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Introduction
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Our purpose
Overview
Introduction Survey
Learning To Trust
Before delving into the Secure Base Model and how to build a secure base at school, let's first get a deeper understanding of attachment theory and it's significance in our work! "Evidence is accumulating that human beings of all ages are happiest and able to deploy their talents to best advantage when they are confident that standing behind them, there are one or more trusted persons who will come to their aid should difficulty arise." We all like having people in our lives that we know will have our back when we face problems. It helps us face these challenges with more confidence and bravery, since we know that we aren't alone in our challenges, whether that means asking for advice about certain decisions we have to make, asking for help with practical things, or simply having someone to talk things through with and support us if we don't reach our goals. In this section we're going to explore the way that a child first starts to experience support and trust, which starts with the parents and/or primary caregivers. Let's go!
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At School
Attachment Styles
Quiz - Attachment Styles
Benefits and Goals of a Secure Base Relationship
Quiz - A Secure Base Relationship
Neurobiology of Attachment
Quiz - Neurobiology
Secure Base Model
So far, we've explored attachment styles, we've come to understand what a secure attachment looks like, and we've seen the tanglible effect on the brain. We've also seen how we, as practitioners, aim to be Supportive Adults for the child we work with, While slightly different than an attachment figure, a Supportive Adult is also meant to have a secure-base relationship with the child. From first entering school, all children’s learning and development can be supported by secure base relationships with staff members – insecure children in particular will benefit but all children feel anxious at times. These relationships will build trust, provide reassurance, reduce anxiety and so enhance children’s capacity for learning. They also enhance children’s capacity to manage their feelings and behaviour, to build self-esteem and to form co-operative relationships with staff and peers. The secure model was developed by Professor Gillian Schofield and Dr Mary Beek in the Centre for Research on Children and Families and it involves 5 areas which we should focus on for children to have a secure base at school: - Availability - Sensitivity - Acceptance - Cooperation - School membership In order to build that secure relationship with the child, we need to be reflecting on our own thoughts and feelings, the child's thoughts and feelings, and each of our actions/reactions. We start by our own thinking and feeling. It can help to think of the child's behaviour as COMMUNICATION. Through their behaviour, the child is communicating with you what they need to learn! In the diagram above, you can see how it is the staff/teacher's thoughts and feelings that influence their response to the child's behaviour, ultimately affecting that behaviour in a positive or negative direction. While a child's behaviour is initially not dependent on our own behaviour, it is our thoughts, feelings, and consequent REACTIONS to the child's behaviour that affect it later on. Therefore, it is essential that throughout the school day we have clear intentions and priorities that we will focus on, which in turn will help us react to children's decisions and behaviour in a constructive, supportive, and positive manner. Next... In the following sections we're going to discuss what we need to be thinking of throughout the day and the questions we need to be asking ourselves so we respond to children in an appropriate way for each of the areas of the Secure Base Model at Schools..
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Availability
Sensitivity
Acceptance
Cooperation
School Membership
Ending the relationship smoothly
When you enter into a supportive adult relationship with a child, you're committing to be a positive influence in their life. As a supportive adult, you have the ability to make a big difference in the child's life by providing guidance, support, and encouragement. However, eventually it is inevitable that this relationship comes to an end. It's important to recognize when this happens and take steps to terminate smoothly. Ending such a relationship can be difficult for both the adult and the child. When doing so, it's important to be honest with the child about what will happen and to give them the chance to express their feelings. It's also important to provide support and encouragement during this time of transition. By terminating the relationship smoothly, you can help ensure that the child is not left feeling abandoned or rejected. Instead, they will feel supported and cared for, even if the match did not work out as expected. Remember, as a supportive adult, your ultimate goal is to make a positive impact in the child's life, and that includes ending the relationship in a way that is respectful, kind, and compassionate.
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The wrong way to do it
Explaining Your Role
Leaving the Right Way
Quiz - Ending a match
Building and Ending a Secure Base at School
About Lesson

 

So we’re seen WHAT we are working towards in terms of what a secure base relationship looks like and the benefits it has. Before we continue to see HOW we can develop such a relationship with the child we are working with, let’s first explore HOW this attachment is built in the brain. Understanding this will hopefully clarify to you that this isn’t just useless “fluffy” talk; in fact, there are real, measurable, and tanglible ways that a secure base relationship affects the brain.

 

Let’s see how…

 

 

 

 

 

Nature and Nurture Inform Each Other

 

“Everything that is before birth is genetic and everything after birth is nature”: this is false.

 

Genes continue to be programmed after birth, so nature and nuture inform each other. What happens in the environment turns genes on or off, and genes influence the environment itself.

 

 

Parent Behaviour Informs Brain Development

 

In order for parts of the limbic system to grow (those having to do with social and emotional functioning), certain experiences are needed, mainly from the attachment figure. If the experiences in this part of development (before 2 years of age) are positive, we can imagine that that child’s genes have a very high potential.

 

Note that the genes have a high “potential”, but they are not yet fully and completely programmed in a fixed manner.

 

 

 

Neurons that Fire Together, Wire Together & Those that Don’t, Die Together

 

The brain doesn’t keep growing and growing. The brain organizes and then disorganizes.

 

This means that the connections in hte brain that are sustained, used often, and maintained are the ones that grow stronger and stronger. This is how learning happens: At first you struggle to add numbers, but by doing school work and homework you are practicing the skill and the “addition” connections in your brain get stronger and stronger.

 

On the other hand, if you don’t practice addition enough, you “unlearn” what you had learned before. In this case, the connections that weren’t used weakened and died.

 

This is why strong social contact with attachment figures early on in life are crucial to build these strong “social and emotional” connections in the brain.

 

 

Brain Development in Early Childhood Informs Our Behaviour

 

Babies change their nuture seeking strategies to suit the particular emotional capabilities of their caregiver so that they get as much care as that particular caregiver can give them.

 

This happens at a time when the brain is going through a huge phase of development, and therefore, the connections that are built (and the patterns of behaviour that are established, such as strategies to seek care from an attachment figure) can influence the pattern for making and maintaining relationships in the future for the child.

 

Empathy

 

When the caregiver responds to the baby appropriately, he/she begins to gain a sense of high self-esteem, leading them to have the capability of empathising with others. The child also has a positive model of what to expect from another person in a relationship, which is essential for long-term friendships and other relationships.

 

Additional:

 

If you want to learn more about the neurobiology of attachment watch this (very technical!) video which discusses various studies on synchrony and attachment in the brain.

 

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