In September 2019, I carried out a case study of a mainstream primary school that used a whole-school relational approach to behaviour as part of my MA in Education thesis. The study's main research question was: what does a relational approach to behaviour management look like in a mainstream school? As indicated in the previous post, creating an ethos was a crucial component in the approach's success in this study. On reflection, I've chosen to delve a bit more here into the idea of developing an ethos.
The study focused on Oak Grove Primary School (a pseudonym), a large, urban Birmingham primary school with about 400 students. Initially, the school was recommended in an online support forum for adoptive parents. Suggested schools were screened to see whether they fulfilled particular criteria (1), such as being a mainstream school, using a whole-school relational approach, and not relying too much on behaviourist approaches. The school has developed a relational ethos, or culture, based on being "kind," "compassionate," and understanding that all children have "vulnerabilities at [some] point." My observations of the school revealed this mindset in action: quiet classrooms, gentle reminders of expected behaviour, and a proactive, attuned response to any behavioural concerns.
The application of the ethos, or changing the mindset of the staff, was a pivotal element of the implementation of the school's relational approach. A good school ethos is seen as vital for creating strong relationships and positive behaviour in the classroom. Perceptions of school ethos were the most significant predictor of staff experiences of negative behaviour in a study conducted by the Scottish Government (2). Despite its significance, the term is frequently taken for granted, without explanation or critical examination (3). The ethos of a school might be defined as its "atmosphere," "climate," or "culture." It's common to think of ethos as a positive phrase; for example, it's reasonable to talk of a toxic culture but not a toxic ethos. Because bringing the idea of ethos into clear focus is typically tricky, McLaughlin (4) approached it from a philosophical perspective. He discovered that ethos included the shaping of dispositions, virtues, and characters. Morale among students and teachers, teacher job satisfaction, the physical environment, extracurricular activities, and school leadership are all indicators of ethos. It's also crucial to distinguish between an "intended" and an "experienced" ethos because a successful ethos is intentionally shaped. As an example of ethos in action, at Oak Grove, the school has a list of "50 things", which it sees as a list of experiences every child should have, such as playing in the snow or making a cake. The school makes every effort to give as many of these opportunities as possible.
A study by De Nobile, El Baba, and London (5) looked at the application of whole-school behaviour policies. Staff members in primary schools across Australia were interviewed. They were asked about their experiences of behaviour problems and to describe the level of implementation of their school's behaviour management policy. The findings revealed a greater incidence of problems in schools where policy execution was 'ineffective' or 'inconsistent.' The results presented implications for school leadership and how the implementation of whole-school policies could be monitored. This is supported by Bennett's Creating a Culture (6), where schools with successful behaviour management systems were analysed to see what the commonalities were between them; it was found that the school leadership's creating, modelling, and maintaining of a culture was a 'key task' (6). A positive ethos cannot be delivered without strong school leadership (3, 7). Writing policy is considered only a starting point; however: a school's values drive the change (8), and '[t]he leader's role is to unpack the values of the policy in practice, throughout school life' (6). Senior leadership must set the tone for change by modelling the change they expect to see and driving the school's ethos and values (8). Headteachers must believe in and "sell" the ethos (9, 10), and time should be set out to embed a school's ethos (10).
According to Harris (9), a successful ethos must incorporate all stakeholders, including staff, students, and parents, and strive toward a shared objective. This ethos must take precedence over all other viewpoints, such as OFSTED or the local authorities, because their messages sometimes contradict and confound one another. For example, schools may be required to fulfil different, opposing requirements for an OFSTED inspection than SIAMS (Statutory Inspection of Anglican and Methodist Schools).
When the whole school family has a common goal and common ethos, you know it the moment you walk through the school gates. Each and every member of staff, every pupil, every parent, … they believe collectively in the school's direction of travel. (9)
Other studies (10, 11) have also shown that the whole school community must support an ethos. Turner (11), for example, conducted a case study of an existing behaviour policy at a mixed comprehensive school in Hertfordshire utilising informal lesson observations and interviews. She examined the present behaviour policy and saw that the absence of consistent enforcement of this policy by staff had resulted in a deterioration in student behaviour. It was found that many of the staff had not been at the school when the policy was first implemented and that new teachers had received very little guidance on its application, resulting in a significant gap between how staff should deal with poor behaviour (as outlined in the behaviour policy) and what was happening in lessons. She suggested that the policy be rewritten after extensive consultation with all staff, students, governors, and parents for it to be "successfully implemented, owned, and valued." While this was a study of a single school, it has implications for how school policies are designed and enforced.
