Schools adopting an ACE-aware approach: an exploratory empirical study of staff experiences

Introduction: Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) are associated with poorer outcomes across the lifecourse. In 2017, Scotland adopted an ACE-aware approach in schools, aiming to mitigate the impact of ACE through fostering social and emotional wellbeing, strong relationships and resilience. There has, however, been little exploration about what this approach entails in practice, and the experiences of school staff. This research aimed to investigate the experiences of education professionals in implementing an ACE-aware approach in schools.

Methods: Education professionals working in primary schools were recruited through social media. Six in-depth interviews were conducted. A phenomenological approach using concept mapping techniques was used to analyse the data to identify links between ‘what happened’ and ‘why it matters’ for each participant separately.

Results: ACE-aware approaches differed greatly: from the use of routine enquiry and targeted intervention, to a holistic child-centred approach. Three key barriers and facilitators to implementation were found: 1) the distribution of leadership, which appeared important in distributing roles, budgets, and training; 2) the role of the frontline implementor in building relationships; and 3) the type of approach used, with those centring on empowering the child being more successful.

Conclusions: Understanding what an ACE-aware approach looks like in reality is complex, however, where it is rooted in an inclusive and child-centred paradigm for a whole-school ethos it appears to effect a greater change than where it is based in a deficit model dependent on routine enquiry. Frontline implementers are significant in creating the context and circumstances for successful outcomes.