Subtitles
Associated Teachers TV programme
The Children's Champion: Helping Children Stay Mentally Strong
0001 10:00:10:01 10:00:14:07
I'm the Independent Children's
Commissioner for England.
0002 10:00:14:07 10:00:17:22
There's been an increase in the
numbers of children and young people
0003 10:00:17:22 10:00:20:16
who have behavioural
and emotional difficulties.
0004 10:00:20:16 10:00:24:05
This programme looks at
the approaches taken in two schools
0005 10:00:24:05 10:00:27:23
to help children and young people
have greater emotional resilience,
0006 10:00:27:23 10:00:30:21
and to cope with the stresses
in their lives.
0007 10:00:30:21 10:00:33:07
My first visit
was to Alison Peacock,
0008 10:00:33:07 10:00:36:10
who's headteacher
of WroxhamSchool in Hertfordshire.
0009 10:00:36:10 10:00:39:17
I asked her, how can we make
children mentally resilient?
0010 10:00:39:17 10:00:44:14
Here we have a culture which is
all about listening to children,
0011 10:00:44:14 10:00:48:24
and also, hopefully, the staff feel
they have an important voice too.
0012 10:00:48:24 10:00:51:00
So there's a community
0013 10:00:51:00 10:00:56:08
where everybody is engaged in the
business of teaching and learning.
0014 10:00:56:08 10:01:00:23
The children are a crucial part of
that in terms of decision making,
0015 10:01:00:23 10:01:04:14
and also the activities
they engage in.
0016 10:01:04:14 10:01:06:13
Because they're given
so many choices,
0017 10:01:06:13 10:01:10:20
they're also taught how to make
informed choices, which seems to...
0018 10:01:10:20 10:01:15:06
It has created a very happy, vibrant
school that's very successful.
0019 10:01:15:06 10:01:18:13
The children are listened to,
but are they heard?
0020 10:01:18:13 10:01:20:14
Yes, absolutely.
0021 10:01:20:14 10:01:23:19
The way that we ensure
that every child is heard
0022 10:01:23:19 10:01:27:16
is that we have a system
which is a whole-school democracy
0023 10:01:27:16 10:01:29:17
through mixed-stage circle meetings.
0024 10:01:29:17 10:01:32:14
So every Tuesday,
instead of an assembly, at 10:15,
0025 10:01:32:14 10:01:35:21
all of the children up and go
to their circle meeting.
0026 10:01:35:21 10:01:39:04
Circle meetings
are led by year 6 children.
0027 10:01:39:04 10:01:42:03
The staff participate
as equal members of the group,
0028 10:01:42:03 10:01:44:19
and the children have
a shared agenda for the week.
0029 10:01:44:19 10:01:49:12
So every week, we talk about things
that are important to the children
0030 10:01:49:12 10:01:54:07
that may have been brought up
by children, governors or staff,
0031 10:01:54:07 10:01:58:19
or all three, and we come to a
decision about how to move forward.
0032 10:01:58:19 10:02:02:22
Can you give me an example of
a decision that changed something?
0033 10:02:02:22 10:02:07:23
At the moment, all the children
are engaged in den-building.
0034 10:02:07:23 10:02:10:15
That came about because last year,
0035 10:02:10:15 10:02:14:04
I went to the children and said,
"The weather is incredibly hot."
0036 10:02:14:04 10:02:17:22
"The only place on the school site
that is cool is the woods."
0037 10:02:17:22 10:02:21:14
"Can I trust you?"
They said, "Yes, of course you can."
0038 10:02:21:14 10:02:24:21
That led to the children
wanting to build camps and dens,
0039 10:02:24:21 10:02:29:02
and then we needed to negotiate
how can we make this fair
0040 10:02:29:02 10:02:30:19
and are there safety issues?
0041 10:02:30:19 10:02:33:01
The children themselves
came up with a code
0042 10:02:33:01 10:02:36:14
of how they could work in that area
and in that space,
0043 10:02:36:14 10:02:41:02
and that culminated this term
in every class having a week
0044 10:02:41:02 10:02:44:18
when they could use the space
to build these dens.
