In September 2019, I conducted 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 main research question for this study was: what does a relational approach to behaviour management look like in a mainstream school? The case study's qualitative data came from classroom observations, public document analysis, and a semi-structured interview with the school's senior leaders. It was found that the main drivers for using a whole-school approach included addressing poor outcomes for students with SEMH difficulties. Subsequently, relational approaches were adopted across the whole school. The creation of an ethos, which included complete staff training on developmental trauma and its impacts, was shown to be a key component in the approach's effectiveness in this study. As relational practise becomes more well-established, more practitioners are interested in developing whole-school relational methods. Because of this, the contents of my thesis are contained in this series of blog posts.
My interest in relational approaches in education began when my husband and I went through the process of adopting our two children. As part of the assessment process, we had to undergo a training course regarding the trauma and loss that children in the care system often experience during their early life. I had never learnt about anything like this even during my teacher training. I began reading all I could on developmental trauma and attachment, and I came across an online support group called ‘Therapeutic Parenting.' From a teaching viewpoint, my knowledge of children's behaviour was forever altered. I began trying to interpret the world through this new lens and to apply what I had learnt in the classroom.
I have used the term 'developmental trauma' to encompass any relational trauma or loss and its impact on development. Developmental trauma includes Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), attachment issues, and pre-birth trauma such as Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) or experiencing domestic violence in-utero. The number of children in England who are cared after as a result of abuse or neglect is at an all-time high (1). Children who have been separated from their biological families for a period of time or permanently, as well as those who have suffered neglect and abuse, are deemed to have suffered developmental trauma (2, 3, 4, 5). Furthermore, it is estimated that four out of every ten students in the classroom have attachment difficulties (6).
Research shows that different terms, including ‘attachment-aware’ or ‘trauma-informed’ approaches, are increasingly being used in relation to support and intervention for children in school settings. Throughout this blog, the term ‘relational approach' will be used to mean an empathic, nurturing approach (6). Key aspects of this approach include: prioritising relationships (5, 7, 8); interpreting and understanding a child's actions; reacting to a child's behaviour consciously and with empathy, rather than emotionally; and firm and consistent routine and boundaries (6). The relational approach draws from Bowlby’s attachment theory (9), neurobiology, Hughes’ (8) P.A.C.E. model, the Safe Base parenting programme (10), non-violent resistance (NVR) (11), and TBRI (Trust-Based Relational Intervention) (12, 13). Whilst this approach is aimed at children who have suffered some degree of trauma, the principles of this approach can apply to all children (5, 6, 14, 15).
School is an important aspect of a child's life. It can often give stability for children and young people in addition to an education; however, this is not always the case (3). Requests for help with school concerns are common in online support groups, and training on ‘how to cope with schools' is being given to parents of children with attachment difficulties (17).
Almost 30% of [adoptive] parents reported that school is a source of stress in their family most or all of the time. For children of secondary age, and those with higher-level special educational needs, this figure rose to nearly 40%... More than 50% of [adoptive] parents said that the school’s approach to managing their child’s behaviour was unhelpful for their child. These children need a safe and nurturing school environment with reasonable adjustments made to behaviour policies that take account of their differences (18).
OFSTED's Below the Radar report (19) states that senior leaders in the best schools set high expectations and enforce codes of conduct. They recognise the need for effective discipline and that leaders, teachers, parents, and students all share responsibility for it. Persistent disruption in schools, according to Williams' (20) study on behaviour in secondary schools, is a major problem that has an influence on teacher retention and recruitment, as well as teaching and learning. Over a third of schools are rated as not having good enough behaviour by OFSTED, and bad behaviour is one of the main reasons why many teachers leave the field (21). In schools, a number of approaches to control behaviour are utilised, including punitive methods. There has been much controversy about isolation booths in both primary and secondary schools. Reportedly, some of these are used alongside a ‘zero-tolerance’ approach to behaviour management, with punishments given for infringements such as being late or turning around in class (18, 22).
Current UK school systems have been set up with the assumption that all children have received sufficient, good enough care to understand and make the most of (23). As a result, the traditional behaviourist approaches commonly used in schools do not seem to make a significant difference when used with pupils who have suffered developmental trauma. If they do make a difference, it tends to be short-lived (23). There is growing evidence that one way to reduce the number of exclusions amongst developmentally traumatised children is for schools to adopt an ‘attachment and trauma aware’ approach (24, 25). Preliminary studies suggest that increased awareness of attachment and trauma issues among school staff can positively influence the school environment, enhance wellbeing and ultimately improve learning and educational outcomes (26).
We know that standard parenting does not work for our [developmentally traumatised] children, so by the same token, standard teaching methods won't either (12).
Adoption UK also found that adoptive parents frequently report how an attachment and trauma aware school has ‘transformed their child’s chances at an education.’ Research shows that emotional wellbeing is recognised as a critical factor for academic progression (18)., particularly around age seven (27). Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs (28) places safety, security, acceptance, and self-esteem needs before self-actualisation, so children’s emotional wellbeing should be high on the agenda of school leaders.
More than one in ten adopted children are home educated, however, 80% of home-educating adopters said they would prefer their child to be in school if the right school place were available (29).
