Attachment Friendly and Trauma Aware School Award

Cheshire West and Chester Virtual School offers the opportunity for your educational setting to develop your understanding of attachment and trauma to improve the provision that you offer for your children and young people. This is a journey unique to your setting – every school will have a different starting point and will have a different idea and plan of what to develop within their own setting. 

For succesful applicants, the projects are funded part by school and with a contribution from the Virtual School where children in care attend. The group meets six times across the year to support each other's plan, project and progression as well as share good practice and learn from each other. The culmination is a Celebration Event in July during which each school shares a presentation on their identified original need, their project, the progess made, the highs and lows across the year and the impact on the identified vulneralble children and young people within the setting....and this is only the beginning for these settings...!

If you are interested in applying, please see the application form and audit tool below for a cohort starting each September. Applications each year are submitted in the Summer term and successful applicants informed before the summer break.
2025-26 Please note, applications are now complete and the cohort confirmed for the next academic year 2025-26. However for future cohorts, information is sent to Headteachers each May to announce the online AFTA Launch event for the upcoming application and year. Please look out for this next May 2026!

2024-25 Cohort -
For this academic year, 2024-25, we received lots of applications from primary, secondary and specialist provision settings and had 9 amazing schools that joined us. We met across the year at each other's schools and shared progress, hiccups, good practice and helping hands along the way. We had invaluable input from a Child Educational Psychologist and a Senior Practice Lead in Social care, both of which extended understanding of what it is like to be within the care system and also how staff in school can utilise strategies and resources to help childrens emotional regulation.

What an amazing group of schools and professionals we had, with a wonderful Celebration Event in July - everyone's plans were complete and went above and beyond expectations, with next steps already identified to continue on the path of attachment and trauma awareness and practice.
This years plans and projects included:
- Creating and developing safe spaces within the setting and staff training to learn how best to utilise these
- Developing sensory spaces and equipping them, with sensory training for staff to support best use of these
- Introducing and embedding Lego Therapy, with staff training and resources
- Creating co-regulation and nurture spaces and resourcing them for easy access and wellbeing interventions
- Introducing and embedding Zones of Regulation with the setting and having full staff training to support this
- Developing Regulation Stations in each classroom
- Staff training on attachment and trauma linked to vulnerable children and the utilistion of spaces within the setting

CONGRATULATIONS to all our amazing 2024-25 schools.....
Blacon High School
Charles Darwin Primary School
Dorin Park SEN Specialist College
JH Godwin Primary School
Saighton CofE Primary and Pre-School
Sandiway Primary School
St Joseph's Catholic Primary School
Upton Westlea Primary & Nursery School
Winnington Park Primary School

And to some of our previous participants...

2023-24 Cohort -
Congratulations to our schools who achieved their Attachment Friendly and Trauma Aware School award in 2023-24!
Some fantastic journeys, with inspiring developments in thought and practice.
Congratulations to:
Malpas Alport Endowed Primary School
Parklands Community Primary & Nursery School
Norley C of E Primary School
Rivacre Valley Primary School
Sutton Green Primary School
Waverton Primary School

2022-23 Cohort -
Congratulations to our schools who achieved their Attachment Friendly and Trauma Aware School award in 2022/2023:-
Barnton Primary School
Bishop Heber High School
Ellesmere Port Catholic High School
Hoole Primary School
Mickle Trafford Primary School
Rossmore Primary School
St Joseph's Catholic Primary School
The Winsford Academy

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