Book excerpt: The Department for Education (DfE) want to ensure all trainee teachers have an understanding of emotional development and attachment, and so this book presents the key concepts that are essential for training in this area to ensure all teachers are up to date. Attachment issues and mental health have a huge impact on pupils' performance and so an understanding of young people's emotional development is crucial for any teacher. Increasing teachers understanding and skills around emotional development can prevent many long term mental health difficulties in our schools and in our communities. Key topics such as attachment theory, emotion coaching, tackling disruptive behaviour and the trauma continuum are introduced and explained, with advice and tips for a classroom setting offered throughout. The experiences of practitioners in the field are presented alongside those of researchers, offering a range of diverse perspectives including education, psychology and health. This is an essential text for trainee and practising teachers.