Context for joining Behaviour Hubs
Broadwalk is a Key Stage 3 Pupil Referral Unit in the City of Salford, Greater Manchester, with capacity for 40 pupils. All pupils have been permanently excluded from mainstream school or are at risk of such. We are currently in temporary accommodation across 3 sites whilst we await to move into our new purpose built PRU.
The pupils on respite provision are referred through the In Year Fair Access Panel which comprises all secondary mainstream Headteachers, the LA Officer for Admissions and Exclusions, a LA Assistant Director, the Exec Head of the KS3 and KS4 PRUs and the Head of the Pupil Health Referral Unit. This panel also agrees re-integration for pupils who have been permanently excluded. The centre also operates a partnership intervention provision off site which has early identification of vulnerable pupils and will work with the schools, children and families to prevent permanent exclusion. The PIP (Partnership Intervention Programme) is off-site in separate accommodation.
We currently have 49 pupils on roll. 43 of these are recorded as SEN Support (K Code), (identified neurological, genetic or medical needs). 6 of these are recorded as E code with either a draft or final EHCP. Many of our pupils come from a wide range of economically diverse backgrounds. This includes low-income families, unemployment, social services. A high percentage of our pupils are also PP.
Aims
The aims of the PRU are to deliver a provision that enables the pupils to make good or better progress and to improve their life chances. There is a focus on re-integration whenever appropriate and the IYFAP ensures that all pupils who make the necessary improvements are given the opportunity to move back into mainstream. The PRU will also assess those pupils who need specialist provision and will co-ordinate Formal Assessments to explore the needs of these children and how they can best be met.
Behaviour challenges and goals
- Ultimately to improve the consistency of staff and the behaviour of pupils.
- To create a calm, supportive environment with kindness and compassion.
- To adopt such consistency across school that it is known that: ‘This is the way we do things around here’
Improve Consistency
To improve consistency across the school, empower staff to make decisions thus reducing the reliance on SLT, we wanted to change our behaviour policy. This policy was to include a table of behaviours ranging from C1 (minor) for example swearing/late to lesson, to C4 (serious) for example Racism/Assault.
Reduce lesson disruption
To reduce the disruption to teaching and learning in period 1 lessons, we wanted to have a member of staff ‘on call’ for late arrivals.
Quality First Teaching
To improve the quality and consistency of teaching through CPD, curriculum deep dives, lesson observations, book looks and learning walks. Ensuring all staff were punctual and organised, using our ‘lesson opening slide’, using the traffic light system effectively and discussing points with the pupils at the end of every lesson.
Staff accountability
To address staff issues such as punctuality to morning briefing through logging lates, thanking those who were on time and directly challenging persistent lateness. Radical Candor (Care personally, challenge directly). We also needed to have ‘those difficult conversations’ over other staff issues. CPD on the importance of consistency.
Improve efficiency
To look into a new management software such as Class charts/Arbor which would enable us to tie everything together in order to improve efficiency as well as pupil and parental engagement. (SIMS, excel, word, parental communication, behaviour, attendance, rewards etc.).
Detentions
To have a visual detention tracking board in the staff room for all staff to use and inform pupils and parents.
Improve the consistency of language used amongst staff
To decide on our 3 simple rules for pupils “Be safe, be kind, be respectful”. We also decided on our 3 staff rules “Consistency, Kindness and Patience”. We also wanted to have a script on staff lanyards in order to help pupils to regulate if they were in crisis and to improve the consistency of language amongst staff.
Analysis of classroom Behaviour
To analyse behaviour across subjects/staff/period/loss of respect point/loss of work points etc in order to address issues and provide CPD if necessary.
Parental engagement.
To produce a calendar of events which would allow parents/carers to attend with their child such as Football on our new MUGGA or cooking in our new catering room. We also wanted to liaise with Salford Information Advice and Support Services in order to look into offering parents support.
Staff Induction
To rewrite the staff induction booklet to ensure all new staff and supply staff are fully inducted.
Improve the Mentoring system
To ensure all attending pupils have an assigned mentor with 1 week of starting and that all new pupils were inducted within the first 2 days. To ensure all pupils had at least 1 meeting per week with their mentor and that mentor meetings were being recorded on a weekly basis. To ensure form tutors read notes from recorded meetings on a weekly basis.
