Analysing Staff Perspectives on Parent/Carer Partnerships in an English Trauma Informed School

This study analyses staff perspectives on parent/carer partnerships in a trauma informed primary school in Northwest England. The research draws from broader research on trauma informed practices in education but focuses specifically on one emergent theme: Parent/Carer Partnerships. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with staff at a school characterised by high levels of deprivation, complex needs and a strong and embedded trauma informed ethos, the study analyses how partnerships with parents/carers are created and sustained. The study’s findings are discussed in relation to existing literature on trauma informed practice in education and concludes that staff adopt holistic, culturally aware and emotionally attuned approaches that position parents/carers as paramount in supporting children’s learning and development. However, these efforts are often constrained by systemic pressures such as educational bureaucracy and performativity pressures. The study argues for deeper, contextually informed engagement with families as key to effective trauma informed practice in education, where sustained investment in staff training and support enables and advocates for traditional, deficit-based assumptions towards vulnerable children and their families to be challenged. The study contributes to a growing evidence base on the central role of schools in supporting vulnerable families through inclusive, restorative and relational practices, key aspects of practice that is trauma informed.