HEARTs project is led by a diverse team who support local schools in Liverpool to become more attachment- and trauma-informed. Hope School, a maintained special school for 68 children aged 5-11 with Social, Emotional and Mental Health Difficulties (SEMH), has worked towards becoming attachment and trauma responsive since 2014, a journey recongised locally and nationally with awards and an OBE.
HEARTs is committed to supporting children with complex trauma histories and attachment disruptions. Hope School saw an opportunity for wider collaboration with the local authority, through the Virtual School Liverpool, to share its expertise. A growing network of schools are now helped to recognise their strengths and implement a network-wide development plan.
HEARTs is peer-led, not top-down, target or tick-box focused. Collaboration takes time, requiring the building of trust in an often fragmented system. In just two years, 10 participating schools have become 32, thanks to Headteachers/Deputy Headteachers, virtual school Heads, local universities, clinical psychologists and external consultants collaborating to develop a robust model of embedding attachment- and trauma-responsive care.