Suggitt (10) believes that a school's ethos should be established from the inside out rather than from the top down. This means that an ethos cannot be established only through policy-making. In a conventional, top-down model, the headteacher starts the momentum by deciding on an ethos and presenting it to the school community, then reinforcing it via activities or events that promote a sense of community. While this method is effective, Suggitt contends that an inside-out paradigm can produce a more sustainable ethos. The school's leadership team's participation is reduced under this approach, but they must provide the organisational circumstances and shared vision for stakeholders to buy into, all based on a single idea (such as a mission statement or motto). This is then naturally left to staff to embed within the school.
To summarise, then, school ethos … has to be born within the collective consciousness of the school community, and must be brought to life through social interactions and personal beliefs (10).
Earlier, when I mentioned 'changing the mindset of the staff', I'm not talking about mind-control. Good leaders prioritise professional learning, which they perceive as key to changing people, practices, and performance (12). Oak Grove School's training programme requires all staff to have a "base level" understanding of trauma and adverse childhood experiences and their effects on the brain and biology, attachment, and behaviour. They are also educated on particular special educational needs, such as autism and ADHD. After this, they can make up their own minds. At Oak Grove, they are bucking a trend in which many schools are not equipped to deal with behaviour issues (6) or the impact of developmental trauma (13). It is also estimated that 87% of teachers receive no training on looked-after children before they are qualified (14). Not just teachers require training; if a whole-school culture is to be established, all staff who deal with students, including teaching assistants, receptionists, and lunchtime workers, must be aware of it (7, 8, 15). In the case of new employees, this should occur before their start date (6). There is an element of leadership control as schools can employ a 'certain type' of practitioner who shares their values (7, 10).
It is reasonably straightforward to identify what a good culture might look like, but like a diet, the difficulty lies in embedding and maintaining it. This includes staff training … and maintaining standards (15).
Staff members are responsible for upholding the ethos, and all members must believe in the values (10). They exemplify this through their social interactions with students and colleagues, which are essential in developing and projecting school ethos since they reflect what students see in school (10). In a conventional, top-down model, where a set of values is imposed upon staff, morale needs to be considered carefully, as they will be the face of the 'corporate brand' but may not share the same vision.
In conclusion, Oak Grove Primary School does not adhere to any one philosophy in its approach; rather, it employs an adapted combination of techniques. Creating an ethos with strong leadership and extensive staff training has been a key component in effectively implementing this approach. These findings suggested that trainee teachers might benefit from further training in behaviour management theories, attachment theory, child development, developmental trauma, and neurobiology, which would help to shape teacher values early on.
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you require individualised support to develop a school ethos based on a relational approach, or training to support this ethos.
References
1. Yin, R. (2012). Applications of case study research (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, Calif.: SAGE.
2. Smarter Scotland. Developing a positive whole-school ethos and culture – Relationships, Learning and Behaviour. Edinburgh: The Scottish Government; 2018.
3. Graham A. Revisiting school ethos: the student voice. School Leadership & Management. 2012;32(4):341-354.
4. McLaughlin T. The Educative Importance of Ethos. British Journal of Educational Studies. 2005;53(3):306-325.
5. De Nobile J, El Baba M, London T. School leadership practices that promote effective whole school behaviour management: a study of Australian primary schools. School Leadership & Management. 2016;36(4):419-434.
6. Bennett T. Creating a Culture: How school leaders can optimise behaviour [Internet]. 2017 [cited 7 October 2021]. Available from: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/602487/Tom_Bennett_Independent_Review_of_Behaviour_in_Schools.pdf
7. Warin J. Creating a whole school ethos of care. Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties. 2017;22(3):188-199.
8. Gore Langton E, Boy K. Becoming an adoption-friendly school. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers; 2017.
9. Harris C. 'The best schools have an "ethos" that includes the head, the teachers, the governors, the kids and the parents' [Internet]. TES. 2017 [cited 25 September 2021]. Available from: https://www.tes.com/news/best-schools-have-ethos-includes-head-teachers-governors-kids-and-parents
10. Suggitt H. Staying postive – the power of a strong school ethos [Internet]. Teach Secondary. 2014 [cited 25 September 2021]. Available from: https://www.teachsecondary.com/comment/view/staying-postive-the-power-of-a-strong-school-ethos
11. Turner C. How effective and inclusive is the school's behaviour policy? Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties. 2003;8(1):7-18.
12. Dinham S. Authoritative leadership, action learning and student accomplishment. Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) [Internet]. 2007 [cited 27 September 2021]. Available from: https://research.acer.edu.au/research_conference_2007/3
13. Bombèr L, Hughes D. Settling to learn. London: Worth Publishing; 2013.
14. Become and Voices from Care Cymru. Teachers Who Care [Internet]. 2018 [cited 19 September 2021]. Available from: https://becomecharity.org.uk/media/1734/teachers-who-care.pdf
15. Rhodes I, Long M. Improving behaviour in schools: guidance report [Internet]. EEF; 2019 [cited 19 September 2021]. Available from: https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/public/files/Publications/Behaviour/EEF_Improving_behaviour_in_schools_Report.pdf