Woodlands School prides itself as a setting where strong and trusting relationships are sought, nurtured and valued. Woodlands is a broad-spectrum special school for children and young people aged 4-19yrs just outside Birmingham, and accepts learners from across six counties due to its location. Woodlands School is ambitious for what learners can achieve, academically, developmentally and for their social and emotional management and well-being. Relationships between staff and pupils are positive, respectful and caring with all staff understanding how pupils’ behaviours are a method of communication. They take time to understand what pupils need and quickly put effective support in place. All children at the school have an Education and Health Care Plan (EHCP). There is a real awareness that learners at Woodlands School are unique, all with a different set of needs and circumstances that require a personalised approach to their relationships, behaviour and regulation. 

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When Justine Barlow joined the Senior Leadership Team at Woodlands School two years ago, there wasn’t a specific approach to behaviour management. Staff were attachment-aware and trauma-informed, and there was an expectation of relational practice, however there wasn’t specific staff training, a user-friendly behaviour policy, or a behaviour curriculum to articulate how positive behaviour would be sought or taught; and there wasn’t clear direction as to what this relational behaviour management should look like in practice.

 

Reading the book ‘When The Adults Change, Everything Changes’ was a key turning point. Justine, with the support of the Senior Leadership Team, wanted to use the text as the foundation for an updated whole-school approach to behaviour and to clearly set out ‘this is how we do it here’. The Senior Leadership and Pastoral Teams worked collectively and an action plan was created, leading to the development of a whole-school training programme. This was to be delivered across a full academic year to ensure it could be securely implemented, giving staff due time to understand, action and gradually embed the approach. Training was delivered during inset days in September, January and May; with clear expectations, monitoring and of course significant advice and support. 

 

Updates and reminders were used to encourage and motivate staff, along with continual reference to the best interests of the learners. Expectations were made clear about what is and isn’t acceptable in the new relational and visibly kind approach. The training was strategically aligned with a new and significantly reduced Behaviour Policy, the introduction of a Behaviour Curriculum and supportive performance management objectives for staff – a whole school ethos. A ‘Summary on a Page’ overview and School Display are a supportive reminder of expectations and approach, and the positive impact is shared regularly with the staff team and wider stakeholders.

 

Training delivery was initially tricky as there was a lot of information to impart and explanations were needed to ensure staff understood ‘why’ they were being asked to take this particular approach. Explaining that it was the adults that needed to change was particularly challenging at times but overcome with clear reasoning and again the reminder of the best interests of the learners. The Senior Leadership Team needed to be ‘relentlessly bothered’ to make sure that the training translated to actual and meaningful change. Justine and the HLTA for Behaviour, Louise Jeyes, adopted a Behaviour Walk Monitoring Sheet to capture good practice and highlight areas for further leadership and pastoral support. They also constantly reiterated the phrases they wanted to hear around school. The subsequent training sessions were easier as they consolidated what had already been started and most staff were on board after a successful first term. 

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Whilst Woodlands School is still at the implementation stage, impact is clearly evident already; visibly and through behaviour data. Visitors such as the School Improvement Partner have commented positively on their impressions of the behaviour seen around school, and data shows that behaviour has been much improved at key times of the day, notably lunchtimes and transitions, resulting in learners being increasingly ready to learn when they arrive at, or return to classrooms.

 

They are continuing to raise the expectations of learners and staff using visible kindness and developing relationships. Learners know the school rules of ‘ready, respectful and safe’ and mostly understand why this is important. Recognition boards feature in each classroom, and praise is plentiful where learners go ‘above and beyond’ minimum expectations. Positive notes are sent home to share the news with parents and carers, and students who are nominated are invited to afternoon tea with the Headteacher. Intrinsic reward is valued, and extrinsic reward is only utilised when necessary to benefit outcomes for specific learners. Students have a real voice, with a learner survey undertaken twice a year to hear what learners think about behaviour and feeling safe at school. Similarly, parents/carers are consulted twice a year, in addition to termly face-to-face meetings, and staff voice is captured through a twice-yearly survey and regular focus group meetings with the Head Teacher. Core classroom routines, such as ‘meet and greet’ and ‘wonderful walking’ help to create a sense of certainty. There is a real understanding that adults play a crucial role in the whole process. They strive to be professional, calm, kind and understanding, even when responding to undesirable behaviour. They are encouraged to ‘pick up their own tab’ to consolidate their own certainty and authority and they practice ‘advanced assertiveness’, reducing volume, tone and number of words for calm. Ultimately, they build strong relationships through being ‘relentlessly bothered’. The school culture will continue to be built on the kindness and understanding of all staff who value every learner, support them with certainty and consistency, and make them always feel appreciated and important.

 

A key to the success at Woodlands School has been a collaborative approach; strong leadership and positive motivated staff supporting the new ethos. Combining high expectations of staff with clear acknowledgment of their efforts and recognising those who go ‘above and beyond’ every day to support their learners; has enabled the Senior Leadership Team to attribute the success of the new behavioural approach to the whole staff collectively, it is becoming a celebrated aspect of their school culture.

 

We are delighted to make Woodlands School a WTAC Partner School and look forward to working with them in greater depth.