I posted a thread on leading teacher development that seems to have landed well. Thanks for the lovely feedback. Below is a similar attempt to distil approaches I've seen work well with behaviour and culture. More likely to be divisive, but offered with humility and no tribalism.
1. If children don’t feel safe, they are not safe. Poor behaviour is frightening and traumatic to victims, stressful to participants. Leaders must learn when and where children feel unsafe. Systems, sanctuary and supervision must be tight. It is a leader’s duty to be on duty.
2. Children are fundamentally kind and empathic. Far more so than adults. But they are also impulsive and forming. The structures of schooling should be certain and dependable but not carceral or cruel: where to sit, not how to sit; what to look at, not how to direct gaze.
3. Common signals a culture is not where it should be: the storm surge thrill of children moving through a school without collegiate care or in the pursuit of a fight; the proliferation of pigeons (litter), scattered furniture and tears at the end of a break. Febrile and hostile.
4. We need to talk with boys, not about boys. Sexual violence and grooming is a toxic reality we need to understand and teach. Be explicit and fearless in framing the words and acts that cause harm. Seek it out, spell it out, stamp it out. We should be knowledge rich about abuse.
5. Coherent, centralised consequences. Detentions are a waste of time but so are parking fines. Casual disruption is not (usually) communication of unmet need, but an act of low self-control. Equip teachers and students with the confidence of simple consequences for tawdry acts.
6. Mind your language and frame the imperative. Directives utilise imperative verbs, but influence relies upon modal verbs. ‘I need you to’ is more powerful than ‘Go to’, just as ‘together we will’ is more inclusive than ‘now you will’. Small stuff worth sweating. Relationships.
7. Uniform is branding. Done well, a refreshingly non-commercial (make it affordable) one that has substance (pride). Engage everyone in the design and avoid the tipping point where it just becomes about control. Identity is a lifelong brand – we should keep it simple at school.
8. Community is everything. The strongest schools reflect a climate of collective efficacy. Morally strong, kind contexts. Adults must be visible, children must be welcome. Plan for bespoke provision rather than alternative provision: safe spaces, counselling, catch-up, pick-up.
9. Find the child who can’t name a caring adult. Seek them out and you’ll find the gaps in your provision and the root of failure. Survey attitudes and intervene as strongly as with academics. Evaluate the impact of your values-structures.
10. Central systems are an easy win, exclusion is a complex failure. Both are required to keep a community orderly and safe. But we exclude before a child sets foot by creating a hostile environment for the divergent. Establish a child’s needs, not their capacity for compliance.
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