0045 10:02:44:18 10:02:49:10
How do you get the balance right
between fun and serious time?
0046 10:02:49:10 10:02:52:15
I was talking to some year 6s
just last week, actually.
0047 10:02:52:15 10:02:56:24
They were telling me that they learn
how to make the right decisions.
0048 10:02:56:24 10:02:59:04
They learn
how to challenge themselves,
0049 10:02:59:04 10:03:02:11
they learn to cooperate
with other individuals,
0050 10:03:02:11 10:03:04:19
whether it's sharing a maths task,
0051 10:03:04:19 10:03:07:13
or whether it's within sport
or on the playground
0052 10:03:07:13 10:03:10:05
or doing something on the field.
0053 10:03:10:05 10:03:14:12
All of those are life skills to do
with developing that resilience
0054 10:03:14:12 10:03:17:16
that allows you to understand
that it's OK to make mistakes,
0055 10:03:17:16 10:03:22:04
that you learn from mistakes
and that we all experience conflict.
0056 10:03:22:04 10:03:25:05
The issue is not to pretend
that conflict doesn't happen,
0057 10:03:25:05 10:03:28:10
but to deal with it when it arises
and to have strategies.
0058 10:03:28:10 10:03:33:24
Some sceptical adults might say
this is a recipe for mayhem.
0059 10:03:33:24 10:03:38:21
Surely it's better for them
to have a narrow range of choices.
0060 10:03:38:21 10:03:43:12
When I came here four years ago,
the school was in special measures
0061 10:03:43:12 10:03:47:03
and Ofsted had described
the children as unteachable.
0062 10:03:47:03 10:03:49:09
We're now an outstanding school
0063 10:03:49:09 10:03:53:04
and we have
very high standards of learning.
0064 10:03:53:04 10:03:57:19
The children, if you ask them, will
say they don't need to misbehave
0065 10:03:57:19 10:04:01:00
because there's no reason to.
They're treated with respect.
0066 10:04:01:00 10:04:04:11
Everybody is engaged in the business
of being part of Wroxham.
0067 10:04:04:11 10:04:06:13
It's something
that we all do together.
0068 10:04:06:13 10:04:11:13
So you've transformed the school
with the support of your staff.
0069 10:04:11:13 10:04:14:20
The children are in an environment
where they are respected.
0070 10:04:14:20 10:04:18:17
They'll be moving on to secondary
school. What will happen to them?
0071 10:04:18:17 10:04:22:09
Are we creating unreal expectations
that this is a normal life?
0072 10:04:22:09 10:04:25:17
And will it be confounded
when they get to secondary school?
0073 10:04:25:17 10:04:29:09
The children understand that
they are building a resilience,
0074 10:04:29:09 10:04:31:18
an understanding
that there is another way.
0075 10:04:31:18 10:04:34:24
And you won't always
have an opportunity
0076 10:04:34:24 10:04:37:05
to be able to
have your views heard,
0077 10:04:37:05 10:04:40:14
but if you have experienced
a culture where that works,
0078 10:04:40:14 10:04:43:22
hopefully you've understood
that democracy can work
0079 10:04:43:22 10:04:49:04
and you've understood that there are
ways of having your voice heard
0080 10:04:49:04 10:04:52:13
which don't have to be ones
where you resort to anger
0081 10:04:52:13 10:04:56:04
and storming around
because no one's listened.
0082 10:04:56:04 10:05:01:02
We're also working with
all our local secondary schools.
0083 10:05:01:02 10:05:03:16
And are they
picking up your philosophies?
0084 10:05:03:16 10:05:07:22
It's not about our philosophy. It's
about everybody learning together
0085 10:05:07:22 10:05:10:10
and seeing what the issues are
for young people.
0086 10:05:10:10 10:05:12:16
I've worked in a secondary school
0087 10:05:12:16 10:05:15:24
and the pressures
are very different,
0088 10:05:15:24 10:05:18:22
although I would say
that the values should be the same.
0089 10:05:18:22 10:05:22:12
This approach doesn't prevent you
from reaching your targets?
