VIEWS & OPINION
Young people need something to belong to – and we need to help them
Comment by CHRISTINE STANSFIELD, Chief Executive at Mowbray Education Trust
The current education climate presents many challenges and as educators, we are tackling issues in absenteeism, poor behaviour and attainment, all of which are impacting outcomes for our young people. Years of isolation during the Covid-19 pandemic has compounded these issues, making it difficult for pupils and families to feel connected to their schools and limiting our ability to work together to overcome them. For us, the solution is taking things back to the basics, recreating a strong bond between pupils and their school and fostering a sense of belonging.
For pupils who may be struggling to come to school, engage with their lessons, or exemplify good behaviour, a sense of belonging can act as a lifeline to keep them grounded in the school’s
expectations. With the world changing so rapidly around them, young people require extra support that will nurture their needs, help them to see a bigger picture, and feel connected and responsible to those around them. In my eyes, feeling part of a community is the most sure-fire way for young people to thrive. My mission is to bring back this all-important sense of belonging to the forefront and help young people reconnect with their school community.
For recreating this sense of belonging, a top to bottom approach is essential. At Mowbray Education Trust, we assessed our pastoral care provisions and assessed how these can be improved and expanded in light of the pandemic. We found that language is incredibly important and have therefore ensured that our schools’ messaging is positive and consistent throughout our trust vision and values and embedded in all communications. This has already had a significant impact on helping each school build a strong school culture and community. We also worked to align our staff training and development resources to these values and reinforced the prioritisation of pastoral care and building connections.
In fact, staff training has become a vital piece of the puzzle for us, as our teachers are the most impactful point of contact for pupils during the school day. By ensuring staff are aligned in the way they communicate with each other, and most importantly, pupils, we can uplift everyday interactions to be even more meaningful. We encourage staff to focus on every ‘micro-interaction’ with pupils to make each one count, and to see them as opportunities to create a positive impact or form a bond. For example, this can be harmonising the way colleagues move around school, focusing on approachable and friendly body language, as well as through conversations, however short or long. Even a single smile can go a long way in uplifting a pupil’s mood, encouraging them to have confidence, and helping them to feel they belong. Teachers are leaders-by-example for young people, so carrying themselves with a positive demeanour
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and prioritising building connections is a valuable resource.
Another key component of cultivating a sense of belonging across our schools and Trust has been through shared experiences as completing the same acts at the same time creates a powerful sense of ‘togetherness’. That does not mean creating lots of new events, instead at Mowbray, this has been about doing more with less. For instance, we are working to minimise frequent low-impact events across the school and focus on organising a few high-impact events that will be the most meaningful for staff and pupils. So far, this has included Remembrance Day and Children in Need, with Christmas Carols also being organised for the coming weeks.
At one of our schools, John Ferneley College, we organised a shared moment of silence for Remembrance
Day – a day which already has a significant meaning. We invited each pupil and teacher to gather at a single location in school, so we could observe this important moment together. The result was electric. As pupils filed in, there was a low buzz of chatter across the room, but the moment the bugle sounded, the room went silent and it was clear that every person there could feel the same connection to the moment and to each other. We also saw one of our highest attendance levels of the year on this day, which is a testament to the power of meaningful events where people belong, and quite the opposite to our pre-pandemic attendance. Through this, we have learned that pupils innately want to be a part of something bigger, as they have a great desire to belong. When an opportunity is presented to connect, they will show up.
It is human nature to want a purpose and to connect with others. Prioritising ‘belonging’ in schools is the best way we can help our pupils achieve these fundamental needs. The positive benefits of building a school culture where pupils are able to connect will trickle down into other areas, such as attendance and behaviour. Pupils will show up to school regularly and consistently if they are a part of the school community and with that comes the opportunity for us to support better behaviour which leads to improved engagement in lessons. This then allows us to do what we do best, educate our young people and ensure they have the outcomes needed to thrive and succeed in the world. This approach also extends to and is most effective when our staff and families feel a sense of belonging too, which we are also working to embed.
‘Belonging’ is the way forward. In our experience, there is no better measure or strategy that can inspire pupils, staff and families to engage with each other and the school, care about their academic journey, and strengthen their community in the same way that fostering a sense of belonging can.
January 2024
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