Change starts at the top

 This year HPS has seen a changing of the guard with our new Principal, Maire. As expected, having a new leader means a new set of beliefs, ideas and perspectives are brought into the school. I personally see one of the most positive changes is examining our practice around how we manage and treat children with challenging behaviour.

As with any change such as this, there is a sliding continuum of options and many will hold strong to their long held beliefs about behaviour management. An area that is becoming more publicized is the research around children's response to trauma, which certainly challenges traditional views of behaviour challenges. 

My interest in child behaviour has grown considerably over my teaching career, especially since entering leadership and becoming a SENCo. The more I have learnt about the impacts of trauma the more fascinated I become and in turn the more complex I realise this field is. It has also led to my frustration at seeing how we approach the "management" of children's "bad behaviour" and how such children are viewed particularly when the approaches are based on the historical 'way we do things around here' without the modern research to support this.

As leaders of change, we, the leadership team, have been set the task of reading Dr Ross Greene's Lost at School and each week we will be discussing a chapter and how this relates to our students. I actually have my own copy of this book which I purchased some time ago. In true Kate fashion, I love buying books to develop my own practice but finding the time to actually read them is not as easy. 

My first memorable introduction to Dr Ross Greene's work was at a PB4L hui in which the quote, "children do well if they can" was shared. The visual below that was shared was so spot on in terms of what I had already been thinking, I wasted no time in sharing this at our next staff meeting. Although I could see some staff making the connection, I felt like I was in some ways a lone voice and would spout of my beliefs to anyone who would listen. I actually use to joke with our support staff as when I was speaking in our Teacher Aide meetings I would often start my sentences with "I was listening to this podcast..." and explain a new way of examining why children do what they do.

Another encounter I had with Dr Greene's work was in the last summer holidays when I started reading The Explosive Child.  The idea that the negative behaviour we see from children (and adults if we are honest!) is a result of lacking/lagging skills rather than a choice, really resonated with me. I am very much looking forward to reading and discussing this idea further and looking at how we can share these ideas and begin moving beyond the idea that kids do well if they choose.