0090 10:05:22:12 10:05:27:11
We've gone from E star to A star.
Our SATs results are excellent.
0091 10:05:27:11 10:05:30:16
We had 97% level 4s and above
this year,
0092 10:05:30:16 10:05:35:13
so that's great because it means
I can carry on doing what I'm doing!
0093 10:05:35:13 10:05:38:10
And I do think
there is a real issue for schools.
0094 10:05:38:10 10:05:41:06
If the standards are high,
0095 10:05:41:06 10:05:44:17
then there is a sense,
"They might be a little bit wacky,
0096 10:05:44:17 10:05:47:06
but they're getting the results,
so it's fine."
0097 10:05:47:06 10:05:52:04
And in schools where standards
aren't as high as they might be,
0098 10:05:52:04 10:05:54:16
the pressure that schools
are placed under
0099 10:05:54:16 10:05:58:02
by external people
such as advisers and Ofsted
0100 10:05:58:02 10:06:02:16
is to say, "Close down. Don't be so
creative. It's too much of a risk."
0101 10:06:02:16 10:06:06:09
The opposite is what happened here.
We went with a risk-taking approach
0102 10:06:06:09 10:06:08:22
and we achieved
more and more success.
0103 10:06:08:22 10:06:13:03
(Sir Al) Judy Sebba, professor
of education at SussexUniversity,
0104 10:06:13:03 10:06:18:00
has been studying Wroxham as part of
her research on personalisation.
0105 10:06:18:00 10:06:22:21
Why is it important to do hard-
nosed, serious academic research
0106 10:06:22:21 10:06:25:02
in schools
on these kinds of programmes?
0107 10:06:25:02 10:06:29:03
I think there are
a number of reasons.
0108 10:06:29:03 10:06:31:16
The main two are probably
0109 10:06:31:16 10:06:35:12
that we are investing
public money in schools
0110 10:06:35:12 10:06:38:21
and we need to know
whether we're spending it wisely
0111 10:06:38:21 10:06:43:02
and whether we are in fact getting
the results we think we're getting.
0112 10:06:43:02 10:06:46:24
There's an awful lot
of hearsay in education
0113 10:06:46:24 10:06:48:24
about what is happening
and what isn't,
0114 10:06:48:24 10:06:52:01
and we need to
test that out regularly.
0115 10:06:52:01 10:06:55:23
The other side is that really
teachers themselves want to know
0116 10:06:55:23 10:06:59:07
whether what they're doing is
the best thing they could be doing.
0117 10:06:59:07 10:07:02:06
Can this approach be extended
to schools with problems -
0118 10:07:02:06 10:07:05:16
transient children,
many ethnic-language backgrounds?
0119 10:07:05:16 10:07:10:01
It's been particularly appealing
to schools who are most challenged
0120 10:07:10:01 10:07:15:20
because it has provided a real means
of changing the culture,
0121 10:07:15:20 10:07:22:15
and a culture in which children who,
perhaps, would be very disaffected
0122 10:07:22:15 10:07:24:24
have engaged, and have felt
0123 10:07:24:24 10:07:30:02
that even if their behaviour
or their way of functioning
0124 10:07:30:02 10:07:33:09
is sometimes rather different,
that isn't a problem.
0125 10:07:33:09 10:07:37:08
That diversity can be accommodated
and even valued.
0126 10:07:37:08 10:07:42:08
Are there any children who can't
do well with personalised learning,
0127 10:07:42:08 10:07:45:08
who need structure in their lives
and not so much choice?
0128 10:07:45:08 10:07:48:19
The interesting thing
about the personalised learning
0129 10:07:48:19 10:07:51:09
is that it's provided an opportunity
0130 10:07:51:09 10:07:55:14
for children to create
that structure more themselves.
0131 10:07:55:14 10:07:59:07
And I suppose that what
we would be looking for would be
0132 10:07:59:07 10:08:04:10
an undertaking of responsibility
by the pupils,
0133 10:08:04:10 10:08:07:24
understanding that
they do need that structure.
