[Sub ID 4701] Trauma informed educators and employers (Connections UnitingCare)

Submission ID: 4701
Organisation name: Connections UnitingCare
State: VIC

Which priority group of the Try, Test and Learn Fund does your idea support?
Young carers, Young parents, Young students at risk of long-term unemployment

What need or issue are you trying to address?
Educational settings and employers do not always fully understand, or are not equipped to respond to and support, the impact of trauma on a young person’s presentation and behaviour at school or work. The following issues linked to the young person’s trauma experience may be noted by educational settings and the workplace:

– Lateness and unplanned absenteeism
– Limited concentration and difficulty meeting deadlines
– Physical symptoms such as illness or constant tiredness due to a lack of sleep
– Limited coping skills which may present as withdrawal from challenging situations or oversensitivity to feedback
– Interpersonal relationship problems including conflict, avoidance/withdrawal, or feelings of vulnerability or distrust

Educational providers and employers who do not understand the impact of trauma on the young person may be less able to understand the reasons for their behaviour, and, importantly, may not have a thorough understanding about how to get the best out of the young person. The absence of trauma-based training to education providers and employers may result in the young person’s being less likely to sustain continuous engagement in education or employment.

What is your idea?
The provision of trauma informed training to education providers and employers, particularly targeting institutions and employers who commonly enrol or employ disadvantaged young people.

The training objectives would be as follows:
– To gain an understanding of trauma and its impacts on employees
– To gain practical insights about strategies for working with an employee who has experienced trauma
– To develop knowledge of how to enhance organisational systems to appropriately respond to the needs of employees who have experienced trauma

Find below a high level overview of the proposed training content:

Module One (introductory):
– Introduction to trauma
– What is trauma?
– What is a trauma-informed organisation?
– Impacts of trauma on employees’ presentation and behaviour in educational and/or workplace settings
– Links between trauma experiences and behaviour in educational and/or workplace settings
– Common educational and/or workplace issues experienced by young people who experience trauma

Module Two (advanced):
– Trauma-informed leadership and management
– Approaches and strategies to support young people who have experienced trauma
– Developing trauma-informed Human Resource processes and systems
– Maintaining bottom-line employment expectations in a trauma-informed manner