A parallel multi-tiered model for trauma-informed early childhood education: a dual focus on educator and child wellbeing

Early childhood education and care (ECEC) settings hold significant potential to enhance the wellbeing of young children exposed to trauma due to their near-universal reach and sustained engagement with young children. However, trauma-informed efforts in early education contexts are often characterised by unclear role expectations for educators, limited pre-service preparation and access to specialist expertise, and insufficient attention to educator wellbeing and system-level capacity. This conceptual paper proposes a parallel multi-tiered model for informing the design, implementation and evaluation of trauma-informed programs in ECEC. Drawing on ecological systems theory, wellbeing science, trauma-informed and resilience-based approaches and a parallel process lens, the model extends existing multi-tiered systems of support by specifying tier-specific supports for children with corresponding supports for educators. In doing so, it attempts to clarify tier thresholds, professional roles and boundaries and positions cross-disciplinary collaboration as a core mechanism for responding to complex needs (via targeted, intensive supports) beyond universal supports in ECEC. By explicitly accounting for the interdependence between child wellbeing, educator wellbeing and organisational conditions, the model foregrounds organisational conditions and cross-sector collaboration as critical to sustaining trauma-informed practice in ECEC. Implications for research, practice and policy are discussed.