First published in Teach Primary Magazine in September 2008.
Defusing the Unexploded Behaviour Bombs
Creating sustainable, consistent and effective change in the management of behaviour within schools requires a genuinely inclusive approach with adults and children. Magic bullets that emerge from clandestine management meetings are often shots carefully aimed at the foot. Children are tempted to subvert the dictatorial teacher, so it goes with teachers who are just told what to do.
Engaging, empowering and motivating people to support changes in policy and practice needs so much more care than a ‘top down' management delivers.
To create the conditions for lasting change the first step is to design a genuinely consultative process that includes teachers, children, governors, LSAs, administrative staff and parents. Schools who work up policy from successful practice emerge from a period of transition with policy that is tailored to their institution, their community and their children. Schools who attempt top down changes or buy in snake oil from the latest charlatan promising instant panaceas find themselves frustrated with unsustainable ideas and inconsistent practice.
Getting all of the issues on the table during staff/parents/governors meetings is a high-risk strategy that can explode in your face. As people leave the meeting wondering how argument is going to improve the situation the negative shrapnel has lodged itself deep. It is vital that everyone has an opportunity to contribute their ideas, however unwelcome they may appear on the surface. People must be allowed to say what they want to say, to lay bare the issues and yes to complain, once again that ‘Nobody is doing anything about Clive'. However unpalatable the views of some of the stakeholders they must be aired. The key is to design a process that allows this level of honesty yet encourages its dissemination in a controlled manner. The art of leading the way through the minefield is to diffuse the bombs in a series of controlled explosions rather than inviting Armageddon and hoping it doesn't do too much damage.
Before we decide where we are going next we all need to carefully unpack the baggage from where we have been. Behaviour surveys that deal with the bigger picture while giving space to voice frustrations of the day to day afford everyone anonymity and encourage reflective rather than knee jerk responses. If the results of the survey are genuinely used to design positive, practical ways forward while recognising the difficult issues then people know that it has been meaningful.
While the adults are being asked for their ideas, the children's views can be sought in age appropriate ways. This information is equally valuable and care must be taken to encourage everyone to listen. Often when we audit the views of children the adults can be quick to discount them. I recall one school where almost 50% of the children clearly said that they preferred private praise. When the adults were presented with this information there was a small chorus of ‘Well they don't really feel that way!' If we are going to ask the questions then we must be prepared to act on the responses. Children's voice is not an optional extra but part of the SRF (School Review Framework) for behaviour. When schools use it the result is policy and practice that is genuinely tailored and truly inclusive.
This process is time consuming, difficult and can reopen old wounds but it is essential if the majority of stakeholders are to ‘buy in'. There will of course be some adults who, however much you try to include them, prefer to sit on the sidelines, sigh and mutter. The good news is that changes can and will take place with 80% on board. When 80% of colleagues are united the mutterers soon become a minority voice. We always hope that those who perch on the fence will, in time, see the benefits of consistent practice. The truth is that often, with time, many stop muttering. The ones that remain on the fence will eventually realise that as they continue complaining only the squirrels are still listening.
Replacing the search for blame with a relentless pursuit for strategies that work in practice, must be a key tenant of an emotionally mature staffroom. Addressing a blame culture from the start sets the right tone and encourages people to speak freely. Conversations about behaviour need to mirror the rational approach to problem solving in teaching and learning conversations. ‘He doesn't behave like that for me', might be just one of the banned phrases in this brave new world. Replace the desperate search for instant solutions with the pragmatic pursuit of change over the longer term. Creating actions plans, mapping agreements and agreeing realistic timescales might not sound exciting but it is an essential vehicle to transfer the initial aims to concrete, accountable goals.
The plan that you create from a genuinely consultative process will last for years not months. Although the short cut of top down management appears tempting under the time pressures it encourages little ownership and support from the team. The best management, like the best teaching, centres on starting from where the children are, rather than from where you would like them to be.
If your school is to be SEAL friendly then it does not start and end with a set of resources or with imported behaviour policies. Neither does it solely focus on the children. Social and emotional literacy is modelled between adults, not simply taught by adults. How you treat adults and children when it comes to decisions that affect them is just one opportunity to model socially and emotionally literate behaviour.
Building a strong platform for positive change
- Invite contributions from all stakeholders through a targeted anonymous questionnaire.
- Use age appropriate mechanisms to gather the views of the children.
- Directly address the culture of blame that is often coupled with issues surrounding behaviour.
- Start modelling SEAL in the way adults search for inclusive and democratic ways forward.
- Avoid the temptation to rush into packaging/agreeing a vision. Embark on consultation free from pre conceived ideas about what will work.
- Use focus groups of parents that gather opinion without relying on written responses.
- Take the time to ensure as wider consultation as possible. Aim to move forward with everyone and be satisfied with 80% buy in.
- Display the results and conclusions from the audit and give everyone an opportunity to reflect and respond.