What issues do school staff describe as important when introducing a whole school attachment-based approach? A Reflexive Thematic Analysis

Research demonstrates that supporting children’s emotional needs promotes better learning outcomes (Geddes, 2018). In the United Kingdom, hundreds of schools are trained in whole school approaches that have a basis in attachment theory. These approaches emphasise the relational needs of pupils and prioritise their sense of safety. They are often referred to by schools and in the limited literature as ‘attachment aware’ approaches. The current study took place in a deprived inner East London borough. It has one of the highest proportions of children with social, emotional, and mental health needs in the country. Reflexive Thematic Analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2019) was used to provide an answer to the following research question: “What issues do school staff describe as important when introducing a whole school attachment-based approach?” Eight semi-structured interviews were conducted in three schools with a range of staff including senior leaders, teachers and support staff. The researcher constructed five overarching themes to organise 13 themes that reflected patterns in participant experience. These five overarching themes were ‘Context Affects Delivery’, ‘Training Must Resonate’, ‘Scope and Remit of School and School Staff Widens’, ‘Permission to Feel’ and ‘Not Running Alone with Them’. In the current climate, emotionally focused “approaches could be referred to as an addon to the real business of education” (Parker & Levinson, 2018: 9). This research argues that emotionally focused approaches such as whole school attachment-based approaches are well placed to meet the needs of the entire school community and promote increased pupil engagement. This study adds to the exponentially growing body of research on whole school attachment-based approaches. The research has implications for local and national practice due to the priority given to trauma-based approaches in recent government guidance.