Relationships, Belonging and a Network of Joy

Polly Ross

This is a story about a boy, his teacher, a wooden tree and a school full of love and learning. It reminds us that learning can and does happen anywhere and any way in a school when the culture is right.

Our School

Shefford Lower School is a large lower school in Central Bedfordshire with a significant SEND register. We don’t believe in an approach to SEND in which learners should either be in a specialist environment or a mainstream school.  So, we have adapted our learning environment and teacher-student relationships to support a wholly inclusive mainstream specialist environment accessible to all young learners in our community. 

We further believe that progress can take many different forms and that all children have an entitlement to leave us with every step, however small, recognised, captured and celebrated.

When I was young, my mother gave me a wooden Christmas tree. When I became a headteacher, with an office, I brought it into school where each December it was displayed, decorated and lit. By last summer it was looking tired and I kept reminding myself to throw it away. 

Peter’s story (not his real name)

Peter is a young learner who receives a high level of adult support due to his complex needs. These include a significant speech delay, autism, social communication needs and self-care needs.  

One day Peter came in because his Teaching Assistant wanted to mention something to me. As he waited, Peter saw the tree gathering dust on the top of a cupboard and gestured that he would like to see it. I had no idea that this would be the beginning of something magical!

Peter decorated this sad little tree, and then returned the next day, then each day, several times a day, beginning to talk as he did it, presenting it joyously to me and showing it to everyone along his way as he proudly walked it around the school en route to show his teacher.

He had found something in the school which brought him (and many others) joy. This tree was subsequently to become a powerful tool in his speech and language development. The creativity flowed and anything and everything became a potential decoration, from a kitchen spoon to flowers from the forest, bringing warmth and amusement to all. 

After this had been going on for a month or two, someone suggested keeping the tree in Peter’s classroom as I may sometimes be in meetings,.This was until we realised that walking down to my office and saying hello was an important part of it!

The ritual continued. Peter’s confidence grew and his speech and language seemed to be coming on until one day he came in and said: “Hello Mrs Ross. Can I have the tree please?” A clearly enunciated sentence!

Reciprocal Joy

I started to take photos of this tree my mother had bought me and sent one to her to let her know it was not only still going strong but, in fact, supporting a child with additional needs to thoroughly enjoy his experience of school. My mother responded, telling me how beautiful it was, and so it continued. He would decorate a tree, show it to all around the school who would smile, share it with me and it would also make my mother’s day!

Just before his annual review I sent all the photos to his teaching assistant to share with his family at the meeting, following which she sent this reply:

Oh Polly, thank you for these pictures, they are really great. I will print them off for his review next week. He makes my day and fills it with joy every day–whether it’s through watching him carefully decorating his (your) beloved tree, some work he has done, learning he has remembered, or new vocabulary he has said to me. 🙂 Thank you for always being so supportive and welcoming when we come to see you.  Helen

 Educational Reflections

We realised, of course, that this had also been an exercise in relationships and belonging; Peter’s relationship with the TA and the pride she took in working with him and watching him grow. This, allied to the knowledge she developed about his interests through safe talk, had supported him to be successful. It has also facilitated relationships with other pupils and adults – and with me through his friendly visit each day.

This story is also about joy, which all learning should bring: the joy Peter brought to those around him in walking his tree through school; or that his TA gets from working creatively alongside him and making a difference; or that he brought to my office and many a meeting held there – and even the joy he brought to the lady, a retired art teacher, who had once given her daughter a small wooden tree.  

Polly Ross is Headteacher at Shefford Lower School in Bedfordshire.

Professional Prompts

1. In the ‘Welcome’ editorial, we said that relationships and belonging would be two of the sub-themes of this How does Polly Ross’s piece illustrate these themes?

2. What are ways that students’ beliefs, interests and passions can be incorporated into the school context?

3. How can school leaders be more engaged and connected to students on a regular basis?

Finding Beauty in Uniqueness: A Reflection

Loni Bergqvist

This little vase has changed my world.

Most normal vases are meant to hold a bunch of flowers. A bouquet with flowers that look good together, and complement each other in colour and shape.

Our schools are a lot like traditional vases: serving bunches of kids that are pretty much the same.

But this vase?

It was a fancy designer gift from our kitchen company as an apology for a cabinet door that took a whole year to be installed. When I opened the box, I thought it was a toothbrush holder.

Small holes, a place for each individual stem.

The vase itself is not revolutionary.

But I’ve noticed a beautiful thing when I go into our garden and pick plants to fill it. I’m not looking for the huge volume of flowers anymore.

I’m looking for the individual flowers

The unknown weed alongside the house that looks like a green version of wheat.

The daisy in the back next to the trampoline.

A couple of sprigs of lavender that my new plants could spare.

A barely opened pink flower that still needs time.

And a few random weeds with splashes of purple and yellow.

My trips to the garden are now focused on seeing the beauty and uniqueness in everything sprouting from the ground. Not because it needs to fit together, but because now it has a place to stand alone.

Surprisingly, no matter what combination of flowers I choose, they all look stunning together.

Our schools need to be this.

Our kids are the wheat, daisies, lavender, unopened pink-flower and random collection of weeds.

Look, we can’t wait for the system to design this for us. The larger system will likely forever be stuck in the big-normal-vase thinking.

Those who know me will know my solution is Project-Based Learning. It’s something we have the possibility to do every day in our classrooms… if we have the courage to do something different.

What vase will you fill today?   

Loni was (and always will be) a teacher. She became a Project-Based Learning ‘convert’ when she started attending night school in Leadership at the High Tech High Graduate School of Education. Loni left her school to teach at High Tech High, knowing one day her mission would be to bring Project-Based Learning to students who needed it the most; the ones who were in traditional schools. Since 2014, Loni has been working with schools around the world to re-imagine education. She is the founder of Imagine If.

