1. technology and computing
2. computer certification

RTU Conference
22nd November 2013
‘Optimising achievement through a whole school
approach to Emotional Health and Wellbeing’
SHAUNA CATHCART
An Introduction to the Framework Materials
& RTU/PHA Pilot
An introduction to the
framework materials:
‘Optimising learning through
a whole-school approach to
EHWB and SEL’
MAKING THE LINKS!
Student Achievement
&
Emotional Health and Wellbeing
• Student achievement is our core business in schools.
• Student achievement is a reflection of academic success and
personal wellbeing.
• Pupil academic success and personal wellbeing are
synergistic and integrated
• There is also a dynamic symbiosis between teacher and
student wellbeing. Fostering wellbeing for teachers helps them
to support students
Optimising Learning through whole-school
Emotional Health and Wellbeing (EHWB):
What is it, why do we need it and how
do we do it?
‘Being mentally and emotionally healthy means that we
believe in ourselves and know our own worth. We set
ourselves goals that we can achieve and can find support to
do this. We are aware of our emotions and what we are
feeling and can understand why. We can cope with our
changing emotions and we can speak about and manage
our feelings. We understand what others may be feeling
and know how to deal with their feelings. We also
understand when to let go and not overreact. We know
how to make friendships and relationships and how to cope
with changes in them. We understand that everyone can be
anxious, worried or sad sometimes. We know how to cope
with, and bounce back from, changes or problems and can
talk about them to someone we
trust’
DE PEHAW WORKING GROUP
Children with good EHWB stand out:
‘Their ability to empathise, persevere, control
impulses, communicate clearly, make thoughtful
decisions, solve problems, and work with others
earns them friends and success. They tend to lead
happier lives, with more satisfying relationships. At
work, they are more productive, and they spur
productivity in others. At school, they do better on
standardized tests and help create a safe,
comfortable atmosphere that makes it easier to learn’
(Edutopia Staff Acessed 5th September 2010)
What’s EHWB got to do with education?
7
Why do we need to teach these skills? 3 driving
forces that won’t go away…
1. Employers’ needs
2. Links between learning,
attainment and social and
emotional skills
3. Demands on young
people in a changing
society
Employers are looking for more than
just technical skills and knowledge
of a degree discipline. They
particularly value skills such as
communication, team working and
problem solving. Job applicants who
can demonstrate that they have
developed these skills will have a
real advantage.
Digby Jones, Director-General, Confederation
of British Industry
8
1. Employers’ needs
CBI LEARNING TO GROW
EDUCATION AND SKILLS SURVEY
2012 (in partnership with PEARSON)
9
How do EHWB and SEL link to other
Educational agendas?
WE CAN MAKE A
DIFFERENCE
10
Improves Academic Outcomes
• 23% increase in skills
• 9% improvement in attitudes about self, others and
school
• 9% improvement in pro-social behaviour
• 9% reduction in problem behaviours
• 10% reduction in emotional distress
• 11% increase in standardised achievement test
scores (maths and reading)
Source: Durlak, J.A., Weissberg, R.P., Taylor, R.D. & Dy mnicki, A.B. (submitted for publication). The
effects of school based social and emotional learning: A meta-analytic review.
Why does EHWB impact on attainment?
• A positive, safe environment with nurturing affirming relationships is proven to
promotes student motivation, engagement with learning and achievement
• More teaching and learning time is available as behaviours that interfere with
learning are decreased. (e.g. less peer disagreements/ reduced incidences of
poorly managed anger)
• SEL skills are ‘gateway’ skills for learning:
– Promotes deeper understanding of subject matter
(e.g. perspective-taking & problem solving)
– Helps students learn well with others
– Promotes Increased responsibility
– Develops improved persistence & resilience
– Helps students effectively manage feelings associated with learning
– Decrease behaviours that interfere with learning.
• Pupils are better able to manage the social and emotional aspects of cognitive
12
tasks
Demands on young people in
a changing society
In a school of 1000 pupils
there are likely to be:
•
•
50 with depression
10 affected by eating
disorders
• 100 experiencing
‘significant distress’
• 10-20 with obsessive
compulsive disorder
• 5-10 attempting suicide
(Green et al, 2005)
N. I CONTEXT
• 10-20% pupils experiencing EHWB
Difficulties
• 7-18% 10/11yr olds reported feeling
lonely, sad, not enjoying life
• 21% 12-13yr olds reported being
bullied 2/3 times per month
(Centre For Effective Education ,Queen’s
University, Belfast, 2011)
13
Society has changed…
Issues facing our young people :
- Drug culture
- Body image (media ‘role-models’)
- Choices around sexual behaviour
- Obesity issues
- Social media and other technologies
- Other?
