Home Office and YEF to invest in childhood trauma response training

A joint investment of £5.8m will be made by both bodies with the aim of offering teachers, social workers, youth justice and early help practitioners training to enable them to respond to children showing signs of trauma.

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A specific focus will be on preventing behaviours which are associated with crime and violence, typically those which lead to school exclusion.

The funding will be offered to four large-scale programmes in England and Wales, resulting in a total reach of 200,000.

The selected organisations are:

• Bridgend County Council

• Knowledge Change Action Ltd and Warren Larkin Associates

• National Children’s Bureau (NCB) and Leap Confronting Conflict

• Trauma-Informed Schools UK

Policing minister Chris Philp has backed the investment. He said: "This research will be vital to gaining a better understanding of the root causes of youth violence, and will be key to helping us and the YEF support children in managing their trauma and avoiding a life of violent criminality.’’

The Home Office will provide £4m with the YEF making up the remaining investment.

The YEF has also commissioned independent evaluations to assess the impact of the four programmes for staff and children.

Jon Yates, executive director at the YEF, added: "While the use of trauma-informed training has grown rapidly in recent years, the same can’t be said for the number of evaluations or robust studies into the practice. This funding will make great strides in changing that.’’

The YEF was established in 2019 with a £200m investment from the Home Office, with an aim to prevent young people becoming involved in violence.