Harlescott Junior School

Phase/Provision: Primary

Theme: Pupil Support, Relationships, Staff Induction and Development

Context for joining Behaviour Hubs

Harlescott Junior School is a larger than average Junior school, situated in one of the more deprived areas of Shrewsbury. Pupil numbers have been increasing over the last few years because of our reputation of being a fully inclusive school setting. Our current number on roll is: 380 pupils.

We support several different groups of learners including: 32% of pupils are in receipt of FSM, 28% of pupils are on the SEND register, 2% are CLA pupils and 7% are EAL pupils. Most of the children are from low-income families and there are many where children’s services are involved.

The most recent Ofsted inspection in May 2023 resulted in a ‘Good’ judgement with outstanding features for Behaviour and Attitudes and Personal Development. We are proud of this achievement as a tremendous amount of energy has been given to develop this aspect of school life, yet we also recognise the need to continuously develop and improve the life chances of our children. We believe it is important to invest in our staff with continuous professional development. Being part of the Behaviour Hubs programme has enabled us to build further success and to be inspired by other school settings.

Statements from our most recent inspection report:

“Behaviour and attitudes of pupils are exemplary. Staff have high expectations of pupils’ behaviours. They model these behaviours to pupils. Pupils are taught how to respect each other. They understand how their behaviour may impact on others”.

“Pupils behave very well during lessons”.

 

Behaviour challenges and goals

Behaviour across our school is very good but there are pockets in school where we felt this could be improved. In addition, a small number of our children can display high challenging behaviour and have complex needs. These children are supported through our Tier system with some children attending our Nurture Hub classes. We are highly inclusive and work hard to support all pupils to reach their potential. In the first instance, we wanted to ensure that all staff adhered to our Relationships and Behaviour policy and felt well equipped to manage low-level behaviours as well as developing skills to manage more challenging behaviours, if they should be presented, with growing confidence. We also wished to build on our ‘inclusive’ reputation and focus on routines that would help children to become increasingly more confident with strategies to help them learn how to self-regulate thus showing greater engagement and emotional intelligence.

Despite a healthy amount of CPD about trauma and behaviour, a small number of staff – including TA’s – felt that children should ‘just behave and be respectful at all times’ and that times of regulation could be perceived as reward for poor choices. Some staff also didn’t feel it was necessary to support children with their behaviour choices if they were not in their class.

To combat these challenges, we wanted to achieve the following:

  • Staff and children know, understand and are ready to contribute to the behaviour culture
  • Leaders ensure that the vision and rules are explicit, consistent, and reinforce school values and routines.
  • All pupils understand the rules, rewards and sanctions, and are able to demonstrate the required learning behaviours.
  • Children are supported to learn strategies or follow routines which help them to self-regulate
  • Increased CPD opportunities based on our own evidence-based research along with the recommendations and CPD provided by the Behaviour Hubs programme for our staff. We built this up incrementally through the year, so it was always a high priority and built on previous learning.
  • Asked Middle Leaders to further support their team so they feel empowered to deal more confidently with low-level behaviour incidents – ideally putting into practice the strategies outlined in the CPD sessions and in our Relationships and Behaviour policy.
  • Based on inspiration from networking events and open days, we set up Behaviour Reset days so staff could take time out from the curriculum to re-establish classroom routines, discuss rules and expectations, build esteem, set up positive affirmations etc This has had a significant impact following all school holidays and is a routine we will use in the new academic year.
  • Calm Baskets and Spaces, along with journaling and mindfulness were set up as trial routines initially and by the end of the Autumn term, it was decided that this would become a non-negotiable routine for every class. This short 10-minute period in the school day allows children to settle and provides opportunities for them to use taught or recommended self-regulation strategies.
  • By setting a good example of high expectations for behaviour as an SLT team and being very visible throughout the school day, we feel staff are now beginning to imitate our approach when supporting children around the school to make good choices. Consistent monitoring helps too. This approach was built into our routine and was observed on all school visits organised through the Behaviour Hub programme. Staff delivering these tours or presentations often shared advice about how concerns in their school were managed and we applied this in our setting. These experiences have filled us with confidence to tackle concerns directly.
  • Using the Behaviour Hub survey tool also helped us to pinpoint concerns and areas to develop our practice.

