I talked last month about the importance of utilising active listening when in dialogue with pupils (or staff), in an effort to move beyond the superficial and uncover any underpinning, potentially hidden, concerns. 

But how can you best improve these situations once they have been brought to light? An approach that is solution-focused and strengths-based can be powerful. 

This should be firmly embedded within a relational approach, and underpinned by dialogue. The language we use has the power to change how we think, how we act and, fundamentally, who we are, and the same is true for pupils. 

Pastoral support and student wellbeing

In such an approach, we work on the premise that pupils have the capacity to modify their decision-making, given the appropriate support and guidance, with the aim of envisaging a different way forward: “Talk constructs the future and change…. The problems are already constructed; what matters is constructing solutions.” (Parton and O’Byrne, 2000)

Such an approach is not considered as an alternative to holistic behaviour or regulation policies, but it can provide tangible strategies that dovetail with a whole-school system, for use when pupils lack necessary regulative tools in their toolbox or keep making the same unproductive choices, resulting in the same consequences.

It is the method with which pupils can develop such skills, to reduce the likelihood of this occurring again.

In a pupil referral unit, pupils often arrive for induction with a very negative mindset about education; they express frustration regarding a perceived lack of agency, as well as feelings of resentment and of not being heard, among others. 

The relational approach is effective at providing agency; searching for strengths and working with the pupil to find solutions inherently requires their involvement, which, in turn, means the approach is more likely to prove successful.

How to do it

There are four main strategies that we use; I will cover two now and the remaining two next month, so they can be provided sufficient focus. 

The first is called exception finding and involves talking with the pupil to find a time where they did not experience the reported issue, whatever it may be.

This strategy explicitly allows the pupil to realise that they are capable of being successful (which some pupils find difficult). It helps to provide feelings of hope and positivity, with feelings of success leading to increased levels of motivation. 

It is, therefore, the responsibility of the staff member to first notice these successes, however seemingly small, and then to support the pupil in uncovering the underlying processes so they can be replicated.

The second strategy revolves around the use of rating scales, the aim of which is to provide a tangible mechanism to support pupils in bringing perspective to their feelings and behaviour. 

Whatever the issue at hand, the pupil is encouraged to place how they feel on a scale between 1 and 10, with 1 being the worst and 10 being the best. The aim of the staff member is to ask questions that draw out and re-evaluate the pupil’s opinion on the issue. For example: 

• On a scale from 1 to 10, where are you today?
• What would one step higher look like?
• How would you notice you have gone up one point?
• How would others see that you have taken a small step?
• How do you stop yourself from being at a lower number?
• What’s the highest/lowest you could say you’ve been before?
• What would you say is the difference between then and now?
• Where do you think the other person would place themselves?

In the next blog, I will look at the final two strategies in this approach, building on successes and preferred futures, as well as discussing the benefits of utilising Socratic questioning techniques to boost their effectiveness.

Oliver Ward is a teacher at The Key pupil referral unit in Gosport, Hampshire