What we do
Patient, relational support that brings children back to learning.
Aptitude Trust intervenes and supports children whose learning has been interrupted by trauma and crisis, helping to re-establish their confidence and enthusiasm for learning. Our approach is relational and trauma-informed: we build safety first, then trust, then learning.
Trauma has made learning feel unsafe.
Patient, trauma-informed intervention rebuilding trust.
The child reconnects with education, at their own pace.
Confidence and enthusiasm restored.
Our approach is not theoretical. It is grounded in years of real, working practice with children whose education has been interrupted by trauma — and it is this proven, relational method that our charitable work extends to children who could not otherwise access it.
Every child’s path is different, but our support tends to take three forms — working together to help a child feel safe, supported, and able to learn again.
We help children whose needs cannot be met in mainstream settings to reach the specialist, trauma-informed education that can.
Patient one-to-one and small-group support that rebuilds trust and confidence, at each child’s own pace.
We share our trauma-informed approach with educators, so that more children — not only those we reach directly — can benefit.
Our research arm
Alongside our direct work with children, Aptitude Trust has a dedicated research arm. Its purpose is to keep our practice grounded in the most current evidence — and to contribute to the wider understanding of how children affected by trauma can be helped to learn.
Education and neuroscience are moving quickly, and what we learn benefits not only the children we support directly, but educators and families far beyond our reach. Funding our research arm allows us to commission and undertake up-to-date educational research, translate emerging evidence into practical approaches, and share what works with the wider sector.
A distinct funding opportunity: our research arm can be funded independently of our direct support work — an option that may particularly interest funders with an interest in evidence, education policy, or improving outcomes at scale.