Outreach
To create a robust outreach program in order to increase attendance of pupils who are disengaged. Create an outreach timetable, allocate pupils a suitable member of staff for outreach work. Create folders with adapted work and resources for outreach sessions and to ensure all sessions are logged.
SEND
To successfully implement a SEND toolkit for all teaching staff. To conduct a skills audit with staff in order to offer specific CPD to upskill staff. Conduct SEND focussed learning walks, and internal and external training to be delivered to all staff. Chase additional paperwork from PEX schools & liaise with SENCO if possible. Create pupil passports for all pupils in order to enable staff to have the knowledge and skills to deploy specific strategies and interventions. Secure training from SEN professionals such as SALT/CAMHS/EPs.
Changing a whole school culture in a short amount of time.
Staff ‘buy-in’. Long standing staff resistant to new ideas and change.
An initial large number of new pupils which constantly changes the dynamics.
Delayed move to our new school and remaining with split staff across 3 temporary sites which are not fit for purpose and have extremely restricted space for break and lunch.
Time taken to get Class charts and Provision Maps to conduct analysis and improve parental engagement.
Solutions to behaviour challenges
Being part of the Behaviour Hub has helped us considerably. The work of Perryfields PRU and The Limes College were particularly insightful and gave us an enormous amount of ideas inspiration. We were able to observe some of the very best practice which enabled us to reflect, amend and adjust to our own setting. On every occasion after a visit, SLT returned with a greater desire to drive change for our own establishment.
We accessed high quality training through the Behaviour Hub and disseminating this to staff acknowledging the research of Tom Bennett who emphasises the importance of ‘teaching behaviour’.
The support from our lead school (The Limes College).
CPD for SLT on Attendance and Behaviour.
Regular CPD delivered to staff on new initiatives.
Staff survey to find out what they felt about behaviour.
SLT conducted a wide range of research and visited a range of open days and networking events across the country.
Impact on behaviour
- A new and improved Behaviour Policy (with categorised behaviours) which has empowered staff to make decisions and has reduced the reliance on SL
- A new mission and vision statement and revised values.
- Improved teaching and learning through the consistent use of our opening slide, traffic light system and points discussions.
- Improvement of staff punctuality and professionalism (a 148% reduction in lates to briefing).
- The purchase of Class charts and Provision Maps which we have started staff CPD with the view of launching them across school in September 2024.
- A 411% increase in detentions being attended though improved communication and higher expectation. Those not attended now complete time in reflection the following day.
- 100% of staff know the 3 staff rules: Consistency, Kindness and Patience. Most staff know the 3 pupil rules: Be Safe, Be Kind, Be Respectful. Some pupils know these WIP.
- All new staff are fully inducted.
- TA subject support rota.
- Suspensions for assault on staff reduced by 433% (from 16 last year to 3 this year)
- A higher percentage of our disengaged pupils attend AP (increase of 143%)
- Staff allocated duty locations.
- Improved pupil induction process and increased mentoring engagement. 97% of meetings logged. Improved communications through mentors and form tutors.
- A robust outreach programme which has improved the attendance of our disengaged pupils. It now delivers to 14 pupils, a 56% increase on last year.
- Internal truancy has been reduced by 115% compared to last year’s figures.
- Attendance (Autumn & Spring term) last year 65%. This year 73%
- The number of behaviour incidents has significantly decreased.
- 73% of our pupils’ PSBD (Personal, Social and Behaviour Development) scores have improved in areas of: conduct behaviour, attitude to learning and emotional stability.
- Pupil voice shows that 98% of pupils feel they have a good relationship with staff.
- Passports for all pupils & a SEND toolkit for all teaching staff. This enables staff to have the knowledge and skills to deploy specific strategies and interventions.
- Conversations with mainstream schools in order to work with them going forward in an attempt to reduce fixed term exclusions.
- Targeted outreach work following a C4 behaviour such as racism.
- Our school improvement officer commended us on our improvements in terms of our behaviour systems
Next steps on your behaviour journey
- Continue to improve our whole school culture
- Further embed our CHARACTER values
- Replace Expectation with Appreciation
- Lesson observations /Learning walks with the focus on teaching & learning