Context for joining Behaviour Hubs
Oswaldtwistle School which is a Pupil Referral Unit maintained by Lancashire County Council. At present the school is commissioned to provide 95 places for pupils in the 11 -16 age range and serves the geographical area of East Lancashire.
The vast majority of pupils have been permanently excluded from their mainstream school. The school has a separate unit with 12 places for pupils who are referred through the East Lancashire Child and Adolescent Service for pupils who are experiencing a range of medical conditions and anxieties which make attendance at mainstream school difficult for part of their secondary school career.
The school has a third satellite unit where pupils attend for their core subject tuition in combination with attending alternative vocational provision. When space is available, bespoke intervention package places are provided for pupils from mainstream schools who are in danger of permanent exclusion.
Almost all pupils have SEND, some pupils have an education, health and care plan (EHCP) and some pupils are undergoing formal assessment for a plan. The proportion of pupils entitled to support through the pupil premium funding is above the national average. A small number of pupils are looked after by the local authority and most pupils are of White British heritage.
At the last inspection by OFSTED in January 2019, the overall effectiveness of the school was rated Good. The area of East Lancashire that Oswaldtwistle School serves has some very severe deprivation problems especially in various urban centres. There are many small areas in the 10% most deprived localities in England.
Behaviour challenges and goals
In comparison with other Alternative Provision in Lancashire, over the past few years, Oswaldtwistle School has consistently been one of the schools with the highest level of fixed term exclusions (now called “suspensions”). Our overall objective was to reduce the level of suspensions.
Joining the Behaviour Hubs Programme was the opportunity to review and evaluate our current behaviour management system and to introduce changes where necessary. It would also enable us to improve training for staff in line with current educational research and good practice.
It was expected that there would be an overall reduction in all behaviour incidents due to better staff training and a focus on de-escalation techniques and positive relationship building.
It was thought that the improvements in every day behaviour would be demonstrated in an overall reduction in suspensions.
- The introduction of a change in focus of the school in light of the Government’s SEND and Alternative Provision Improvement Plan for AP (March 2023), and also in response to directives from the Local Authority
- Pressure of being in the OFSTED “inspection window”
- Combination of Management Information Systems and changes to the systems: Introduction of CPOMS, Introduction of Class Charts, Removal of Behaviour Watch, Ever present SIMS. Data Manager on maternity leave
- Lack of available meeting time with staff for training and reinforcing routines etc
- Constant disruption to school stability caused by a number of factors: higher than pre-pandemic levels of staff absence, strike days, school closure days due to examinations needing the whole building to facilitate access arrangements
- Being a small school made it difficult to facilitate SLT availability for training and visiting schools. In terms of “infrastructure” the expectations of a small school are the same as a school with 1500 pupils, but without the benefits of economy of scale.
Solutions to behaviour challenges
The whole year has been one of change on many levels. In line with the Government’s SEND and Alternative Provision Improvement Plan for AP (March 2023) we now view Oswaldtwistle School not as a ‘destination centre’ but as an ‘intervention centre’ which is reflected in our curriculum rationale, intent and associated curriculum pathways. Our rationale links directly to our school vision and focuses on both academic achievement and gains in social emotional literacy and personal development.
The Behaviour Hubs programme has run along-side the gradual refocusing of the school, and provided an important vehicle for driving change, in terms of training for SLT and having a Behaviour Hubs Lead School to consult with to provide advice and encouragement. The opportunities to meet with other staff from schools at different stages of the process was invaluable. The school visits had to be spread among the extended SLT, which was a positive, in that it was very motivational and empowering for the staff involved.
In conjunction with the Behaviour Hubs Programme, we completed training with Team Teach, which has an overall focus on de-escalation techniques. We have also undergone training in attachment, developmental trauma, and adverse childhood experiences. The combination of externally provided training has complemented the Behaviour Hubs Programme and has started to show some really positive signs of success.
“We understand that there are so many different facets to improving behaviour in school, such as the importance of attendance, social and emotional well -being and personal development (of both pupils and staff).“
Impact on behaviour
The past year has been one of change. As an organisation we have completely reviewed our whole vision, mission, and ethos. We have a new behaviour policy, but we also have so much more.
We understand that there are so many different facets to improving behaviour in school, such as the importance of attendance, social and emotional well -being and personal development (of both pupils and staff).
Once you can get your team working in tandem and with consistency then positive change will begin to happen.