A new evaluation of a programme using social, emotional and mental health (SEMH) interventions to support students in mainstream schools back onto the right educational path has demonstrated its effectiveness beyond doubt. But its true impact can only be fully appreciated on a school and individual level.
So take our Year 10 student, Sammy (name changed).
Sammy has been on a dramatic journey over the past four years. As a Year 7, he had a long record of behaviour issues and was subject to a fixed-term exclusion.
There were more than 130 defiance incidents recorded against Sammy that year, and he was removed from the classroom 112 times, with 67 internal exclusions.
It was clear that Sammy was fighting some very serious personal battles. At the time, he and his family faced a high-level court case involving a sibling’s disappearance, which ended tragically.
His behaviour was so serious that it could have ended in a permanent exclusion. Instead, we used a multi-faceted SEMH intervention strategy rather than ineffective censure and punishment.
Recognising Sammy’s need for emotional wellbeing support, we introduced him to the Thrive approach, a programme designed to address social and emotional development.
Meridian staff are trained to use non-confrontational language and focus on building positive relationships with students. The approach is underpinned by an understanding that students show challenging behaviour because they find it hard to regulate themselves.
Thrive has given the students strategies to do just that and equipped staff with a framework to constructively support them.
We began Sammy’s support programme by identifying gaps in his emotional development which could then be targeted with interventions. These included mentoring, a social skills programme, conflict resolution and emotional literacy training.
It has helped us create a school students want to come to and where staff are happy
As a result of this stepped approach over the following three years, Sammy started to show a better version of himself. His interactions with his peers improved, with fewer conflicts and increased positive engagement.
The programme helped him develop a better understanding of social cues and the importance of respectful communication.
For Sammy and many students like him, a focus on structured SEMH interventions helps them step back from the brink and sets them on the right course.
The impact of this approach has now been evaluated on a large scale, and we’re really encouraged to see that new research echoes our own experiences.
ImpactEd Group compared the performance of 1,700 Thrive schools across England against DfE pupil attendance and exclusion data. We found that these schools had fewer exclusions, lower absence rates and enhanced staff wellbeing.
The interim findings showed that schools using the Thrive approach had 27 per cent fewer exclusions than the national average, equivalent to four fewer exclusions per 10,000 pupils per year.
The research also revealed that absence is three per cent lower and severe absence is 15 per cent lower in schools that use the approach, compared to those that don’t.
Teachers in Thrive schools have better wellbeing than the national average too. Benchmarked against the teacher wellbeing index, they saw their wellbeing improve by five per cent within an academic year.
At Meridian High School, using this approach has resulted in overall student absence improving by more than 17 per cent in 2023-24, and persistent absence down by 15 per cent.
Positive behaviour has also seen a substantial increase, with an average rise of 56 points per student.
Thrive has played a major role in this transformation by helping us create a school that students want to come to and where staff are happy. It is central to our behaviour and wellbeing policy and integral to our culture.
As for Sammy, his overall behaviour percentage dramatically improved, from 70 per cent in Year 7 to 95 per cent in Year 10, with a significant increase in positive behaviours and a huge reduction in negative incidents.
He was also successful in his application to become an ambassador helping other students to understand and benefit from the emotional wellbeing support that is helping him turn his life around.
And that has to be the most powerful evidence that a different approach to behaviour can be genuinely transformative.
The full findings are scheduled for publication in September. Register for your copy here
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