On Wednesday Julie went to a conference at the SECC to find out what it would take to make sure that our whole nation is ACE aware. Speakers included Dr Nadine Burke Harris, Suzanne Zeedyk, Tina Hendry, Professor Harry Burns, John Swinney and Nicola Sturgeon.
ACES are adverse childhood experiences. Recent research has shown conclusive links between these experiences and most social problems – learning difficulties, poor mental and physical health, substance misuse and crime. The more ACES in a child’s life, the more likely they are to experience difficulties throughout their lives.
As educators, ACES have a profound significance – they can effectively prevent children’s ability to learn and lessen a child’s chance of good well-being. Julie is our ACES champion in nursery – she has a real interest and passion for the subject and has joined the EDC ACES forum, follows ACE related material on Twitter and has also attended several courses. This conference brought together educators, psychologists, violence reduction specialists, medical experts, childrens’ charities and politicians to ask the question -“How do we make Scotland the World’s first ACE-aware nation?
Julie was really impressed by the standard and passion of all the speakers – all of them experts in their field. She particularly enjoyed James Docherty’ s speech on ACES to Assets: How can we help the wounded if we can’t show our wounds? James Docherty had an extremely tough childhood and he became involved in substance misuse and crime. When his own daughter was born, he heard about ACES and became determined that his daughter’s life would be different. Identifying the effects of ACES on his own life helped him break the cycle and he has become an inspirational, passionate campaigner for ACES awareness. He is living proof that by understanding childhood trauma and addressing what it has done, it is possible to come out the other side and lead a fulfilled and happy life.
Julie also felt that the other stand out speaker was Nicky Murray – the Head Teacher of Burnside Primary School. whose talk on “Building resilience: One school’s story of putting well-being at the heart of learning” really resonated with her as an educator. He has put compassion at the heart of the ethos of his school and is really seeing the difference, as stressed children are becoming comfortable enough to be able to learn.
There was a lot that Julie came back with from the conference, that we will be able to use in our nursery. As well as the inspirational ideas and strategies, she brought details of lots of different schemes and programs people are using around the country to raise awareness of ACES and combat their effect.
Understanding and combating the effects of ACES is crucial if we are ever to narrow the attainment gap in our nation’s schools. More importantly though it is essential if we are to become a fairer, healthier and happier society. It starts with all of us!!!!