14
What do we need to do to become a school that
actively promotes EHWB?
What works? Evidence based success factors:
• Support from Principal
• Critical mass of staff understanding/supporting rationale for
undertaking the work
• Clear, negotiated vision for what trying to achieve
• Careful strategic planning to build on what is already going
on in the school and ’make it your own’
• Whole school approach
• Staff development and EHWB
15
The iceberg model
Explicit Programme for pupil
skills and curriculum
reinforcement
Teacher skills (and ability to act as
role models)
ETHOS
Successful CHANGE: The four ingredients
Vision
+ Skills
+
Incentives
+
Resources
=
Change
+ Skills
+
Incentives
+
Resources
=
Confusion
Vision
+
+
incentives
+
Resources
=
Anxiety
Vision
+ Skills
+
+
Resources
=
Resistance
Vision
+ Skills
+
=
Frustration
incentives
+
Adapted by Richard Vila, Bayridge Consortium Inc. from for Knoster, T. (1991)
17
Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs
The Change Curve
Resistance
Emotional Response
Adjustment
Shock
Loss of Control
Discovery
Exploration
Worried
Low Morale
T i m e
based on work by Kubler-Ross
An Introduction to the Framework Materials
An introduction to the
framework materials:
‘Optimising learning through
a whole-school approach to
EHWB and SEL’
What promotes EHWB in schools?
•
•
•
•
•
A whole-school approach to
helping children achieve EHWB,
including the ability to develop
the social, emotional and
behavioural skills that underpin
effective learning
positive behaviour
good relationships
employability
success in its broadest sense.
A four-part model for promoting
EHWB in schools
A Positive Ethos –
Relationships,
Language &
Environment
Staff EHWB and
Role-modelling
A structured &
progressive explicit
curriculum to teach
the skills of social
and emotional
learning (SEL)
Reinforcing the
SEL skills across
the curriculum
21
Element 1: A positive ethos
Key characteristics of a Positive Ethos
- Relationships
- Language
- Environment
 Physical
 Social
 Emotional
Staff EHWB and
Role-modelling
A Positive Ethos –
Relationships,
Language &
Environment
A structured &
progressive explicit
curriculum to teach
the skills of social
and emotional
learning (SEL)
Reinforcing the
SEL skills across
the curriculum
22
Element 2: Staff modelling
A Positive Ethos –
Relationships,
Language &
Environment
A structured &
progressive explicit
curriculum to teach
the skills of social
and emotional
learning (SEL)
Staff EHWB and
Role-modelling
Reinforcing the
SEL skills across
the curriculum
The way (children) are treated
and the examples they are set by
their peers and by adults (are)
almost certainly the strongest
influences on how they will treat
others, their environment, and
develop respect for themselves.
Sir Jim Rose, CBE
23
Staff cannot be role models unless their own
EHWB is attended to and their own social
and emotional skills developed
24
ELEMENT 3: An explicit curriculum to teach the skills
of social and emotional learning (SEL)
• The evidence demonstrates that the
skills of SEL will not be simply
‘caught’. They need to be explicitly
taught through a structured and
progressive curriculum
• What are the key areas of social and
emotional learning? One model:
– Self awareness and self-valuing
– Managing our feelings
– Motivation
– Empathy
– Social skills
(within each area , there are a
number of sub-skills)
A Positive Ethos –
Relationships,
Language &
Environment
A structured &
progressive explicit
curriculum to teach
the skills of social
and emotional
learning (SEL)
Staff EHWB and
Role-modelling
Reinforcing the
SEL skills across
the curriculum
25
Element 4: Reinforcement
A Positive Ethos –
Relationships,
Language &
Environment
A structured &
progressive explicit
curriculum to teach
the skills of social
and emotional
learning (SEL)
Isn’t it enough to just
teach the skills?
Staff EHWB and
Role-modelling
If you are wearing a
watch, take it off and
place it on the other
wrist…..