0134 10:08:07:24 10:08:10:09
I wouldn't have said
that the schools
0135 10:08:10:09 10:08:14:23
who are pursuing personalised
learning to maximum effect
0136 10:08:14:23 10:08:17:01
are necessarily less structured.
0137 10:08:17:01 10:08:20:23
Are children brought up in this
environment going to be betrayed
0138 10:08:20:23 10:08:23:04
when they move into
secondary schools?
0139 10:08:23:04 10:08:26:19
Hopefully they will become
the catalysts for change.
0140 10:08:26:19 10:08:33:00
Whether they feel betrayed
or challenged or surprised,
0141 10:08:33:00 10:08:36:21
I think we'll be able
to see that in the future.
0142 10:08:36:21 10:08:39:14
For that to work, we need
staff in secondary schools
0143 10:08:39:14 10:08:43:12
who are prepared to listen and to be
challenged, and not to be affronted.
0144 10:08:43:12 10:08:48:07
There is still an established part
of the profession
0145 10:08:48:07 10:08:52:14
who were trained to teach
on their own, without other adults,
0146 10:08:52:14 10:08:57:21
behind closed doors. People call it
the second most private profession,
0147 10:08:57:21 10:09:00:12
and it's really very difficult
for them to adapt
0148 10:09:00:12 10:09:04:21
to a more pupil-led
curriculum and teaching.
0149 10:09:04:21 10:09:07:24
However, I think teachers
who are being trained at the moment
0150 10:09:07:24 10:09:09:23
will be much better prepared
for this.
0151 10:09:09:23 10:09:14:01
So what's your message to teachers
and headteachers watching this
0152 10:09:14:01 10:09:15:14
about this approach?
0153 10:09:15:14 10:09:20:17
I think that they could find much
0154 10:09:20:17 10:09:24:14
in the schools that are adopting
a personalised-learning approach
0155 10:09:24:14 10:09:26:10
that they would get excited about.
0156 10:09:26:10 10:09:29:21
I think that the teachers
we work with in these schools
0157 10:09:29:21 10:09:35:05
are excited by this.
They find it empowering
0158 10:09:35:05 10:09:41:08
or invigorating, in the sense
of being less constrained.
0159 10:09:41:08 10:09:46:05
But that shouldn't, I think,
communicate lack of structure.
0160 10:09:46:05 10:09:51:15
I think that's really about getting
back to some of the basic values,
0161 10:09:51:15 10:09:55:02
not necessarily the curriculum
we had before, but the values
0162 10:09:55:02 10:09:59:05
dear to teachers' hearts
in terms of making sure that
0163 10:09:59:05 10:10:04:00
we are developing young people
who have the capacity to learn
0164 10:10:04:00 10:10:06:16
and to continue learning
throughout their lives.
0165 10:10:06:16 10:10:10:01
And these schools really seem
to be demonstrating that.
0166 10:10:10:24 10:10:14:02
(Sir Al) Resiliency programmes
are also high on the agenda
0167 10:10:14:02 10:10:16:07
of KingsLangleySchool
in Hertfordshire,
0168 10:10:16:07 10:10:18:23
whose headteacher is Gary Lewis.
0169 10:10:18:23 10:10:23:18
The transition is huge
from primary to secondary school.
0170 10:10:23:18 10:10:26:14
We need to get as many partners
involved as possible.
0171 10:10:28:10 10:10:32:11
Good morning. Thank you
for welcoming me here this morning.
0172 10:10:32:11 10:10:34:21
I'm not quite sure
who's more nervous, you or me.
0173 10:10:34:21 10:10:40:20
It's actually quite nerve-racking
for me to be at a primary school.
0174 10:10:40:20 10:10:43:06
I visited Abbots Langley
Primary School
0175 10:10:43:06 10:10:47:16
as a sequence of visits that I do
at this time of the year.
0176 10:10:47:16 10:10:51:05
In my position as headteacher
of a large secondary school,
0177 10:10:51:05 10:10:54:22
I suppose I have a little bit
of a fearsome reputation,
0178 10:10:54:22 10:10:58:05
and a lot of youngsters
are almost frightened of the fact
0179 10:10:58:05 10:11:02:09
that Mr Lewis
from the big school is about.
