Performance is currently the clear front runner when it comes to assessing school effectiveness. Accountability is the keyword, evidenced by exam results backed up by a consistent discipline regime. This was emphasised this month in the English education secretary’s reference to children’s behaving in ways...
“For every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple and wrong” H.L.Menken Recently I wrote about the essential place for kindness in schools. In 2021 we have a mountain of evidence accumulated over the last four decades which points to the need to...
I support children who struggle in school, and their schools, in a practical, evidence informed way, by increasing the capability of school staff to respond to children’s needs at the earliest opportunity, before turning to outside specialist services. Intentional, structured kindness is at the heart...
Children and young people who struggle to meet the demands of school are facing the additional stresses and changes brought about by the pandemic. Many of them who were struggling before the virus appeared will have suffered loss, bereavement and the effects of social isolation...
The need to find solutions to the complex problems children face has never been more urgent. We're in a time of high stress, constant change and stretched resources. The same holds true for the school staff who are working hard to keep students on track...
Responding to Covid19 Recently I wrote about the distinctly different responses we could take to the changed practices and new thinking Covid19 is demanding in schools. Option 1, routinely promoted by the DfE, is to put everything into the pre-pandemic box, with the routine use of punishment...
Emotional health in childhood ‘is the key to future happiness A London School of Economics study “What Predicts a Successful Life? A Life-course Model of Well-being” (Economic Journal 2014) offered “a completely new perspective on which factors contribute most to a satisfying life”, namely wellbeing, challenging...
Covid19 and early intervention; understanding the impact, preparing for recovery A story of success St. Ambrose Barlow Catholic High School in Swinton, Greater Manchester is showing what’s possible by providing Solutions Focused Coaching Early Help, to support students and their families during the Covid19 crisis. What is it...
The ‘Follow the Arrows’ reading group* is a new initiative, helping bridge the current gap between published evidence and school practices around behaviour, inclusion, mental health and wellbeing in schools. This week we were discussing chapters 5 Inside the living brain, 6 The ever plastic brain,...
I wrote and published this two months ago. Since then a great deal has happened that we couldn't have predicted then. But the issue of how to deal with children's behaviour when and if they return, and more pressingly, how to meet their increased needs arising...