Reinforcing the
SEL skills across
the curriculum
26
The neuroscience of Behaviour change
27
An Introduction to the Framework Materials
An introduction to the
framework materials:
‘Optimising learning through
a whole-school approach to
EHWB and SEL’
What will we be doing? An introduction
to The Framework and materials
It can be helpful to think of
change as happening in
phases
• Pre-commitment/
awareness (Phase 1)
• Innovation (Phase 2)
• Implementation (Phase
3)
• Institutionalisation
(Phase 4)
29
The Framework:
Phase 1
It will generally take 3-5
years for a change to
become institutionalised
(part of ‘the way we do
things around here’)
Fullan, 2007
© RTU and Barnardos
30
The Framework:
Phase 2
31
The Framework:
Phase 3
32
The Framework:
Phase 4
33
What promotes EHWB in schools?
A whole-school
approach to helping
children achieve EHWB
and develop SEL
includes four elements.
The focus today is:
A four-part model for promoting
EHWB in schools
A Positive Ethos –
Relationships,
Language &
Environment
A structured &
progressive explicit
curriculum to teach
the skills of social
and emotional
learning (SEL)
Staff EHWB and
Role-modelling
Reinforcing the
SEL skills across
the curriculum
35
The importance of ethos
They will forget what you said
They will forget what you did
But they will never forget the
way that you made them feel
(Maya Angelou)
Ethos and learning
If we are feeling
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Cross
Frustrated
Scared
Anxious
Stressed
Embarrassed
Pre-occupied
or if we do not feel
emotionally safe…
it is difficult to:
• Pay careful attention
• Focus and concentrate
• Generate creative ideas
• Work well in a group
• Be motivated
• Overcome difficulties
• Take a risk
• Keep going, despite
frustration
• Bounce back after a
setback
• Remember learning
Ideal states for learning…
Working memory is disrupted by ‘neural
static’. It has a finite capacity and if
concerned with processing strong
emotions, it cannot be freed up to deal
with other cognitive information.
Of all the keys to effective learning that research throws up, it is the
‘state’ that we are in when we learn which comes through time and time
again as the single most important factor in the learning process.
Ideal states for learning…
• Extreme stress
inhibits learning as
stress chemical
paralyses areas of
learning and cortical
processing slows
down.
• Mild to moderate
amounts stimulate
more brain activity
and production of
more connections in
area of learning.
DVD Teacher losing It
What do we see in a learning environment
with a positive ethos?
Students (or adults):
• Being willing to take a risk and showing that they are not
fearful of getting things wrong
• Talking openly and honestly
• Not being afraid to disagree with the prevailing consensus
• Being able to ask for help
• Being able to share their own personal experiences,
vulnerabilities and strengths
• Being able to compliment and support others within the
class
• Asking their own questions
• Taking responsibility (and credit) for their learning
Building a Positive Ethos
How invitational is your school?– The Ladder
Levels of Functioning
• From least to most desirable, the levels of functioning are:
• Level One:
Intentionally Disinviting
• Level Two:
Unintentionally Disinviting
• Level Three: Unintentionally Inviting
• Level Four:
Intentionally Inviting
It is the typical level of functioning that indicates the person’s and
organization’s atmosphere
(Fundamentals of Invitational Education Purkey & Novak 2008)
Four Types of Inviting Stances
Intentionally Disinviting
•A negative and toxic
attitude designed to
demean, defeat,
dishearten
Intentionally Inviting
•Seeking consistently to
enact the principles of
Invitational Education
(helping with care and
respect)
Unintentionally Disinviting
•Accidental
discouragement and
undermining of others
Unintentionally Inviting
•Accidental
encouragement and
support
43
The Key Elements of building a positive
school ethos
Relationships
A Positive
Ethos
Language
Environment
The importance of relationships
(feelings of belonging, connection and being valued)
The quality of teacherstudent relationship has
been shown to be one
of the most significant
factors influencing
student-learning
outcomes
(Cornelius-White(2007;Hatie
2009;Rowe 2001)
ETHOS Element 1: Relationships
What is the impact of ethos?
- Relationships
Relationships
A Positive
Ethos
Language
Environment
© RTU and Barnardos
It is a basic human
need to feel cared for,
to feel that we belong
and that we are
valued…
46
The importance of relationships
High-quality relationships are characterised by:








INVOLVEMENT
EMOTIONAL SAFETY
WARMTH
CLOSENESS
TRUST
RESPECT
CARE
SUPPORT
Sue Roffey (2013)
’Positive Relationships’
ETHOS Element 2: Language
What is the impact of ethos?
- Language
Relationships
A Positive
Ethos
Language
Environment
© RTU and Barnardos
Three tools to
ensure the
language we use
contributes to a
positive ethos
49
A key feature of Ethos:
The language we use
• What is wrong with
the language the
teacher is using?
• What might the
impact of the
teacher’s words be
on the pupil?
