Bensham Manor is a large SEND secondary school in Croydon. Before moving to a relational and trauma-informed approach they were adopting an approach of names and crosses on a board with SLT getting involved once a pupil had 3 crosses against their name and things being more punitive. There was a reliance on SLT to ‘deal’ with behaviour and a lack of understanding about what positive behaviour was amongst learners, many of whom found staying regulated challenging.

Trauma-informed training and training through When The Adults Change equipped the Headteacher and Deputy Headteacher to start to make changes. Most people didn’t fully know or remember the school rules so these were changed to ‘Safe, Ready and Kind’. Policies were also streamlined and names and crosses on a board were replaced with ‘meet and greets’, positive noticing and positive recognition boards. Scripts were worked on together as a whole staff and were adopted so that there was consistency in approach. The streamlined policy was really engaged with to ensure buy-in. Students completed related activities, word searches, comprehensions, anagrams etc. and there were discussions as a whole staff.

Initially some staff were delighted with the new approach. This was how they had always taught/wanted to teach and it aligned perfectly. For others it was apparent that their toolkit of thirty-odd years teaching had been taken away and for them it was like ‘walking a high wire without the safety net’… SLT needed ‘pockets of patience and resilience’ to motivate and support these staff members who weren’t quite on board.

 

The students understood the three simpler rules straight away and could remember and apply them. Staff were able to refer back to them when talking to students about their behaviour.

The school focused on an element of a rule to focus on each week for the students. E.g. Safe- safe walking in corridors. Staff also had a weekly focus and this was shared in the Staff Communication Updates. In lesson observations they used the adoption of Positive Behaviour Management to focus on and gained evidence of how it was working in the classroom. Behaviour was recorded on ‘My Concern’ and tracked against the same week in previous years to look for changes and the results have certainly been positive.

There is now a calmer learning environment and the students are helped to co-regulate or to use strategies to help them to self-regulate. There is a Nurture Group set up for students who have been identified as needing a more nurturing approach. Students are happy to come to school and the June 2024 OFSTED report was glowing in terms of behaviour and attitudes. Some comments include:
 

• “Pupils conduct themselves in an exemplary way around the school and in lessons. There is hardly any disruption to lessons, and if it does happen it is sorted out very quickly.”

• “Pupils behave in an exemplary way. They learn how to manage their own emotions very well and develop positive strategies that they can use if they are feeling anxious or need help.”

• “Pupils learn what good behaviour looks like. They notice and compliment each other if they see good behaviour”

The school recently held a ‘Safe, Ready and Kind’ shop event. Everyone got a spinner but if a student had 2 or less behaviour incidents (for the year) they could choose from a ‘Safe,
Ready and Kind’ pencil, pen or badge. The badges being worn with pride on jumpers and blazers!

The journey is not over for Bensham Manor. All new members of staff/ECTs go on the When The Adults Change Behaviour Course to give them the confidence to work in the classroom effectively. Staff members have completed the When The Adults Change Parenting Course and will be rolling out the programme in partnership with parents in the upcoming year. We are delighted to have Bensham Manor on board and are excited to hear about their progress!