Professional Prompts

1. The central metaphor in Loni’s piece has a lot of How can we change our school to allow all student to thrive? At Gesher School, one of our maxims is“every younge person profoundly well known—and knowing that they are known”.
2. Think of your own How does your school recognise and show the skills, abilities, beliefs and interests of each child? How might you re-think yourteaching to make a place for each one of them?

The Relevance of Therapeutic Approaches for All Schools

Zahra Axinn

This article captures learning from a range of therapeutic approaches used in Gesher School. In a series of interviews, therapists working in the school suggest small changes to practice and learning environments that will make a big difference to learners, and that can be safely and inexpensively implemented in mainstream schools. 

At Gesher School, being a “therapeutic school” is not just a philosophy or frame of mind, it is a feature of our everyday lives. We recognise the importance of therapy for equipping children for future challenges by allowing them to develop their resilience, self-esteem, and compassion, so we embed therapy into teaching and learning throughout the school. Therapists work alongside teachers and really get to know students in session, in the classroom, and in other settings. 

We are very fortunate, of course, to have therapists and therapy assistants working alongside our teachers and teaching assistants, a feature that we realise not all schools will be able to replicate. However, there are some approaches we use that can be safely applied in any school without a huge investment in specialist materials or training.

For this article, I spoke with our Head of Therapies and Speech and Language Therapist Victoria Rutter, our Art Psychologist Hollie Smedley, and our Deputy Head/Drama Therapist Chris Gurney in three separate conversations about their perspectives on the impact of therapy at Gesher and beyond. The following is an adaptation of their advice.

Invest in therapeutic approaches that benefit the most children.

If financial constraints make it tough to invest, focus on a small number of approaches that will benefit the most children, such as language or vocabulary skills, or sensory circuits where students can learn skills for self-regulation. Games that help build up necessary listening abilities and activities targeting gross motor skills can also be widely beneficial.

Little and often is best.

Regular practice of these skills, little by little and often–even five minutes a day–can offer more benefits than one weekly half-hour session.  Pick a priority or two per term–i.e. play skills, listening attention, vocabulary, or social skills for example –and look for online resources, factoring in what’s age-appropriate. 

Create moments of calm.

Brain breaks and yogic breathing during lessons or PE classes can be a great strategy. Also, it’s often an idea to give learners an option to step away and calm themselves by going to a reading corner or other separate space in the classroom. Offer children ways to indicate their mood or ask for help via small visuals on a desk, for example by flipping a colour-coded card.

Never underestimate the importance of being seen and heard.

Children exhibit poor behaviour when they have trouble expressing their needs. Any behaviour is ultimately a form of communication. Acknowledging a child and recognising that they’re asking for help is important, even if you can’t yet figure out what they need. Let them know that you see and hear them. 

Introduce micro-breaks and manage transitions.

Some children struggle to notice when they’re hungry or need the toilet, so it’s important to have regular breaks built into the timetable. At Gesher School we have a low arousal environment that allows children to relax, regulate and reflect between transitions. Children who have experienced chaotic environments and tend to be on high alert often find a quiet space useful to adjust and calm.

Expand opportunities to experience success and build self-esteem.

We notice that children with additional needs who come into Gesher School from mainstream schools exhibit negative self-talk, where they tell themselves that they can’t do something, or that things won’t work. We think this comes from comparing themselves unfavourably to peers, and that once they begin learning with other children who have similar or varied difficulties, they don’t feel so alone in their struggles. The tools provided by art and art therapy, for instance encouraging children with sensory issues to draw using an iPad, also seem to help build self-esteem. For those who struggle with academic subjects, art can be brought into the learning environment to help reduce difficulties. 

Grow trust through consistent interactions.

At Gesher, we employ the PACE approach in our interactions with children, where PACE stands for playfulness, acceptance, curiosity, and empathy. Trust can be built through consistent interactions which in turn help to grow strong relationships between children and adults. Children thrive when they have the chance to engage with an adult who offers them space to express themselves as a whole person. They can be seen and valued in ways they haven’t experienced before rather than being dismissed or infantilised. 

Find your community.

Reach out to other teachers and schools, or to community groups, to talk about how you can best support children. Simple examples are:

– Place2Be is a children’s mental health charity with over 30 years’ experience working with pupils, families and staff in UK schools

– Schools in Mind supports primary and secondary schools in mental health and well-being and SEND.

Many schools have established links with community organisations or faith groups. Gesher, for example, as a Jewish faith school, is able to access the Partnership for Jewish Schools’ wellbeing programme, ‘Heads Up Kids’, which was designed by drama therapists.

Make the most of specialists.

If you do have access to therapists, lean into support from them and ask for their advice on the best strategies for your setting. 

You can find out more about the role of therapy at Gesher School here or by contacting us at [email protected]   

Zahra Axinn is Content Manager at Gesher School. She has worked in education communications for over five years. Her areas of expertise include writing and editing copy, social media management, video and audio editing, design collaboration, and brand strategy. She earned a dual-degree MA in Visual & Critical Studies and MFA in Creative Writing from California College of the Arts, as well as a BA in English Literature and Theater & Performance Studies from Stanford University. Zahra is a member of The Bridge editorial team.

Professional Prompts

1. Many mainstream schools do not have dedicated therapy expertise or therapy policies outside their SEND unit or department. What is your school’s therapy policy? Is there a strategy whereby you might access and incorporate therapeutic expertise in your school?
2. Which of the ideas in this article hold the most potential for use in your school? How might you introduce them?
3. What strategies and approaches can help support students who are disregulated or who cannot engage in their learning? What are some factorswhich contribute to students being disregulated?