Charles Dickens Primary School and Nursery are set to guide our final school through the graduation process, marking the culmination of an exciting four-year journey. But what exactly is the Behaviour Hubs program? How was Charles Dickens Primary School involved, and what was its impact?

In 2020, amidst the face masks and stringent cleaning routines, we embarked on the lengthy process of applying to become a lead Behaviour Hub school. This was the first round of recruitment for the programme, with the Department for Education (DFE) aiming to recruit 23 lead schools. The application process was initiated by our Trust CEO Cassie Buchanan, who completed the extensive paperwork required. This was followed by an in-person interview involving senior leaders, children, governors, and even a parent. The panel of behaviour experts sought a school that not only exhibited positive behaviour, but also knew how to achieve it. They were realistic, acknowledging that children are human beings who make mistakes, and that perfection is an unrealistic target. Instead, they were interested in how strong routines, a character curriculum, and an extensive well-being curriculum contributed to positive behaviour across the school.

After a three-week wait, we were awarded the status of Lead Behaviour Hub School, joining 22 other successful schools from across the UK. We quickly convened to meet and undergo training, much of which was led by Tom Bennett, the current government’s Behaviour Advisor. Tom, who founded ResearchEd and authored books on behaviour such as “Running the Room,” played a pivotal role in shaping the programme. The Behaviour Hubs started gaining media attention, though not all of it was positive, with some critics linked Behaviour Hubs to zero-tolerance policies, which was a misrepresentation. All training from Behaviour Hubs and Tom Bennett emphasised that zero tolerance does not exist within the program. It’s an unhelpful term used by some schools to appear tough. In reality, practitioners should respond to needs and make sensible adaptations when necessary. Charles Dickens Primary School has high expectations, clear systems, consistent rules and routines, but we would never describe ourselves as zero tolerance.

We understand that children come to our school with varying levels of familiarity with behaviour expectations, and it’s our job to teach the behaviours we want to see.

Initially, schools had to be rated as ‘Requires Improvement’ by Ofsted to be eligible for the programme. They had to commit once signed up, and in return, they received funds from the DFE to help with the cost of supply teachers to allow staff to attend. The school would then be linked to a lead school such as ourselves. Over a year, the school would receive visits from myself and Emily Crow, the Deputy Director of the Teaching School Hub to learn more, help them reflect on their current state and then assist them in creating an action plan for improvement.

Through specialist training webinars, visiting other schools, and coaching from us, the school would implement new strategies to enhance behaviour. Each school we worked with had unique contexts and experiences. We collaborated with schools across the country,  some of which had faced significant challenges, including financial strains, deprivation, disasters, or high levels of child mobility. It was important for schools to stay true to their communities and staff while building effective behaviour strategies. Often, this started with reviewing their policy and making it unique and workable for their staff. A cycle of training was then needed to ensure the policy could be implemented effectively. Sometimes, the introduction of coaching ensured consistency. One strategy each school adopted from Charles Dickens, which we’re always willing to share, is our approach to teaching behaviour. Schools would take the core of our character and well-being curricula and adapt them to better suit their unique contexts.

Our well-being curriculum has evolved over the last eight years. It started with training at Yale University in the USA, where we learned about the RULER approach - a whole school well-being approach tested in hundreds of schools with impressive outcomes evidenced in their 35-year study. The outcomes showed that using RULER reduced the need for specialist mental health support, improved emotional regulation, reduced bullying, and lessened staff burnout. There’s also a strong correlation between positive mental health impacts on children and academic outcomes. We used this, along with the EEF Guidance report on Social Intelligence, to create a curriculum fit for Charles Dickens. This included plans, booklets, animations and resources that could be shared, with every child receiving a stand-alone well-being lesson to support their mental health.

The character curriculum has been in place for a couple of years. As not all children will have been taught the same behaviour expectations before joining the school, some will need more reinforcement than others. As adults, we sometimes find certain social situations challenging. When we disagree with someone, how do we politely express our disagreement? As adults, this is hard, yet we expect young children and teenagers to handle these situations perfectly without escalation. Consequently, we teach every expected behaviour and explain the rationale behind it. For example, we teach children how to politely exit a game when they don’t want to play; how to have a disagreement without it escalating into hurtful words or physicality; and even how to use a knife and fork. This last point might sound strange, but depending on the community’s deprivation level, many families may not have a dining room table, making the use of a knife and fork rare. The curriculum is constantly evaluated to ensure it’s up to date and meets our cohort’s needs. It then repeats each year, ensuring that our children receive consistent messages annually.

Working with numerous schools over the past four years has been a pleasure. We’ve seen each school strengthen, with many being judged as good or better by Ofsted in the ‘Behaviour and Attitudes’ category. One of our most recent link schools is Burrow Hedges, a large primary school in South London. Leaders in this school embraced the Behaviour Hub program, making meaningful and lasting changes to their school. I am thrilled to say that they were recently awarded Outstanding in all areas in their recent Ofsted inspection and were specifically praised for their work on behaviour.  

We continue to stay in touch with these schools, using the experience as an excellent way to reflect on CDPS and see if any new ideas could benefit us. While we’re saddened by the potential end of the Behaviour Hubs project, we feel privileged to have been a part of it.

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