Moves together

Trauma Informed Toolkit

Moves together

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“A trauma informed system moves together, aiming to align across the system. This is how we work together keeping the person at the centre.”
This page give an outline of…
  • Our vision of a more trauma informed system
  • Ways to cooperate, sharing better
  • How commissioning can support being more trauma informed
  • The importance of reflection
  • The Cambridgeshire & Peterborough trauma informed network

Our vision of a more trauma informed system

By working together, individuals and organisation have set out what we mean by a “trauma informed system”.
  • People working across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough may work in trauma informed ways, and take a trauma informed approach to their customers and their workmates.
  • Organisations may be trauma informed, having a trauma informed policy and training programmes to help  staff work in trauma informed ways, making sure they are supported by managers so as to avoid or deal with any trauma they encounter.
  • But a third, perhaps less well known area, is looking at how organisations deal with each other. How do staff members in one service work with people in other professions or agencies, such as health, housing, social care, or working with voluntary agencies or faith organisations? How organisations deal with each other and how they help the pee they support, to “find their way around” is vital.
  • Many people who face multiple disadvantage or any trauma may well disengage or loose their sense of control or energy, if they feel “passed around”. So it’s up to the partners to work out how to do better, how to keep the person who needs the support, at its centre! This is why we have devised what we see as the three key features of a trauma informed SYSTEM:
  • Centres on the person: focusses on the person, not the process. We listen & respond to the people living through it.
  • Adjusts to conditions: learning, adapting and reflecting together. We are open to improvement through questions and challenge.
  • Moves together: Aim to align across the system. We work on how to work together, keeping the person at the centre.
These three features were worked out through a series of workshops in 2024 and 2025, by a wide range of partners and people with lived experience, from across Cambridgeshire & Peterborough.

Ways to cooperate, sharing better

Ways to cooperate

Links to Tom’s group which is looking at issues and seeking to resolve… ask that group for suggestions on both wording and perhaps a few examples?

Better ways to work with other agencies

(used to be “refer” in Sue’s language, this is not the right term, needs to be more about building cooperation and relationship). Could include links to directories or other useful info?? HAY etc?)

Sharing better

Guidance on information sharing Link to trusted person info sharing note here (once completed) “Sharing better”?

How commissioning can support being more trauma informed

We believe it will help people who buy in, or commission, any service to have some simple ‘watch words’ to make sure the provider who takes on the work will take a trauma informed approach. There are the six “tenets” set out by the government about what a trauma informed approach includes, summary here.  The headlines (using the government and NHS six tenets) are:
  • Safety: The physical and emotional safety of clients is prioritised
  • Trustworthiness: An organisation’s policies and procedures are both transparent and clearly communicated, with the intention of building trust among staff, service users and the surrounding community
  • Choice: Service users are given sufficient choice and supported in shared decision-making goal setting to determine the infrastructure they need to heal
  • Collaboration: Staff and service user experience is utilised to overcome challenges and improve the system as a whole
  • Empowerment: Efforts are made to share power and making service users and staff an integral part of decision-making, at both individual and organisational level
  • Cultural consideration: Move past cultural stereotypes and biases based on, for example, gender, sexual orientation, age, religion, disability, geography, race or ethnicity.
These are relevant to the approach taken with individuals, including by partners who are commissioned to deliver those services. The six tenets, along with our three watchwords of a trauma informed system, can be used together to encourage all partners to reduce, remove and avoid trauma in all our workings – with customers and with other partners. While partners work on what trauma informed commissioning looks like across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, a draft note here sets out some useful guides and thoughts to help steer the start of our journey.

The importance of reflection

Ways to reflect together Info from reflect fieldwork group here

About the Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Trauma Informed Network

Since 2023 a group of people with lived experience and various agencies from across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough have been working to learn about being more trauma informed, and to develop a local approach to how we can all work better together to help people deal with trauma, and to make sure the processes partners use don’t add to their traumas. Also to consider how staff my experience trauma, and ways to help them deal with and recover from that. This bubble chart gives an idea of who is involved in the Trauma Informed in June 2025. To see it in more detail please click on the diagram, and larger version will open in a new window. Or you can find a pdf version here bubbles-july-2025
A colourful bubble chart setting out the agencies and people involved in the trauma informed network, as at July 2025
The trauma informed network, July 2025

The workshops

The network has formed as a result of working together at various events since 2022. You can track progress at the workshops using these links: Workshop 1, July 2023 A first workshop was been held in July 2023 about trauma informed systems where a number of interested individuals thought the topic through together, sharing learning and experiences. There will be more opportunities to get involved. You can find a whiteboard showing the outcomes of the workshop here. Workshop 2, November 2023
Illustration of four chalk footpaths leading to a smiling cartoon sun on the horizon
The four paths
Following everyone’s input at workshop 1, it seemed sensible to progress on four paths which would all lead us to making the whole system more trauma informed. The image we used was “four paths” leading towards the sun, because we might be able to progress down one route more quickly than another – but would all be heading for the same goal. Again, the workshop materials are set out on this MIRO board. Slides setting out how the work is building-on-input-in-workshop 1 and a note giving a little more detail on each of the “four paths” here. Finally, here is a note reviewing progress to June 2024. Workshop 3, July 2024 At workshop 3 we all focused on how to progress on all the input made around forming a trauma informed network. You can find a write-up of workshop 3 and fieldwork which sets our our plans for fieldwork, to be carried out in Autumn/Winter 2024. You can find the MIRO board for Workshop 3 here. Following workshop 3… Building on workshop 3 we identified four areas to progress, to form a trauma informed network across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. As this note sets out, we are encouraging everyone to take part in this fieldwork, on the four themes shown. Here is a note outlining the fieldwork   Workshop 4, April 2025 Write-up , MIRO board, progress on fieldwork Workshop 5 Coming soon! Date to be agreed early in 2026. please get in touch if you want to know more!

Want to know more? Want to get involved?

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We need you, your feedback, your views and your input!