Walsall Virtual School BUILD Project

BUILD has been developed to bring together our work around trauma and attachment, nurture, relational practice, inclusion and belonging. It builds on the strong foundations established through our previous BRICS and Attachment Aware Schools work, while giving the programme a clearer and more ambitious direction for the future.

The programme supports schools across Walsall to develop trauma-informed and attachment-aware practice, strengthen nurture approaches, use relational and restorative responses and create school environments where children feel safe, understood, included and that they belong. Central to this work is the understanding that behaviour is communication and that children’s emotional wellbeing, relationships and sense of belonging can have a significant impact on their engagement, attendance and ability to learn.

Our aim is to develop and embed high-quality trauma and attachment-informed practice across Walsall schools, creating strong foundations that enable every child to belong, learn and thrive.

Schools currently progress through the programme by working towards Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum recognition, demonstrating how trauma-informed, attachment-aware and nurturing approaches are becoming increasingly embedded within whole-school practice.

As BUILD develops, we will further strengthen this offer. Our ambition is to have a trained Trauma & Attachment Champion in every Walsall school, increase the number of schools involved in the programme and provide a new Educational Psychologist-led development programme for Champions. We will also continue to expand nurture provision, increase the use of the Boxall Profile, explore trauma-informed Forest School approaches and develop practical resources that help schools embed relational and inclusive practice.

BUILD is not intended to be another short-term initiative. It is a developing Walsall approach to creating school communities where relationships, safety, nurture and belonging provide the foundations for successful learning and positive outcomes.

“Building the foundations for every child to belong, learn and thrive.”