Solutions to behaviour challenges

To overcome these challenges, we:

  • Increased CPD opportunities based on our own evidence-based research along with the recommendations and CPD provided by the Behaviour Hubs programme for our staff. We built this up incrementally through the year, so it was always a high priority and built on previous learning.
  • Asked Middle Leaders to further support their team so they feel empowered to deal more confidently with low-level behaviour incidents – ideally putting into practice the strategies outlined in the CPD sessions and in our Relationships and Behaviour policy.
  • Based on inspiration from networking events and open days, we set up Behaviour Reset days so staff could take time out from the curriculum to re-establish classroom routines, discuss rules and expectations, build esteem, set up positive affirmations etc This has had a significant impact following all school holidays and is a routine we will use in the new academic year.
  • Calm Baskets and Spaces, along with journaling and mindfulness were set up as trial routines initially and by the end of the Autumn term, it was decided that this would become a non-negotiable routine for every class. This short 10-minute period in the school day allows children to settle and provides opportunities for them to use taught or recommended self-regulation strategies.
  • By setting a good example of high expectations for behaviour as an SLT team and being very visible throughout the school day, we feel staff are now beginning to imitate our approach when supporting children around the school to make good choices. Consistent monitoring helps too. This approach was built into our routine and was observed on all school visits organised through the Behaviour Hub programme. Staff delivering these tours or presentations often shared advice about how concerns in their school were managed and we applied this in our setting. These experiences have filled us with confidence to tackle concerns directly.
  • Using the Behaviour Hub survey tool also helped us to pinpoint concerns and areas to develop our practice.

Impact on behaviour

Being a part of the Behaviour Hub has enabled us to see that our vision and high expectation for our pupils can be attained. Our inclusive and nurturing culture is improving and evolving all the time. From working closely with our lead school and visiting multiple open days across the country, we observed some of the very best practise, amending and adjusting to our setting.

As a result of this journey with Behaviour Hubs, we are proud of the following achievements:

  • Development of a new whole school behaviour routine following each school holiday. We call this Behaviour Reset Day and it is dedicated time to celebrate and train our pupils to successfully meet our expectations for behaviour.
  • Middle Leaders are now well equipped to support low-level behaviour incidents and offer strategies to support children and staff – survey outcomes indicate a 100% strongly agree that support is helpful and accessible.
  • Solution Circle is a new routine to support staff with concerns or issues in school. This is a solution focused discussion routine that has been effective so far and we wish to build on this in the new academic year. We only have verbal feedback to quantify this, but we can see how it empowers staff. This new routine is led by SLT and is accessible to all teachers who wish to ‘reach out’.
  • Calm Basket/Space and Mindfulness/Journaling routines are secure now and are highly regarded amongst children and staff because they support self-regulation and allow time to process incidents or to develop new strategies. Pupil Survey 100% state Calm Basket is in use and can be seen in class.
  • Follow Up survey teaching staff state: senior leaders foster a culture where I am confident to ask for support in managing pupils with persistently disruptive behaviour with 50% who strongly agree and 50% who agree.
  • Termly CPOM analysis reveals a decrease in behaviour incident through the academic year – see Action Plan
  • Following a survey for our children to participate in, Pupil Voice indicated that 99% of pupils could articulate what the current routines are for their class and transition activities around school.
  • Follow Up survey indicates that staff modelling positive relationships and expected behaviour as 100% strongly agree which reinforces staff efforts to not only guide children in their own class but around the entire school setting.
  • Follow Up survey indicates 100% strongly agree that relationships between pupil and child is positive. Similarly, staff and children indicate 100% strongly agree that school is a safe space for them.

 

Next steps on your behaviour journey

Being a part of the Behaviour Hub has enabled us to see that our vision and high expectation for our pupils can be attained. Our inclusive and nurturing culture is improving and evolving all the time. From working closely with our lead school and visiting multiple open days across the country, we observed some of the very best practise, amending and adjusting to our setting.

As a result of this journey with Behaviour Hubs, we are proud of the following achievements:

  • Development of a new whole school behaviour routine following each school holiday. We call this Behaviour Reset Day and it is dedicated time to celebrate and train our pupils to successfully meet our expectations for behaviour.
  • Middle Leaders are now well equipped to support low-level behaviour incidents and offer strategies to support children and staff – survey outcomes indicate a 100% strongly agree that support is helpful and accessible.
  • Solution Circle is a new routine to support staff with concerns or issues in school. This is a solution focused discussion routine that has been effective so far and we wish to build on this in the new academic year. We only have verbal feedback to quantify this, but we can see how it empowers staff. This new routine is led by SLT and is accessible to all teachers who wish to ‘reach out’.
  • Calm Basket/Space and Mindfulness/Journaling routines are secure now and are highly regarded amongst children and staff because they support self-regulation and allow time to process incidents or to develop new strategies. Pupil Survey 100% state Calm Basket is in use and can be seen in class.
  • Follow Up survey teaching staff state: senior leaders foster a culture where I am confident to ask for support in managing pupils with persistently disruptive behaviour with 50% who strongly agree and 50% who agree.
  • Termly CPOM analysis reveals a decrease in behaviour incident through the academic year – see Action Plan
  • Following a survey for our children to participate in, Pupil Voice indicated that 99% of pupils could articulate what the current routines are for their class and transition activities around school.