0180 10:11:02:09 10:11:05:23
So I've tried to use
the visits to the primary schools
0181 10:11:05:23 10:11:10:14
to do an assembly showing perhaps
the warmer, softer side of me,
0182 10:11:10:14 10:11:15:05
and to engage with the youngsters.
Not just the year 6 students,
0183 10:11:15:05 10:11:19:00
but also the younger ones,
so they become slightly more relaxed
0184 10:11:19:00 10:11:20:19
about the concept of moving on.
0185 10:11:20:19 10:11:24:16
When we relaunched this school
five years ago -
0186 10:11:24:18 10:11:28:18
it was a school in
an underachieving Ofsted category -
0187 10:11:28:18 10:11:32:12
I was quite clear that the relaunch
was going to be about the ethos
0188 10:11:32:12 10:11:36:11
and the focus on happy children
and the complete individual.
0189 10:11:36:11 10:11:40:17
And our exam performance,
although it's progressed,
0190 10:11:40:17 10:11:43:13
not as significantly
as one might expect,
0191 10:11:43:13 10:11:45:23
but we are now
four-times oversubscribed
0192 10:11:45:23 10:11:49:23
from a position where we couldn't
fill up half of the places.
0193 10:11:49:23 10:11:53:19
We're quite excited about a new
project from September onwards.
0194 10:11:53:19 10:11:57:14
It's called the Resilience Project.
It's an American-based project,
0195 10:11:57:14 10:12:01:18
and in its simplest form,
it's really saying
0196 10:12:01:18 10:12:05:15
that youngsters need to be taught
assertive behaviour,
0197 10:12:05:15 10:12:08:13
how to deal
with stressful situations.
0198 10:12:08:13 10:12:12:07
So not removing the stress,
but dealing with it as it crops up.
0199 10:12:12:07 10:12:17:08
And three of my teaching colleagues
are going across to Philadelphia
0200 10:12:17:08 10:12:21:00
to spend two weeks in the States
studying this programme.
0201 10:12:21:00 10:12:23:01
The Penn Resiliency Programme
0202 10:12:23:01 10:12:25:10
is a school-based
intervention curriculum
0203 10:12:25:10 10:12:29:10
designed to build resilience,
promote adaptive coping skills
0204 10:12:29:10 10:12:31:20
and to teach
effective problem solving.
0205 10:12:31:20 10:12:36:17
The idea is to promote the idea of
optimistic thinking among children.
0206 10:12:36:17 10:12:41:07
Many of our children growing up
in the media age that it is today
0207 10:12:41:07 10:12:46:07
seem to believe that the idea
of being successful in life
0208 10:12:46:07 10:12:50:22
is to be stick-thin,
wearing the right pair of trainers
0209 10:12:50:22 10:12:53:02
or having their hair
in a certain style,
0210 10:12:53:02 10:12:55:11
which is the whole idea
of the course.
0211 10:12:55:11 10:12:58:23
They've got to be happy with what
they are, what they're capable of
0212 10:12:58:23 10:13:03:00
and what they're going to achieve.
I hope it will make an impact
0213 10:13:03:00 10:13:05:13
not just for the next
three or four years,
0214 10:13:05:13 10:13:09:08
but for the next generation
of children in Hertfordshire.
0215 10:13:09:08 10:13:11:13
Then hopefully, if that is the case,
0216 10:13:11:13 10:13:14:14
it can be pushed across
the whole country.
0217 10:13:15:14 10:13:18:20
Stress really matters
to children and young people.
0218 10:13:18:20 10:13:21:08
We've seen here
two outstanding examples
0219 10:13:21:08 10:13:23:10
of how,
in an appropriate environment,
0220 10:13:23:10 10:13:27:04
students can be given the toolkits
to have better emotional resilience
0221 10:13:27:04 10:13:29:23
and to be able to cope
with the stresses in their lives.
0222 10:13:34:17 10:13:37:16
Visiontext Subtitles:
Paul Murray
0223 10:13:37:16 10:13:39:16