Belinda Harris

Challenging the Challenged: Developing an Improvement Programme for Schools Facing Exceptionally Challenging Circumstances.

This article outlines a research and development programme that focused on a group of 8 secondary schools in England. 1 The schools in this study were considered to be facing exceptionally challenging circumstances characterised by high levels of socioeconomic disadvantage and deprivation. They were also schools considered to be seriously underperforming and in need of intensive improvement and support strategies. The article outlines the background, nature, and scope of the improvement programme designed for this group of schools, collectively known as the “OCTET” group. It reflects upon the emerging evidence about improving schools in the most difficult circumstances and argues that more context-specific programmes of intervention are required if the goal of raising performance in such schools is to be realised.

Leading by heart1

This article considers leadership as an emotional process and provides an account of the emotions of change experienced at one school. It examines the complexity of change and development from a relational and affective perspective by exploring the emotional experience of staff involved in a developmental project. The article is deliberately descriptive, aiming to illuminate the feelings, fears and experiences of those involved in the process of change. It highlights the importance of trust, autonomy and ‘no blame’ innovation in securing and sustaining cultural change. It identifies how trust impacts both positively and negatively on the change process. The article concludes by theorizing three stages of emotional or ‘heart’ conditions necessary to successfully implement and sustain change at the individual and school levels.

Does Every Child Know They Matter? Pupils' Views of One Alternative to Exclusion

Abstract Schools are now urged to make every child matter. In this paper we present the case of the Coalfields Alternatives to Exclusion (CATE) strategy in which pupils at risk of permanent exclusion are offered the opportunity to start afresh in a new school. Without the stigma of exclusion, pupils are able to develop new relationships with peers and teachers and enhance self-esteem. We argue that this system of managed moves, despite some difficulties and challenges, offers an insight into the ways in which feelings of mattering can be translated into new behaviours and intentions. This we suggest provides pupils with a positive opportunity to resume their education and to be genuinely included in the life of their new school.

Befriending the Two-Headed Monster: Personal, Social and Emotional Development in Schools in Challenging Times.

ABSTRACT Schools in the UK and beyond continue to experience the damaging effects of ‘top down’, ‘one size fits all’ ‘outcome-based’ educational reforms. Educators struggle to meet the dual demands of a punishing performativity- and accountability-driven regime alongside the personal, social, emotional and learning needs of their pupils, especially those whose challenging behaviour reflects an inability to cope with the relentless demands of testing and with the perceived lack of meaning or relevance of disembodied knowledge for their lives. Needless to say, many pupils find their teachers driven to behaviour just as challenging. This paper presents a rationale for reclaiming the relational at the heart of school life in order to move schools towards recovery. It is argued that it is only when schools have a central and demonstrable concern with the primacy of relationships in teaching and learning that it will be possible to reclaim the ground that has been eroded by successive marketising and managerialist agendas. Placing students and relationships at the centre is crucial to creating the collective energy, internal motivation and commitment necessary for re-establishing schools as humane centres of inclusive people development. A three stage model for achieving this is proposed: developing relational fitness; relational sustenance and depth; and relational alchemy.

Managed Moves: Schools Collaborating for Collective Gain.

Government guidance in the United Kingdom encourages groups of schools to take collective responsibility for supporting and making provision for excluded pupils and those at risk of exclusion. Managed moves are one way that some schools and authorities are enacting such guidance. This article presents the results of an evaluation of one such scheme. The scheme, involving seven neighbouring secondary schools, was nearing its first year of completion. The article draws primarily on interview data with pupils, parents and school staff to describe a number of positive outcomes associated with the scheme and to explore how these were achieved. We found that while some of these could be attributed directly to the managed move, others arose from the more inclusive ethos and practices of particular schools. The concepts of tailored support, care and commitment emerged as strong themes that underpinned the various practical ways in which some schools in the cluster were able to re‐engage ‘at‐risk’ pupils. As managed moves become more widely practised it will be important to remember that it is how the move proceeds and develops rather than the move itself that will ultimately make the difference for troubled and troublesome pupils.