A crucial part of a relational approach is relationships (5, 6, 7). A child’s relationship with a caregiver can be described in terms of attachment, usually as a ‘secure’ or ‘insecure’ attachment (15). Infants seek attachment to survive, as they can only have their needs met by staying close to an adult (30). Although a child’s primary attachment relationships should be with their principal caregivers, children will form some level of attachment with teachers and staff at school, where they spend much of their time each day (6). Attachment can also be used to describe any sort of dependent relationship, including the pupil-teacher bond, and is not based solely on physical dependence: it can include aspects such as emotional support and safety with that person. Forming secure attachments as infants helps with the development of self-confidence, emotional regulation, empathy and more. Experiencing safety within a close emotional relationship is essential for developing an autonomous sense of self (30). Attachment related behaviours stem from insecure early relationships with caregivers: if they did not get much response from their caregiver, they might have avoidant behaviours such as pushing people away or precocious independence; if the care they have received has not been consistent, the child may be very anxious because they are unsure of how people will react to something. Anyone that offers a long-term, consistent, relationally rewarding experience that helps a child to navigate their positive or negative feelings can become a positive attachment figure (31). For children who have been hurt by developmental trauma, safe, stable relationships can be healing (7, 32).
While parents possess the original key to their offspring’s experience, teachers have a spare key. They too can open or close the hearts and minds of children (33).
The majority of children will develop secure attachments with their caregivers; however, it is thought that about forty per cent of children are insecurely attached (5, 6). Children with an insecure attachment style are more likely to have problems with behaviour and learning (6, 34, 35). This is affected by factors such as low self-esteem and lack of trust in adults (22, 35) and Geddes (34) states that schools and the class teacher need to act as a surrogate base to enable compensatory relationships and experiences. A behaviour occurs to address a person's needs and, if effective, becomes an established part of their repertoire of skills (36). If all behaviour is recognised as communication of a need, approaches to behaviour become more focused on meeting those needs rather than dealing with the behaviour itself.
When working with developmentally traumatised children, according to de Thierry (37), it's best to avoid shame 'at all costs,' because there is ‘nothing of value in the feeling of shame.’ Shame is a sense of intense humiliation or embarrassment that warns the body that it is in risk of rejection, failure, exposure, or abandonment. It jeopardises the basic human need to belong, to be loved, and to be accepted. Shame differs from guilt in that guilt is the recognition of having done something wrong, whereas shame is the perception that the individual is inherently bad (6, 31). This has ramifications for how schools handle student behaviour (6). Many discipline approaches inadvertently use shame to punish children, but it can create an unhealthy relationship where the child is scared of feeling further shame. Almost every classroom in the country has some form of behaviour tracking system, be it 'sunshine and rain clouds' or names on the board (6). Such systems can be counterproductive: shame will only escalate negative behaviour (23, 31, 37, 38).
In the United Kingdom, Section 89 (1) of the Education and Inspections Act 2006 states that all maintained schools must have a behaviour policy in place that aims to: regulate students' conduct; promote good behaviour, self-discipline, and respect; prevent bullying; and ensure that pupils complete assigned work (39). The necessity of a whole-school approach to regulating child behaviour has been continuously emphasised in government policy and guidance (40).
The Department for Education (DfE) issued guidelines to headteachers and school employees in 2016 on how to create a school behaviour policy (41). Most schools' behaviour policies revolve around rules, rewards, and sanctions (40). The Department for Education's guidance suggests that headteachers 'reflect on' the use of rewards and sanctions in a school behaviour policy, among other things, and states explicitly that 'Schools should have in place a range of options and rewards to reinforce and praise good behaviour, as well as clear sanctions for those who do not comply with the school's behaviour policy.' The wording of the government guidance leans heavily towards negative reinforcement. The words punish, punishment and sanction are used a total of 20 times throughout the report, whereas the words reward(s), and praise, are only used 4 times (41).
Cowley (42) questions the use of behaviourism in schools, particularly concerning vulnerable children. A behaviourist approach does not account for other developmental factors, such as heredity, culture, and a child's thoughts, feelings and emotions (43), and assumes that humans learn in the same way as animals. Kohn (44) argues against rewards, putting forward that people who do something for a reward end up doing a poorer job than people who are not. He suggests that one of the reasons for this is that rewards ignore reasons: for example, if a child is struggling to get to sleep, we might threaten (go to sleep or this will happen) or bribe (if you go to sleep you can have…) the child. Whilst this may seem to work, this does not look at the child's motives for being unable to sleep: it may be because they are excited, scared, or worried about something (45). It has been proposed that for developmentally traumatised children, consequences should be specifically connected to the behaviour by allowing the child to experience 'natural consequences' (6, 11, 46, 47). A child who walks outside without a coat, for example, will become cold. According to Naish (48), this allows children to connect cause and effect, build new neural pathways, and learn to take responsibility for their actions (47). Fisher (11), on the other hand, does not recommend using a rewards and consequences approach with traumatised children, as it does not contribute to the development of a strong and connected relationship between the caregiver and the child.
There is a gap in knowledge in many schools regarding the impacts of developmental trauma (49). A report by Become and Voices from Care Cymru (3) found that 87 per cent of teachers received no training about looked-after children before they qualified as a teacher. An independent review of behaviour in schools found that 'one in eight teachers did not feel well equipped to deal with student behaviour' and 'half felt that appropriate training was not available in their school to deal with behaviour' (50). This means that those children who have experienced some of the worst possible starts in life, who routinely struggle, who are more likely to have special educational needs, and who are more likely to be bullied; are also more likely to be excluded, as well as more likely to leave school without any qualifications (6, 18). This needs to change.
If your school would like support in implementing a whole-school relational behaviour policy, please do not hesitate to contact me for bespoke consultation and training.
References
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