Trauma Consultancy Service for Early Learning
The TraCS program is tailored based on the needs of your service and is designed to provide responsive and intensive support over time to ensure your service experiences sustained and long-term impact.
The TraCS program supports early years educators working with children experiencing vulnerability, adversity and trauma.
We work alongside educators to improve wellbeing and create safe and supportive environments for all.
On this page:
What is TraCS for early years?
When a child's behaviour challenges us ('acting out', 'disrupting') it's their way of trying to tell us something.
Our program looks at what’s behind a child's behaviour – and how we can better understand, respond and support them.
We meet educators where they’re at, working alongside them to provide collaborative and context-specific support, understanding their services’ unique settings, educators’ needs, and the needs of the children in their care.
We support educators to adopt a trauma lens to help ensure children who have experienced trauma and adversity feel safe, connected and better prepared for school.
With a focus on safety, wellbeing, and emotional regulation, every child and educator benefits from our practice-embedded support.
How TraCS creates supportive environments for children and educators
Every day can present different challenges to educators.
A child's behaviour can challenge us or take up time in session, or dynamics within teams can be tense – all of which can result in burnout from trying to hold it all.
Our trauma-informed approach benefits everyone in your service – children, educators and families – by creating safe and supportive environments and responding to behaviours related to trauma, adversity, school readiness, and other transitions.
Our proven trauma-informed approach for supporting educators and children
Recently evaluated by Monash University’s Health and Social Care Unit, the TraCS program was shown to improve educator’s trauma knowledge, practice and attitudes by:
• helping educators understand challenging behaviours through a 'trauma lens'
• building skills and confidence to respond to a range of behaviours and needs
• using a ‘trauma lens’ to nurture educator wellbeing
• fostering a trauma-sensitive environment.
Services engaged with TraCS for longer periods also reported an improved ability to support children more effectively.
"I feel educators are seeing children's behaviour in a different light. I think they are looking at children with more emphasis on their feelings and ability to regulate emotions, rather than a deliberate attempt to be a challenge to the educator".
- Early Years Management Leader, City of Casey
Case study: Strengthening trauma-informed leadership and wellbeing in Casey's early years services
How your service can access TraCS
TraCS is available to both multi-service providers and individual services and can be accessed through the School Readiness Fund (SRF), Flexible Support Packages (FSP), VIA Inclusion Development Fund, and Inclusion Support Funding (ISP).
Click through to view our SRF program overview and pricing.
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