Looked after children: Embedding attachment awareness in schools

Abstract

The educational potential of many children in the state’s care, including those in institutional homes and fostered or adopted children, is unfulfilled. One possible contributory factor to their lack of success is that schools do not fully address their wider personal anxieties and insecurities. Attachment theory has been adopted in several educational districts (‘local authorities’) in England, and this study reports on an evaluative mixed-methods research study of such training; it also theorises this as a broader question about how schools engage with research. There was rich evidence that the programme had an impact on whole staff understanding of attachment theory. Teachers and staff commented positively on the impact of the programme; impact on pupils’ outcomes was hard to quantify, though qualitative findings suggested that well-being was improving. Senior leader commitment, support and resource allocation were crucial to effectively embedding the training, and various structural issues were illuminated. The implications for embedding attachment awareness more widely are discussed, and for our understanding of research use by schools.