An evaluation of the long-term outcomes of small-group work for counsellor development

Abstract A questionnaire was designed which enquired into the long-term professional applications and outcomes of Rogerian small-group and Tavistock Group Dynamics training. The 92 respondents were graduates of either a Masters degree or a Diploma in Human Relations or Counselling Studies in a university course where a ‘small-group’ module was a compulsory element of the taught course. Respondents were drawn from graduates of these one-year full-time or two-year part-time courses over a 21-year period. All respondents were involved either directly in professional or voluntary counselling, in the application of counselling skills in their work, or in training in counselling and counselling skills at work. The respondents reported no loss of learning gains over time: ascribed the application of many specific counselling skills to the small-group training process; reported on the affective component of the learning process; and provided only minimal evidence of forms of psychological damage which could be d...

Adding value to education through improved mental health: A review of the research evidence on the effectiveness of counselling for children and young people

This paper is set against the backdrop of an increasing number of strategies and policies developed by the Department for Education and Skills in the U.K. regarding the promotion of positive mental health in schools and the recognition of the value of improving mental health in relation to children’s learning, achievement, attendance and behaviour. The aim of the paper is to present the results from a systematic review of the research evidence on counselling children and young people and discuss these results in relation to the educational context and the added value to be gained in addressing the mental health needs of children and young people. A systematic review methodology is used to assess the outcome research literature. The review is structured around a range of counselling issues and four groups of counselling approaches: cognitive-behavioural, person-centred, psychodynamic and creative therapies. Results indicate that all four approaches to counselling are effective for children and young people across the full range of counselling issues. However, more high quality published research evidence was located for the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioural counselling than other approaches, identifying significant gaps in the evidence bases for these approaches. Other gaps in the evidence include research into counselling for school related issues and self-harm.

‘Extra appendage’ or integrated service? School counsellors' reflections on their professional identity in an era of education reform

Abstract Aims: Since 2003, Government policies have located increasing responsibility for childrens well-being on schools working in partnership with other agencies. This study sought to investigate how these policies affect the working lives and professional identities of counsellors in schools in challenging circumstances in England. Method: In-depth interviews with six school counsellors (4 primary and 2 secondary). Transcripts were analysed using Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis to reveal five master themes, one of which is the focus of this paper. Findings: School counsellors derive most reward from their therapeutic work with children. Their sense of professional identity however, is affected by their positioning within schools. Counsellors with dual roles perceive themselves as ‘insiders’ with the capacity to influence and contribute meaningfully to the schools well-being agenda. Counsellors engaged on part-time contracts either independently or via an agency feel like ‘outsiders’, situated...

Counselling children and young people: A review of the evidence for its effectiveness

Abstract This paper summarises and presents the results of a BACP commissioned systematic scoping review on the research evidence on counselling children and young people. The methodology was based on a structured, hierarchical, systematic approach to searching and reviewing the research literature. Inclusion criteria defined the scope of the review in relation to a range of issues in counselling children and young people: behavioural problems and conduct disorders; emotional problems including anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress; medical illness; school-related issues; self-harming practices and sexual abuse. Four groups of counselling approaches were examined: cognitive-behavioural; psychoanalytic; humanistic; and creative therapies. The findings indicate that the four therapeutic approaches are effective to a greater or lesser degree in relation to the range of issues. Although the findings show that there is little or no evidence for the effectiveness of some therapies for particular issues,...

Facing the Challenges of Education Reform in Hong Kong: An Experiential Approach to Teacher Development

Belinda Harris’s opening discussion of developments in Hong Kong will have a familiar ring to many readers. There is a recognition that the current curriculum is not an adequate preparation for life and there is now an emphasis on lifelong learning and a wider view of development. Such a move has significant implications for the development of attitudes and skills amongst teachers. The issues that surround such educational reform in Hong Kong are analysed. This is followed by the detailed description of a study which involved a group of Hong Kong teachers in a structured experiential learning activity. It was found that though the teachers concerned acknowledged the value of their experience, they felt that given the culture and ethos of their own schools it would not be possible for them to undertake similar work with pupils. On the basis of these outcomes the writer suggests that there will need to be considerable emphasis on teacher development in Hong Kong if the reforms are to succeed.