John Smyth you
are just so
unbelievably rude.
Don’t you dare do
that again in my
class
THREE things we can do differently
John Smyth you
are just so
unbelievably rude.
Don’t you dare do
that again in my
class
1. Relate correction or
criticism to the
behaviour, not the
person
2. Use I-messages (‘magic
messages’)
3. Use positive phrasing
instead of negative
I-messages
• You are always late –
it is so annoying
• It’s a waste of time
coming if you never
do your homework
• You are deliberately
making it impossible
for me to teach
• Why can’t you ever
remember your kit?
• Don’t accuse! Use
magic messages
Positive phrasing
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Don’t speak to me like that!
Why are you dropping
litter?
You’ve left your equipment
out again!
How dare you argue with
me!
Stop pushing into the
queue
You shouldn’t be in here
You are really annoying me
by interrupting
What do you think you’re
doing?
• Please put that away and get
started on the activity, thankyou.
• Wait your turn in the queue,
thanks
• Sam, litter in the bin, thanks
• Please speak to me politely, as
I do to you, thank you
• Put your equipment away,
thank you
• Where should you be right
now?
• I understand you’re upset, but
I need you to listen to me,
thanks
• Please wait your turn to speak
Element 3: Environment
What is the impact of ethos?
- Environment
Relationships
A Positive
Ethos
Language
 Physical
 Social
 Emotional
Environment
© RTU and Barnardos
54
Element 3: Environment
Physical
Environment
Social
Emotional
There is no such thing as a neutral
‘Everybody and everything around the school adds or subtracts
from, the process of being a beneficial presence in the lives of
human beings, personally and professionally’
(Fundamentals of Invitational Education Purkey & Novak 2008)
The Physical Environment
Physical
Environment
Social
Emotional
• Welcoming notices
• Displays celebrating
individuals, encouraging
a sense of belonging
• Safe places in
playground
• Buddy stops
• Making-up corners
• Playground games and
equipment
The Social Environment
Physical
Environment
Social
Emotional
• Quality of relationships
• Explicit activities to help
pupils to get to know and
trust each other (E.g.
clubs, SEL activities)
• Celebration of pro-social
behaviours and attitudes
• Whole-school events
(assemblies) and
fostering of school as a
community
The Emotional Environment
The three key areas:
Physical
Environment
Social
Need to be safe
Need to belong
Emotional
Need to feel
valued
The Emotional Environment
When our emotional
involvement is low
our rational
perspective is high.
Conversely, when
the emotional
involvement is high
our rational
perspective is low
Paul Mc Gee (2011)
High
Low
High
The Emotional Environment :
The need to feel safe
• A positively affirming classroom environment
• A class charter with agreed rules based on
an understanding of rights and
responsibilities.
• Consistent use and reinforcement of rules
• Understanding of sanctions and rewards and
behaviours that earn them
• Effective anti-bullying measures
• Clear routines and rituals!
The need to belong…
• Actively building in
opportunities to get to
know and work with
everyone in the group
• Actively building trust
and group
cohesiveness
Some ideas for activities to promote
a sense of belonging
Class charters Circle Games
Paper-Chains with each
person’s name on
Birthday
celebrations
Welcome packs Secret friends
Name Games Quizzes
Group challenges
Home group
flags jigsaw pictures
Calming down posters
Welcome PPT Presentations
Songs – ‘Consider
Yourself’
The need to feel valued…
• Relationships - Finding out
about students and
celebrating their strengths
and talents
• Pupil voice and input (I can
make a difference)
• Establishing a ‘put-up’ not
a ‘put-down’ ethos (praise!)
• Positive language
IN SUMMARY
What promotes EHWB in schools?
•
•
•
•
•
A whole-school approach to
helping children achieve EHWB,
underpins
effective learning
positive behaviour
good relationships
employability
success in its broadest sense.
A four-part model for promoting
EHWB in schools
A Positive Ethos –
Relationships,
Language &
Environment
Staff EHWB and
Role-modelling
A structured &
progressive explicit
curriculum to teach
the skills of social
and emotional
learning (SEL)
Reinforcing the
SEL skills across
the curriculum
65
The iceberg model
Explicit Programme for pupil
skills and curriculum
reinforcement
Teacher skills (and ability to act as
role models)
ETHOS
EHWB REALLY MATTERS
Optimising Learning through a whole-school
Emotional Health and Wellbeing (EHWB):
Thank-you
They will forget what you said
They will forget what you did
But they will never forget the
way that you made them feel