Through the Pivotal Blog, we are publishing in full "Views from the Bridge" a book about the Bridge Project in Chesterfield.
We are publishing this book in chapters. Every week a new chapter will be uploaded to the blog. So make sure you bookmark this page or subscribe to the RSS feed.
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Get up to date before you begin this chapter.
We have already published the following:
Project Headlines and Foreword
Chapter 5
Turning Points
It can be difficult in the field of education to tell whether or not one is having an impact. Some years ago a colleague told me that he had met one of our former pupils in a fairly rough Edinburgh bar one evening. This young man was by now over six feet tall, tattooed and every inch a man. My colleague didn't quite know what to expect when he was approached late in the evening in this establishment with a reputation for trouble.
"Buy you a pint, sir?"
As my colleague described this encounter we both wondered whether this lad had ever called us "Sir," back in the day.
"I know you probably thought I wasn't listening back when I was a kid, " he continued, "but I was and the things you said to me were right. I was just a daft laddie then. Now I've got a kid and I'm working as a landscape gardener. I know I'll be telling my kid the things you told me."
Delayed satisfaction! Desired outcome achieved.
(My friend never did tell me what he was doing in that bar!)
The staff at the Bridge Project believe that they were able to identify signs that they had been having an impact - particularly in establishing trust - with some of their students. It is definitely important to recognise those early signs when they occur rather than years later in a bar. Once some measure of trust is felt staff know to keep doing what they have been doing but, more importantly, push for further and speedier progress, make more demands of the learner.
Case No 1: Russell
Through nobody's fault, the interruptions and changes to the care arrangements for Russell were far from ideal. The challenges he and his family had had to deal with were huge. It is not surprising that Russell had not made it easy for those trying to provide him with a stable and nurturing home. For a while he lived with his grandmother but when she could no longer look after him other members of his extended family stepped in to help, but by now, not understanding why he couldn't stay with his grandparents and resenting the fact, Russell was proving a truculent handful. He eventually moved into the care of the local authority but in a different town from his relations, his friends and his school as is often the case.
It was suggested that he transfer to the school in the town where his carers lived. Russell, understandably, did not want to do this, fearing he would lose contact with his family and friends. Particularly in a time of budget cuts, the LA Social Workers were reluctant to provide the taxi Russell asked for to take him to and from his home area so that he might maintain contact.
He was now playing up quite badly in school. As I have commented elsewhere in this account of the work of the Bridge Project, pupils who have been described by their schools as posing them quite challenging management problems, often show a different and more positive side of their personalities in the Bridge (Chapter 1: How Come They Look So Normal). Russell was one who did just that.
One day I was having a conversation with a member of staff in the Bridge when Russell came into the room, "Am I interrupting?" he asked. When he finished what he wanted to ask I asked him how such a polite young man was thought by his school to be in danger of exclusion. "I have ADHD," he replied "and I get a bit carried away." Russell bemoaned that in school he had been advised to tell his support worker when he was getting into trouble, "But when I do, I still end up in seclusion and usually get excluded!" The Lead Teacher told me later that in the Bridge, Russell didn't feel he had to act the class clown as he had at school.
You would not be surprised if Russell's faith in adults had been damaged and whilst he was always polite and cooperative he was cautious and reserved. That moment of realisation that he was gaining confidence in the staff came when a trip to the Doncaster Dome was being discussed. Russell said he would like to go, in itself not remarkable, but when set against the fact that he might have gone with his school and his school friends to Alton Towers, you can appreciate the interpretation the staff put on that decision. You may need to be informed that in the eyes of young people, a trip to Alton Towers is a much valued excursion whilst - with respect to Doncaster - the Dome is a bit passé. So Russell said in effect, "I like these people and I would like to spend some more time with them."
Case No 2: Les
Les was one of the very few Bridge pupils to live with both his natural parents, but increasingly there had been problems during his childhood which meant his needs had not been met fully: indeed, sometimes not met at all. For instance, medical and dental appointments were not made when needed, or not kept when made. His parents' focus on their own lives and their lifestyle meant that Les was very often left to his own devices. There were few if any boundaries and Les roamed the streets until quite late in the evenings.
At school his attendance rate was 40-50% at best, with his dad often covering for him by providing excuses. His friendship group in school comprised other troublesome youngsters and he was so often in trouble at breaks and lunchtimes that he was banned from school premises during lunch breaks. He went to his grandmother's at those times but quite often did not return to school for the afternoon.
Although he had a dry sense of humour - which to me implies a level of intelligence - his literacy and numeracy skills were at a very low level. He genuinely didn't seem to hear teacher instructions or explanations at all, meaning that when asked, "So what are we going to do now, Les?" he replied quite honestly, "Dunno."
A very positive sign was that his attendance at the Bridge was over 90% and on the occasions when he lost his temper and stormed out he always returned next day.
To the other youngsters in the Bridge, Les appeared odd. He was prone to spitting when he talked excitedly and had an unusual voice. Others noticed that, under his breath, he often made comments, asking questions of himself and answering them. "Well that'll be a ‘no' then. Thought so.""Would I like to open my maths book? No not really." He was quite clumsy at times and staff wondered about possible dyspraxia.
Quite a few of the Bridge youngsters appear to be outsiders and although they often operate within groups, they lack genuine, positive friendships. They may well claim to have "loads of friends" but very few of these are genuine. The may believe they are popular but it is often because they are the kind of kid other pupils like to have in a class as when they act up or show off, some entertainment ensues, meaning the whole group and the teacher are distracted from the work of the lesson.
