ABSTRACT
Chapter 1 introduces Bowlby’s attachment theory, including the benefits of parental love, availability and delight on the developing infant, the inhibiting effects of sudden and prolonged separation, trauma and illness, and the modulating effects of attuned responsive parenting. It introduces the difference between secure and insecure attachment (the subject of Chapter 6).
An attuned mother–baby relationship leading to a healthy secure bond and attachment is described in some detail; including the links between the external facilitating environment and the child’s developing internal world. This has implications for learning, resilience and emotional health.
Conversely the lack of this secure base and in more extreme cases the effects of trauma and abuse, are introduced (to be expanded upon in Chapter 3), to enable school staff to be more open to understanding the causes of the difficulties that insecure children experience. Giving them some idea of what these children have missed out on also sows the seed of what could nurture these children within the school setting and within school relationships, and thereby give them the secure base needed for concentration and learning.
