Since my my last post on here, I've been keeping busy with my weekday job in an SEMH school. However, as of the 23rd of May, I no longer work at the school due to no longer being needed for the final term. (I was working in the Y11's class, but they are on study leave now, and will be leaving for good in 2 weeks time) And since I'm now currently off work until my agency calls me in to somewhere else, I've got some time to be productive on here.
As the above title states, I want to talk about structure & consistency benefitting SEMH pupils.
There are 2 reasons for this post: Firstly, there has been some major changes to the school. Secondly, I've seen the positive impact those changes have had on the pupils & their behaviour.
When the school opened up after the Christmas break (8th of January), it had marked the start of long & difficult journey. That journey was to simply make the school into a better learning environment & as well as a safe environment for the pupils.
There were 4 minor changes that took place: New uniform, English & Maths lessons every morning & addressing the staff as "sir" or "ms". We even introduced something called "isolation" (IL for short) which is where pupils will spend half a day or a full day in a separate room to do their work. The intention of this is to help the pupils reflect on their behaviour. I'm delighted to say that it was a success! Or at least for most part.
On the 25th of February, there were 2 more changes to the school curriculum, and they were both major ones... A FULL timetable of lessons & the new warning system. The intention of the warning system is to reduce the pupils' behaviour, and is also made up of 3 warnings. If a pupil gets a warning 3, they go to the inclusion hub, and they have to do a 10min detention. Failing that, then it's an IL the following day for the morning. If not, then it's an IL the WHOLE day. Failing THAT, then it leads to a suspension.
During the 5 months that I've been a part of the new changes journey, I've seen how much more settled & calmer the pupils have been! As a result, there has been a reduced number of behavioural incidents, This is why having the consistent structure & routine really helps SEMH pupils to feel more secure in a learning environment, as they know that we care about their education, as well as their mental wellbeing.
Time travelling back to the 25th of November (when I had first started working at the school), I honestly couldn't believe how dysfunctional it was back then, where there were hardly any lessons going on, no timetable structure & there were behaviour incidents happening every single day. Sometimes even a few times a day. It was just insane. I couldn't even imagine how unsettled those pupils must have been feeling back then without the consistent structure & routine. They were scared, anxious & dysregulated (a cliché from that school). Ofsted even gave the school an "inadequate" rating, due to poor leadership & management.
To this day, yes, there will still be some pupil dysregulations, but that doesn't put a small dent on all of the positive progress the school have been making. If anything, the school is only getting better every single day! I'm also optimistic enough that Ofsted will give them a much better rating.
As a youth worker, it really makes me heart warmed to see vulnerable young people thrive in life. Especially those with a complicated background.