They may seek other "friends" by joining the bullies so they can feel, "At least I am not being picked on."
The work done on group dynamics in the Bridge is a key element in helping students make progress and certainly led to Les feeling accepted and his need to play a disruptive role lessening. The others accepted his eccentricities and he formed healthy friendships with some. We will see this positive group influence in action with others too.
When the time for reintegration to his mainstream school arrived, he asked to go to another school instead on a "managed move". This was granted, but towards the end of the trial period he approached the Bridge staff, telling them that he wanted to stay in his original school. Nothing original or remarkable in that, but for Bridge staff the breakthrough was that he was able to articulate what he was feeling, namely that he was out of place, unrelaxed and uncomfortable in this different school. He could also articulate that he would need to behave back in his home school. Previously he would have only been able to reply "Don't know." By talking to Bridge staff about his feelings he prevented a slide into a negative relationship with both schools which would have added another black mark to his record.
Case No 3: Pat
Pat was a nonconforming pupil in a fairly traditionally-run faith school. I suspect the importance to the family of the religious element was due to adherence to their community traditions rather than the faith teaching per se. After a steady start in Year Seven, Pat increasingly began to insist on following his own ways in opposition to those of the school. It was principally in the wearing of uniform that his increasing stubbornness showed. Pat held the view that his training shoes were quite reasonable and that the school's insistence on "proper shoes" was not. School staff had a growing suspicion that this opposition was for opposition's sake, but whatever, from shoes to ties to hoodie, positions became more entrenched. Pat was put into seclusion or sent home when he transgressed and this suited him just fine. His attendance gradually reduced to zero.
Pat was a slightly-built lad with longish fair hair. His face rarely betrayed any feelings; he spoke very little and when he did it was in a very quiet voice. He avoided eye contact and his parents said he never laughed. Pat told me that the girls liked him and I could see that would be true due to his good looks and the fact that his quiet manner was a contrast to those of many brash teenage boys.
There were two turning points with Pat and the first had to come very early - Bridge staff had to get him to attend. This they did by visiting him at home - several times. On these visits, Pat would try to stay upstairs in his bedroom and avoid meeting the staff. On each occasion his father would bring him downstairs. He didn't contribute much to the conversations, preferring to stand facing a wall rather than sit, pulling the ends of his shirt down with tightly clenched fists. When he did sit down at his Dad's insistence, he would stay scrunched up in such a tight ball it made everyone present feel uncomfortable. The Lead Teacher gave his usual pitch - that they would all work together to get Pat back into his school and that he was sure agreements could be reached. Whatever it was that was said, between the efforts of his father and the persistence of Bridge staff in returning to see him several more times, he did begin to attend and with a few hiccups, he stayed.
There was a second major crisis rather than a hiccup and that was when Pat's hair was cut very short. By this time Pat's hair had grown quite long, but the hair removal was more to do with a family dispute than views about hairstyles. Again Pat had to be cajoled into attending the Bridge and would only do so if he was allowed to wear his hoodie - hood up of course - as he was embarrassed about his appearance. This is where the peer group played a positive part. After a few days the group were keen to see what Pat looked like with a shaved head and persuaded him to lower the hood. They approved of the new look. They told Pat it was cool and in truth because of his fine features he did look good in the modern shaved-head fashion.
The theme of this chapter has been about helping troubled teenagers who have not had their self-esteem "stroked" or boosted by nurturing parents as most children have. The staff's acceptance of each one as an individual and their relentlessly positive approach you would take for granted (but shouldn't). But an extra, more powerful dimension, came from the input from the other students.
The staff worked hard in the early days to establish this atmosphere and attitude and before long youngsters were telling the adults that so and so deserves a "star point" for something they had done. As there was a rolling intake over the two years, it became a little easier to maintain that ethos. Pat's shaved head turned from an anxiety to an asset. Les's odd appearance and mannerisms were passed over for more important personal targets. Russell was quickly made to feel at home in the group and no longer felt such an urge to show off or to run for home.
One unexpected aspect of Bridge curriculum contributed a lot to improvements in self image and that was swimming. From the outset, swimming at the local public pool was a welcome expedition outside the close confines of the Project accommodation. However, I have described elsewhere that quite a few of the Bridge young people were seen by their mainstream school peers as outsiders and some of that was due to their size and weight. Around half of those who have passed through the Bridge so far have been quite overweight or quite thin, and a couple were very tall. Several parents warned the staff that they couldn't see their child going swimming but in the end all of them did.
For some it was the sight of the others having fun and apparently not caring about their appearance that persuaded them to join in. Sometimes it was the persistence of staff in encouraging them to have a go. One tactic taken by a staff member who was tasked to supervise a non-swimmer from the spectator area was to say that she quite fancied a swim and that if only the pupil would do so then the staff member could swim too. Unexpectedly that worked and next week the pupil turned up in the morning with swimming kit - necessitating a quick dash home for her costume by the staff member who had been anticipating another session on the poolside! When, after many efforts at persuasion, one chubby lad said he would go swimming that afternoon the Lead Teacher rushed out to the local sports shop to buy a pair of shorts for the boy so as not to let the moment pass.
We see this participation in swimming as important and not just for that activity's sake but for what it signified. Anyone who has contact with teenagers knows just how body-conscious they are and this is particularly so for the kind of youngster who attended the Bridge. For them all without exception to go swimming shows the extent to which they have bought into the idea that "We are all different but we can cope with that."