The Theories Behind Trauma Informed PE — Helping Students Feel Safe, Seen and Ready to Learn

“I used to dread PE. I’d try to get sent out of class just so I didn’t have to deal with it.”

That’s what one young person told me.

Not because they didn’t like PE.

But because they didn’t feel safe.

Trauma Informed PE flips that script.

It shows us that PE can be a place of healing—where movement becomes a language of connection, not competition.

At Future Action, our Trauma Informed PE Teacher Training Course equips educators with the tools and understanding to create lessons where every child can feel safe, regulated, and ready to belong.

This isn’t about a few wellbeing add-ons. It’s about shifting how we see children, and how we use movement with cues of safety to meet them where they are.

Let’s explore the key theories that shape this approach—and why it’s transforming PE for good.

The ACE Study: Why PE Matters More Than Ever

The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) study revealed the long-term toll of trauma on a child’s physical and mental health.

Mechanisms by which adverse childhood experiences influence health & wellbeing throughout the lifespan.

Source: Brown, D.W. et al (2009) in their Adverse Childhood Experiences and the Risk of Premature Mortality study

It also highlighted a solution: emotionally available adults who offer stability, care, and consistent relationships—what we call the 8 protective factors.

PE teachers can be one of these protective adults. And when they are, they help students rewrite their life story.

The RISE Framework: Movement That Heals

Our RISE acronym helps educators use movement to co-regulate emotions, calm the nervous system, and build connection.

Inspired by Beacon House Trauma Treatment Centre and rooted in trauma science, RISE includes:

• Repeaters: Repetitive, rhythmic activities like jogging or skipping that calm the amygdala and access the prefrontal cortex.

• Inclusive Teams: Team games that build trust, safety, and belonging through connection.

• Stress Busters: Predictable Resistance-based exercises that help release tension and support regulation.

• Energisers: Heart-lifting aerobic activities like dance or circuits that help re-engage withdrawn students and stimulate feel-good chemicals like dopamine and serotonin.

Movement becomes medicine. And PE becomes a space where young people feel safe to be themselves.

Polyvagal Theory: Safety First, Sport Second

According to Dr. Stephen Porges’ Polyvagal Theory, students must feel safe before they can learn, connect, or play.

In Trauma Informed PE, we use routines, visual cues of safety, positive tone of voice, and relational consistency to help students shift from survival mode into social engagement.

When students feel safe, they’re no longer bracing—they’re ready to move, learn, and belong.

Dr. Dan Hughes' PACE Model: Connect Before You Correct

The PACE Model—Playfulness, Acceptance, Curiosity, Empathy—reminds us to lead with connection.

Instead of “Why are you acting like this?” We ask, “What’s happened to you, and how can I help?”

In PE, that means seeing behaviour as communication, staying curious, and building trust before trying to teach or correct. This softens defences and opens hearts.

Dr. Bruce Perry’s Regulate-Relate-Reason

Regulation first. Then relationship. Then learning.

Dr. Bruce Perry’s Neurosequential Model tells us that the brain processes experience in a specific order. Trauma Informed PE follows this sequence—using movement to regulate before expecting students to participate socially or cognitively.

Play Wrapped in Care (Jaak Panksepp)

Play isn't a reward. It's a requirement for healing.

Jaak Panksepp’s affective neuroscience shows us that play is essential for emotional development. But traumatised children need more than just any game—they need play wrapped in care.

That’s what Trauma Informed PE offers: playful, emotionally safe experiences that shift emotional states and support growth, joy, and connection.

The Nurture-Structure Highway

Too much nurture without boundaries can feel chaotic. Too much structure without care can feel cold and restrictive.

Jean Isley Clarke’s Nurture-Structure Highway helps educators find the right balance. In Trauma Informed PE, we create routines and expectations—wrapped in warmth and understanding.

That’s when students begin to feel safe enough to take risks, be themselves, and grow.

Moving Forward Together

At its heart, Trauma Informed PE is about people, not programmes.

It’s about connection, not compliance.

By embedding the best of trauma theory with practical, movement-based strategies, we’re helping educators build something special: PE lessons that support regulation, resilience, and belonging.

Because when students feel safe, seen, and supported, they don’t just participate—they thrive.

Tested in Classrooms, Proven in Practice

Theories without action change nothing. It’s how we apply them, especially in complex, real-world settings, that makes the difference.

I began using these strategies in a busy inner-city secondary school, supporting students who were navigating the lasting impact of lockdown. Within one term, we saw a 95% drop in send-outs.

Students who had been disengaged started to show up—physically and emotionally. A more predictable, caring environment helped rebuild trust. In one particularly challenging Exam PE group, predicted grades rose by an average of 1.5 grades, and attendance improved by 5%.

These changes didn’t happen overnight—but they came from creating the kind of environment where students felt safer, more understood, and more able to try.

It had an impact on me too. Teaching became more joyful again. When students started to thrive, so did I.

Since then, we’ve worked alongside more than 250 schools—across primary, secondary, special, and international contexts—to adapt and embed trauma informed PE practices that work in their world.

Time and again, schools report the same shift: stronger relationships, improved emotional regulation, and young people who are more engaged, more resilient, and more ready to learn.

If you're curious about what this could look like in your own setting, we’d love to explore it with you.

An Invitation For You...

Wherever you are in the world, if you’re an educator, school, or organisation ready to explore a trauma-informed, emotionally intelligent approach to PE—we’d love to connect. This is a global movement, and you're invited to join us.

Taking The First Step

We have created the ‘Enhancing Engagement Scorecard’ to help you track your progress in implementing Trauma Informed PE practice within 2 minutes. 

This scorecard acts as a valuable tool for self-reflection and continuous improvement.  Click here to take the first step and get your score.

Join Our Waiting List

We offer a range of services from courses, keynote speaking, consultancy and our book 'Time to RISE Up - Supporting Students' Mental Health In Schools'. 

You can join our waiting list here and we will reach out to you:

JOIN OUR AITING LIST

Thank you for all you do for your young people. Have a brilliant week and half term break when it comes.

Neil Moggan and the team at Future Action

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