EXPERTS at a children’s charity are calling for more help for teachers to support pupils who have experienced trauma.

The plea from Barnardo’s Scotland comes at a time when thousands of youngsters across Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire are returning to school after the summer break.

Research carried out for the charity found that almost eight in 10 adults working in primary or secondary schools believe more should be done to make sure staff can recognise and respond to early trauma and childhood adversity.

The study also found that more than half of teachers haven’t received any training about the impact of such problems.

According to Barnardo’s Scotland, behaviours associated with early trauma can manifest themselves in a school environment and are too often misconstrued as ‘bad behaviour’ requiring discipline rather than support.

The charity insists that trauma-informed approaches should be central to all work with children and young people, rather than just being reserved for specialist or targeted services.

Laura Falconer,  one of Barnardo’s top specialists in mental health and wellbeing, said: “It is crucial that schools create an environment where all staff know how to support and respond to children affected by early trauma, where children are taught to develop the skills they need to understand and cope with their experience and where staff feel confident linking in with additional support if needed.

“Teaching children from an early age about emotional awareness, how to self-regulate and the skills to support resilience are essential parts of preventing future problems with their mental health and wellbeing.”

For more information, visit the website at www.barnardos.org.uk/scotland.