Principle 6: Identifying need and monitoring impact
Relationships play a key role in learning. Relational approaches help children and young people learn by helping them feel safe, valued and connected (see: Relational Approaches).
Many schools now support more pupils with mental health difficulties. Emotional Based School Avoidance (EBSA) behaviours continue to increase (DfE, 2022/2023). Schools need to look beyond the child or young person and consider the systems around them. Schools also need to identify changes they can make within those systems to improve outcomes (see Can't, not won't: Rethinking school avoidance | BPS).
Bronfenbrenner's ecosystemic model helps schools understand how different parts of a child's life affect their experiences and outcomes. This section explains how to understand need and check whether support makes a difference.
Identifying need
Pupils need different types of support. Before you choose support, you need to understand the pupil's needs.
Dunnett and Jones (2020), in Devon's relational policy guidance, highlight the importance of identifying pupils who may face a higher risk of exclusion. They refer to research (see Timpson Review of School Exclusion) that identifies groups who experience higher rates of exclusion or who face challenges that increase their risk of exclusion.
These groups include pupils who:
- have special educational needs and disabilities (SEND)
- come from some ethnic groups
- are in local authority care (children we care for)
- receive free school meals
- are male
- have language or literacy needs
- have experienced trauma or adverse childhood experiences
Choosing support
After you identify a pupil's needs, you can put the right support in place.
Use the tools below to:
- establish a starting point
- track progress over time
- measure the impact of changes or support
- assess whether an approach works
Tools to identify need and monitor impact
Whole school
These tools can help you:
- assess whole-school practice
- identify vulnerable groups
- review attendance and engagement
- identify emotional distress and risk of Emotional Based School Avoidance (EBSA)
- prepare for key transition points
- consider whether pupils, including neurodivergent pupils, need different approaches
The following resources may help:
The West Sussex Relational Approaches to Inclusion audit and planning tool helps schools review practice against the 8 principles of the whole-school approach and includes a planning tool.
Add link to WS audit and planning tool.
The Herefordshire audit tool. helps schools consider what relational practice looks like at different levels of the organisation, from whole-school systems to individual interactions.
Relational practice documents – Herefordshire Council.
The Bristol City Council audit tool (p.12) helps schools consider wider factors, including attachment and trauma awareness. Relationship and Belonging Approach found in Bristol Local Offer.
East Midlands Education Support Service audit tool (pp.31 to 35) focuses on learning standards and maintaining high expectations for all pupils, including those with SEND.
Understanding Behaviour in Schools | The East Midlands Education Support Service.
Most relational guidance does not include separate advice on adapting policies for neurodivergent pupils. Use resources such as Neurodiversity in Education to inform audits and any changes you make afterwards.
Group or class
Few tools focus on identifying needs or monitoring relational approaches at small-group level. Schools may need to develop their own whole-class observation schedules.
When observing a class, review:
- teacher focus on strengths: Find Your 24 Character Strengths | Personal Strengths List | VIA Institute
- use of co-regulation strategies: https://acf.gov/opre/report/measuring-co-regulation-draft-tool-observing-educators-youth-serving-programs
- promotion of metacognition (thinking about learning) through learning design and classroom interactions: https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/education-evidence/guidance-reports/metacognition
- use of nurturing principles, including:
- Boxall whole-class profile: Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) Assessment and Emotional Behavioural Toolkit for Children - Interventions, Assessments and Strategies
- https://education.gov.scot/resources/nurture-and-trauma-informed-approaches-a-summary-of-supports-and-resources/
Individual
This section focuses on tools that help schools assess and monitor relational approaches for individual pupils.
Assessment is only one part of the process. Schools should also use a graduated approach. Find more information on our assess, plan, do, review cycle pages.
Some children need support that matches their individual needs.
Use these resources to decide what to measure:
- Measuring pupil wellbeing
- Public Health England toolkit (pp.44 to 79): https://www.corc.uk.net/wellbeing-in-education/support-for-schools/resources-to-support-measuring-wellbeing/toolkit/
You can use the following assessment tools with individual pupils:
Devon policy, appendix 9 (pp.65 to 66): Guidance for Developing Relational Practice and Policy - Support for Schools and Settings (under 'Document resources', select 'Download')
Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) SPECTRUM database, which provides measurement tools for concepts such as self-esteem and resilience: SPECTRUM database | EEF
Spence Children's Anxiety Scale (SCAS): SCAS Home - The Spence Children's Anxiety Scale
Antecedent, Behaviour, Consequence and Communication (ABCC) charts can help schools assess and monitor behaviour in the classroom
Boingboing school audit on wellbeing and resilience, which includes surveys and guidance for pupil focus groups: Audit the whole school - Boingboing
Reading and resources
Helpful LA polices to refer to
The following policies may help:
Relate to Educate: Relational Guidance
Guidance for Developing Relational Practice and Policy - Support for Schools and Settings
Developing an Attachment Aware Behaviour Regulation Policy
Relationship and Belonging Approach guidance in Guide to Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) Support for Education Settings
Understanding Behaviour in Schools | The East Midlands Education Support Service
Support for parents
The following resources may help parents and carers:
- Engaging Effectively with Parents and Carers | Anna Freud
- Parental engagement | EEF
In March 2024, the National Children's Bureau published a literature review on school belonging.
The review explores:
- how researchers define belonging
- how schools measure belonging
- the impact of belonging on pupil outcomes
- effective approaches for building belonging in schools
- policy implications and recommendations
Read the review: https://www.ncb.org.uk/belongingmatters/literaturereview
Following the review, the National Children's Bureau launched the Belonging Matters programme. The National Children's Bureau offered the pilot programme free to 10 schools in London from June 2024. The programme included mainstream schools, special schools and Alternative Provision settings across primary and secondary phases.
The programme uses research on the factors that influence belonging and their impact on pupil outcomes.
About this resource:
where can I get it? Through the link above
how much does it cost? Free
what does it cover?
definitions and theoretical frameworks
ways to measure belonging
factors that influence belonging
impact on academic outcomes
impact on social and emotional wellbeing
challenges for underrepresented groups
best practice and policy implications
who should use it? School leaders who want to review and strengthen the systems they have in place to support belonging