standards and can maintain them over time.

When visiting Foxfield you will feel an immediate sense of safety, warmth, belonging and care. This is the direct result of our embedded, everyday commitment to embedding the relationships and foundations that allow every single learner to safely achieve, thrive, and belong.

The assessor shared:

"I should like to warmly congratulate you and your staff on achieving the Award, which is an external sign of recognition of your commitment to the steps you have taken at Foxfield Primary School to develop a culture of compassion and nurture, and to become a truly attachment- and trauma-responsive setting."

"In short, Foxfield Primary School is a trauma-informed and trauma-responsive organisation, which prioritises improving systems and practices, making them healthier, more relational and interpersonal, more cohesive, more integrated, more reflective, and more interconnected..."

"Whilst there can be no doubt that excellent practice is a whole-team achievement, it is also only fair to say that the most significant factor in achieving the ATSSA Gold Award is the inspirational, strong, and visionary leadership of the Headteachers and the SLT."

“You show commitment to continuing to share your own vision with other schools who are striving for meaningful, multi-layered, whole-system wide trauma-responsive practice."