Rhws Primary School is a large primary school in Rhoose in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. It serves 370 pupils and is soon to be accommodating 400. It is a mainstream school with 13% free school meals and a high number of looked after children. They have also developed their own Alternative Provision to respond to the changing needs of learners.

 

Back in 2019 staff at Rhws were struggling with behaviour linked to poor mental health and additional needs. This became even more of an issue post lockdown. There was isolated good relational practice but there was a disconnect between the approaches that were being developed through engagement with Trauma Informed Schools and the whole-school approach to behaviour management. Attempts at changing behaviour approaches, such as awards, stickers and points were not helping. They wanted a whole-school reset.

 

In this search for a whole-school approach which promoted relational practice the SLT read ‘When The Adults Change, Everything Changes’ which was recommended reading from the Trauma Informed Schools Diploma. The SLT were immediately on board with it. It seemed to answer many of the issues that they were facing. They liked the whole-school, relational and non-shaming approach. The school invested in a copy of the book for all staff and over the summer all members of staff read ‘When The Adults Change, Everything Changes’ as part of Professional Learning Development. 

 

In the first term they started small. They wanted actions to be achievable and, importantly, consistent. ‘Meet and Greet’, ‘Ready, Respectful and Safe’, ‘Fantastic Walking’ and ‘Triage’ were the first things to be introduced at Rhws. 

 

With ‘Meet and Greet’, staff are very visible and individually welcome each pupil. Pupils and staff made decisions about the types of greetings to choose from; hug, hand shake, fist pump, high five etc. They found that whilst the physical greeting was important, more important was the eye contact, the questions and positive reminders. This is well embedded now and feedback from pupils, staff and parents is really positive. SLT being visible as part of the ‘Meet and Greet’ on the gate every morning has also had a positive impact and they are finding that smaller issues are now being solved quickly at the gates and are not being left to build up. 

 

The simplicity of ‘Ready, Respectful and Safe’ made a lot of sense. Older pupils were challenged to look at previous school rules and class charters to see if they could fit under them. They were introduced at assemblies and at classroom level so that pupils could really understand them. All conversations about behaviour refer back to one of them, and language is consistent and clear. ‘Ready, Respectful and Safe’ has been introduced in both Welsh and Makaton. This means that children can be recognised in the middle of learning or during assembly without disturbing learning. The non-verbal ways of providing positive recognition have been really successful and the school are working on all adults being confident at using this approach.

 

Fantastic Walking has made a huge difference to the way children move around the school. This was a priority due to the sheer number of children at the school and the site layout. It took a lot of time and practice. Reception children found it easier as it was the only way they knew how to move around the building, but for others it took a lot of practice and modelling by all staff and children.

 

Recognition has been given prominence over reward. Extrinsic rewards, currency style systems and shame have all been removed, and intrinsic recognition, in the form of positive noticing, recognition boards and screens, good news slips, phone calls home and over and above celebrations, are now the focus. ‘Over and Above Breakfast’ is now a Friday institution at Rhws.

 

The environment at Rhws has been improved to be more homely and calming and this has had an impact on regulation. In May 2024 Estyn found that “Leaders successfully place well-being at the heart of Rhws Primary School, fostering inclusivity and respect among pupils and staff and creating a calm and happy learning environment.”

 

There have certainly been some bumps in the road along the way. Triage was something that they introduced early. They had thought it would be instantly groundbreaking. Triage is used to staff who are finding behaviour difficult to manage and to support pupils who are needing support. It is used to support learners inside or away from the class to allow teachers to continue teaching. There is a focus on supporting regulation so that the pupil can return to learning. However, initially staff expected a ‘fix and return’ of children or visible forced consequences. Some staff (and other children) felt that certain children were being ‘rewarded’ by taking part in regulation activities. They needed to go back and unpick triage and look at why it wasn’t perceived to be working. Part of the process has been about developing an understanding with staff about the difference between what children deserve and what they need, and the WTAC dials imagery was useful for this. There is now more of an understanding of the purpose of triage and staff are beginning to develop their delivery of restorative conversations to repair and discuss consequences, moving away from blame and shame. The focus is being kind on the child but firm on the behaviour. 

 

Rhws have worked tirelessly with parents too and they have a better understanding of the approaches being introduced at schools. They continue to develop this and are looking to introduce parent workshops based on ‘When the Parents Change’ book and programme.

 

Advice that Rhws Primary School would give to others includes “keeping it simple” to support consistency, “lead like a tortoise”- picking individual priorities and focusing on embedding them before moving on, Take time to bring staff back together regularly to reflect and being ready to relentlessly model what you want to see from staff and pupils.

 

We have been working with Rhws Primary School for some time now and are delighted to formally recognise them as a Partner School of ours!