Impact on individual pupils

The concerns about the pupil were around:

• behaviour and wellbeing - staff regularly observed incidents where behaviour was out of control
• removal from mainstream lessons on a daily basis
• having received 5 periods of fixed term suspension

The staff built a dedicated support team around the pupil and they joined the school's Nurture programme.

Key staff:

• held restorative conversations with the pupil
• worked with the pupil to the Anxiety Analysis and Therapeutic Tree tools from the Therapeutic Thinking toolkit - during this the pupil talked about:
  • triggers for their behaviour
  • situations that made them anxious
  • strategies that could help
• used the Anxiety Analysis and Therapeutic Tree tool responses to plan and adjust the support they gave

With the pupil, staff identified a calm, low-stimulation space to help the pupil manage their emotions.

As a result of completing and actioning next steps from the therapeutic tools the pupil has:

• not been removed from mainstream lessons
• received no further fixed-term suspensions

The concerns about the pupil were around behaviour and wellbeing - attendance and safeguarding concerns.

The staff built a dedicated support team around the pupil.

Key staff:

• completed the Therapeutic Thinking Early Prognosis tool alongside all key stakeholders to gather holistic information to support planning and provision
• spoke with other pupils to gather their views, and the pupil shared their future goals, which the school then used to plan targeted activities that support those aspirations
• have been identified to support the pupil and they are developing good relationships
• used information gained from the early prognosis, created a plan alongside the pupil to support attendance, including an adapted timetable and agreed target times in lessons

As a result of completing and actioning next steps from the therapeutic tools:

• attendance is starting to improve
• staff say the pupil has built strong relationships with key staff and now feels confident to speak up about the support they need, because they feel listened to and understood
• the pupil is engaging in activities focused around their future aspirations

The concerns about the pupil were:

• an increase in frequency and intensity of behaviours of concern across Years 9 and 10
• they had a conflict with a peer in Year 9
• over 100 recorded negative points from September 2024 to February 2025 and 28 incidents of ‘disruption to learning’ between September 2024 and January 2025
• 5-day suspension during the Autumn term

A team of staff have been identified to:

• support the pupil
• provide support to develop emotional literacy and regulation strategies
• make weekly contact with parent
• provide consistent and targeted support, using behaviour analysis and the pupil’s views to guide their approach
• plan and carry out restorative activities to help rebuild relationships

As a result of completing and implementing the actions:

• there have been no further suspensions in Spring term
• there have been no incidents of ‘disruption to learning’ recorded since the start of February 2025
• 19 positive incidents have been recorded by staff since February 2025
• relationships with key staff have been enhanced
• communication between home and school has improved

The concerns about the pupil were:

• they started Year 7 with a known history of poor attendance, behavioural issues, low engagement and inconsistent support at home
• while in school, they often had emotional and intimidating outbursts that disrupted lessons and sometimes led to them walking out
• their attendance was around 65% and they were often up to 2 hours late when they did attend
• they frequently received sanctions for poor behaviour, particularly during social times with their peer group
• they regularly wore an unacceptable uniform and did not show the basic courtesies expected by senior staff
• they came from a complex family background

Staff supported the pupil using a therapeutic, relationship-based approach. They used the Early Prognosis and Anxiety Analysis tools to explore what triggered the pupil’s behaviour and to better understand their emotional responses.

The key findings were the pupil:

• lacked a positive male role model in their life
• felt let down by people they had trusted, and this was reflected on how they saw teachers
• lacked confidence in completing school work due to their lower attainment in reading and writing and masked concerns by displaying dysregulated behaviours and finding excuses to leave the classroom
• felt that there was a status to uphold among the peer group, which lead to seeking their approval by misbehaving
• lacked self-esteem, especially about their appearance and size and refused to do PE as they did not want to get changed with their peers
• was reluctant to wear proper school uniform as it felt it made them look even bigger
• although outwardly supportive, their family did not value school due to their own negative experiences
• felt that their future was pre-determined and was going to fail at school, so there was no need to try

Using this information the Behaviour Support Co-ordinator (BSCo) arranged several meetings with the pupil, parent, teaching staff and an Early Help Worker. Through these discussions this team were able to agree, evaluate and change the approach to end up with an agreed provision for the pupil. The school implemented:

• support from learning coaches in some lessons to help the pupil access work
• restorative conversations with teaching staff to agree plans on how to proceed in lessons, which included teachers adapting work to make it more accessible
• the BSCo to be the first point of contact for the pupil every day and oversaw all communications with home
• the opportunity for the pupil to choose where social times were spent to encourage better choices
• modifying the timetable to allow the pupil to visit the gym with their mother at quieter times, which has allowed the pupil to work on their physical and mental wellbeing
• providing some one-to-one time with the primary care giver
• enrolling the pupil on interventions offered by outside suppliers to improve confidence and engagement, which included visits with local youth workers and a DJ course

Initially, the pupil appeared unwilling to engage. However, over time the BSCo and the pupil were able to develop a relationship of trust and has started to respond to the BSCo.

After a few months of this support the pupil is now making some fantastic progress. The school have seen improvements in several areas.

The pupil is arriving on time in full school uniform and attendance has increased significantly with Year 7 at 62% attendance and Year 8 at 91% attendance.