Developing pupils’ social and emotional skills
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The Tai Education Centre is a pupil referral unit (PRU) for up to 56 primary age pupils whose main additional learning needs (ALN) are for social, emotional and behavioural difficulties. More recently, there has been an increasing number of pupils who also present with ALN due to neurodevelopmental difficulties. About 52% of pupils have a statement of special educational needs, 40% are eligible for free school meals, and 29% are registered as children looked after by their local authority.
Context and background to the effective or innovative practice
Pupils often begin their journey at the PRU disengaged from education having had what they perceive as negative experiences in previous schools. Upon entry, all pupils benefit from the PRU’s universal provision, which encompasses a holistic school-wide positive behaviour system.
During the first few weeks at the PRU, all pupils participate in baseline assessments for literacy and numeracy, and complete wellbeing surveys to explore the extent of their social, emotional and wellbeing needs. Following a period of observation, and in collaboration with partner schools, a literacy, numeracy, wellbeing and behaviour target is agreed with each pupil. These targets form the basis of their personal development plan, which is monitored and reviewed regularly.
The PRU’s initial assessment frequently shows that a pupil will require a more intense level of intervention to support their social and emotional development. Most often this is because these pupils struggle to communicate their thoughts and feelings, make and maintain friendships and regulate their behaviour independently. In response to this need, the PRU trained its own staff to provide these pupils with a bespoke intervention programme to develop their social, emotional and behaviour skills. The programme is based largely on a commercial programme, which is designed to fit the PRU’s and individual pupil’s contexts.
Description of nature of strategy or activity
The PRU’s programme usually has two groups of six pupils who benefit from weekly two-hour intervention sessions over a twenty-week period. Currently, one group consists of foundation phase children and lower key stage 2 pupils, and the other Year 5 and Year 6 pupils. Sessions take place in a discreet room that provides for activities such as video-based learning and the use of puppets to model and role play social and emotional skills including managing ‘big feelings’, turn taking, sharing, problem solving and exploring friendships. Every session offers structured opportunities for pupils to practise these skills in a variety of ways including at healthy snack time.
During each session, pupils earn ‘marbles’ as rewards for positive engagement, which contribute towards a weekly community-based activity incentive such as playing in the local park or visiting a local cafe or shop. The social and emotional skills that pupils develop during the programme are then practised further in real-life contexts in the community.
Pupils usually have straightforward homework tasks that provide the opportunity for parental involvement in the programme activities too. The PRU also offers support to parents to help their understanding of how collaborative engagement with the intervention increases its success. Both school-based and home-based activities are planned to be lively, interactive and fun.
The PRU’s 20-week programme concludes with a celebratory graduation where parents, carers, partner schools and partner agencies are invited to share the success of the programme ‘graduates’.
During the pandemic first national lockdown remote learning period, the PRU’s leader of the programme took a creative, flexible and responsive approach to continue to meet the specific behavioural, emotional and learning needs of pupils following the programme. For example, staff made short videos using puppets to focus on particular issues and dilemmas that pupils might face during this time. The puppets reminded pupils of the ‘top tips’, tools, techniques and skills that they had learnt whilst attending the PRU to address these issues. Activities included the opportunity to explore emotions, which were then followed up by staff as part the PRU’s pastoral weekly welfare calls to pupils and their families. Staff sent videos two or three times a week.
Leaders at the PRU report that continuation of this programme during lockdown was vital to maintaining and improving these pupils’ behaviours. When the PRU re-opened fully, each group celebrated meeting together before continuing with the usual face-to-face programme, with almost all pupils highly engaged within a short period.
What impact has this work had on provision and learners’ standards?
The positive progress of pupils involved in the intervention programme is evidenced through:
- increased attendance
- improved engagement and progress in lessons across the curriculum
- higher ‘daily points’ for engagement and behaviour
- the achievement of more weekly certificates
As a result of improvements in behaviour and attitudes to their learning, these pupils have made measurable progress in their literacy, numeracy and wider skills across the curriculum. Most pupils also develop better self-regulating skills, which is evidenced through fewer visits to the designated calm areas of the PRU and far fewer serious behavioural incidents. The PRU’s records show that there has been a significant reduction in bullying incidents and fixed term exclusions due to the successful implementation of this intervention.
More widely, the positive impact of the programme is observed in increased constructive and collaborative relationships between peers, including emerging skills in managing unsupported play with peers, as well as more appropriate communication with staff. These combined issues have contributed to increased success in the reintegration of the PRU’s pupils into mainstream school settings. Additionally, there has been a clear increase in parental engagement with the PRU.
How have you shared your good practice?
Leaders and staff from the PRU communicate more frequently with parents and carers about the intervention programme strategies, which helps them with supporting and improving their child’s behaviour at home.
The strategies used in the intervention programme are also shared formally and informally with mainstream schools and outside agencies. For example, mainstream teaching staff are routinely invited to join the sessions at the PRU. Visits are often made by staff from other organisations such as trainee educational psychologists and the education co-ordinators for children looked after by their local authority. Staff from the PRU’s local authority behaviour support services and specialist provisions in neighbouring local authorities also visit the PRU to observe and discuss the different aspects of the intervention progamme.