This episode marks our quarter century. It also marks a bit of a departure in that it is a discussion with Louise Marryat and reflecting on her 2019 research into ACEs in Scotland. It is about a different sort of taking action, but we wanted to get an overview of where we were in terms of the prevalence of ACEs in Scotland. As the conversation develops it does much more than that.

It delves into the impact of poverty in Scotland and elsewhere. That underlines the need for us to take political action, as well as personal and professional action, to improve the lives of those affected by ACEs.

It enters into the discussion that we need to have about the tendency to blame those in poverty for their situation. It explores the importance of data and evidence. It offers hope by looking at the annual Growing Up in Scotland cohort study which is a major commitment on the part of Scottish Government.

Louise argues that the study does inform policy at a time when it too often appears that policy is driven by short-termism, focus groups, vested interests, over-powerful media owners and a political party which is not even in power. It seems that we need that sense of evidence driven policy and ethical commitment to counteract growing cynicism about, and disengagement from, mainstream democratic politics.

This episode is thought provoking and goes much more deeply into some of the big issues that we face in trying to make Scotland a more equal and compassionate country

This is a really important podcast for me. I realised that we had recorded 23 episodes and not included anyone from a black or minority ethnic community. That led me to reflect on how little engagement there has been between these communities and the ACEs movement in Scotland so I wanted to explore why that was the case.

I also wanted to explore the whole area of anti-racism, highlight examples of action and see where there could be more overlap with the ACEs movement.

Kwaku Adjei ań ideał person to do that with. He worked with the Council for Racial Equality and Rights - https://www.linkedin.com/company/crer-scotland/?originalSubdomain=uk. In that role he worked directly with schools advising, supporting, teaching and dealing directly with instances of racism, supporting victims and using restorative practice.

He currently works with AdRESS - Advocacy for Race Equality in Schools Scotland - https://www.adresscotland.org - building on the work that he previously did with specific schools. The focus, as the name suggests, is very much on advocacy and support.

Kwaku has certainly taken action and we talk at length about that, but we also discuss the big questions about how we bring together the ACEs movement and the anti- racist movement. We talk about communities with common challenges affected by disadvantage, stigma and trauma and how we might work together better,

We recognise that racism and othering appear to be becoming increasingly common and question whether divisions between communities are encouraged rather then resolved.

We can often be complacent in Scotland about our commitment to tolerance and equality and this podcast challenges that in, what I think, is a positive and constructive way

I am delighted to be releasing this episode of Taking Action for a number of reasons.

First, and most importantly, it features two really committed and passionate people in Gwenne and Jennie, who have an excellent project to talk about.

Secondly, it highlights work in health, which is an area that I haven't featured enough in the series.

Thirdly, it touches on a lot of themes that have been developing across this series. Their work recognises that childhood trauma may have long-lasting effects on self-regulation, mood and behaviour and can increase the likelihood of developing adult mental and physical health conditions. This growing awareness has led to mental health services becoming necessarily more trauma informed. This is reflected in a paradigm shift in nursing education, which is moving from a diagnostic model of trauma care to a psychological, trauma-informed approach. The emphasis is on what has happened to the person instead of what is wrong with the person.

The University of Stirling developed a new undergraduate nursing curriculum based on the six principles of trauma- informed care published by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. This has led to the development of the (T)AASKED model, the aim of which is to equip nursing students with the skills and knowledge to work in a trauma-informed framework and to improve the experience of mental health service users. Jennie was central to the initial development of this work and Gwenne is currently taking it forward.

• Here is a super video about this work https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhMgzKjRvxs
• The Stirling Programme is featured in the ACEs Journey video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hik0_sfbF6I
• It is featured also in the booklet: https://connectedbaby.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/ACEs-Journey-book-screen-190625.pdf
• AND it features in the academic paper Suzanne Zeedyk wrote on Scotland’s ACEs Movement, published in 2023. In fact, the paper ends with a quote from Brodie Paterson, whom Jennie mentions in the podcast as one of the team who developed the Stirling Programme. https://connectedbaby.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/ACEs-Journey-Article-.pdf