Context for joining Behaviour Hubs
Weston Primary School is an average sized, single form entry primary school of 198 pupils in the village of Weston, Runcorn. Runcorn is in an area of high deprivation and currently a Priority Education Investment Area. We have a very mixed demographic of pupils.
The school has experienced exceptional circumstances over the last 2 years with change in SLT, high levels of and SEND and SEMH needs of pupils and rising numbers of EBSNA children, with parents struggling to manage behaviour.
The school is determined to raise the aspirations, opportunities and outcomes for all our children and ensure their primary school experience is a meaningful and enjoyable one that they will value for the rest of their lives.
Behaviour challenges and goals
- To build a whole school culture centred around mutual respect, clear systems and highest expectations for all stakeholders.
- Staff engagement and staff expectations, parent engagement and lack of high expectations.
- No clear systems in place for managing behaviour and school policy was delivered inconsistently
Solutions to behaviour challenges
- CPD for SLT specific to school priorities via Behaviour Hub units
- Lead school support – drill down on areas to target, establish systems and protocols to support success of plan
- Action planning with clear and specific timeline and success criteria
- SLT researched based approach
- Delegated and distributive leadership established now in school.
- Inconsistent application of old behaviour policy – New strategy with clear pathway for behaviour management, clear everyday systems and protocols for whole school and verbal scripts to support trauma informed conversations with children and managing everyday behaviour to avoid escalation – building children for success and treating everyone with dignity.
- Staff Expectations were inconsistent and were reactive. Work on behaviour hub units, lead school visits and personal research supported SLT to establish proactive approaches and be relentless in ensuring staff of the highest expectations we all must have.
- Staff Engagement and efficacy – This programme has strengthened the whole staff team – there is a clear, visible shared mindset around behaviour and school expectations. The SLT has benefitted enormously from this project as it has helped to secure our effectiveness and leadership skills in leading and managing positive whole school change.
- MDAs not sure of expectations – staff training included MDAs and lunchtime behaviour has improved significantly.
- Rewards and sanctions more consistently applied
- Support for individuals – improved intervention to support those struggling with their behaviour. 100% of children receiving this support have made exceptional progress.
- School values and ‘rules’ were not known by staff or children. Children voted on new values and ‘code of conduct. New signage and whole school expectations have addressed this and children talk with confidence about values and code.
- Working with outside agencies to support proactive interventions to help children struggling with behaviour.
Impact on behaviour
Seismic shift in whole school culture which is now built on high expectations for all, strong relationships rooted in school values between all stakeholders
- Staff engagement significantly higher due to visible expectations and challenge where necessary
- SLT all leading together and modelling expectations, behaviours, attitudes to all.
- Improved leadership across the school including information management systems
- Significant reductions in challenging behaviours as staff more proactive in promoting desirable behaviours by following behaviour strategy consistently.Staff wellbeing improving as not dealing with challenging behaviours and when they do there is a clear pathway to follow. Staff relationships with each other and SLT significantly improved and staff becoming stronger leaders across the school.
- Number of EBSA incidents have fallen by 81% since Autumn 2023
- Number of physical incidents against peers has fallen by 51% since Autumn 2023
- Physical incidents against staff has fallen by 65% since Autumn 2023
- Verbal incidents against staff has fallen by 60%
- Verbal incidents against peers has fallen by 34%
- SEMH issues have fallen by 86% since Aut/Spr 2023/24
- 100% reduction in use of TEAM Teach since Autumn 2023
- A strong SLT with strong relationships, clarity of vision, confidence to challenge and solve problems focusing on the why above all else.
Next steps on your behaviour journey
- Sustain the Behaviour Strategy through annual training, termly refreshers, regular briefings, induction pack and programme for new staff.
- Whole school behaviour reset weeks at start of each term
- New behaviour system monitoring calendar in place
- Implement new behaviour logging and tracking systems
- Review and adapt strategy when necessary
- Uniform expectations prioritised
- Embedding children’s positive and desirable behaviours
- Embed reward system including attendance, uniform and dojo awards.
- Maintain relationship with lead school to support further improvements and developments.
- Support other schools in making systematic and strategic improvements to their behaviour management systems and school culture.
- Apply our leadership approach to other strategic projects.