How a school develops one aspect of its SDP: a report that critically reflects on the actions, impact and evidence base.
This report will provide a critical reflection on how School A develops healthy relationships between staff, pupils and parents/carers. The School Development Plan (SDP) process will be theoretically discussed and the benefits of positive relationships in the school community will be considered as well as providing the reader with suggestions on what may improve the process. School A is a mainstream primary school in South Wales, educating four hundred and ninety-nine pupils. Thirty six percent of pupils are eligible for Free School Meals (eFSM), however a majority of pupils attending the school come from a low-income household, earning just over the threshold for eFSM. A large amount of School A’s pupils and their families have attachment disorders, find relationships challenging and have already experienced an ACE which can then have a detrimental impact on their wellbeing and learning. In 2019, School A replaced their behaviour management policy with a relationships policy which involves the whole school having a restorative approach in order to improve their pupils’ wellbeing, behaviour and learning outcomes.
It has been compulsory since 2015 that all schools in Wales have an SDP that applies with the Education SDP Regulations (WAG, 2014). Schools should use their SDPs as a way of developing the improvement of the school, which is then tracked over time (Hanover Research, 2014 and WAG, 2014).  The school decides what their vision and priorities will be in order to move forward in the development process. These priorities should roll over a three-year period and the SDP should adequately explain how the school’s actions will address these priorities for the school year at present and the top priorities for the following two years (WAG, 2014). The main priorities of the SDP include increasing the principles of education in literacy and numeracy as well as reducing the attainment gap between pupils living in poverty and those who are not (WAG, 2016). Successful self-evaluation should clearly identify these priorities and the methods in which they will be addressed should be in the SDP (Brighouse, 2013). Effective evaluation involves the school reflecting on what is working well, what needs to be improved and how it can be improved (WAG, 2014 and Brighouse, 2013). In order to plan and promote improvement within the school, self-evaluation should be established from the collection, analysis, interpretation and monitoring of a vast amount of evidence and data that reviews the effectiveness of its progress (Brighouse, 2013). This means schools should look at qualitative data such as inspection reports, surveys and information gathered from staff, pupils and parents/carers, as well as reviewing quantitative data such as attendance, PISA records and comparable standards of other schools (WAG, 2014 and Schildkamp, 2019). During the strategic planning process, schools should decide on priorities that are challenging but realistic as well as involving references to their available resources and funding such as the Pupil Deprivation Grant (PDG) available to the school (WAG, 2014, WAG, 2016 and EANI, 2020). It is vital that all stakeholders and the school’s community should be involved in this process which then enables all staff and stakeholders to fully understand their responsibilities when it comes to putting their actions into practice (WAG, 2014 & Brighouse, 2013). When it comes to stakeholders being involved in the development of the SDP, Brighouse and Woods (2000) state the importance of the school needing a critical acquaintance that takes equal measures, to pinpoint strengths as well as areas that need to be improved.  WAG (2014) suggest that the SDP should specifically include how the governing body will work alongside the school’s community in order to achieve the school’s priorities. The governing body must approve the school’s priorities, targets and expected outcomes in which they then create a summary of the SDP including the schools’ main priorities, targets and actions for the current school year (WAG, 2014).  Once the SDP has been approved, the next step is to put action into practice, this is where successful leadership is vital in supporting staff, ensuring they are committed and involved in the process in order to ensure a whole school approach and therefore implementing the SDP effectively (WAG, 2014). The SDP is a working document and it will be reviewed by the head teacher, Senior Leadership Team (SLT) and the governing body throughout the year through different strategies such as lesson observations, learning walks, moderation meetings, termly reviews and through pupil voice (WAG, 2014 and WAG, 2016).
School A’s central driver for their SDP is healthy relationships between staff, pupils, parents/carers and the community. With Health and Wellbeing being a new area of learning and experience (AoLE) in Wales’ new curriculum, schools that promote positive relationships in the school environment may have a positive impact on the development of pupils becoming ‘healthy and confident individuals’ (Donaldson, 2015, p.30). Welsh Gov (2020) state that developing pupils’ empathy and resilience through positive relationships between staff, pupils and parents/carers can equip our pupils to become ‘ambitious, capable learners who are ready to learn throughout their lives’ (Donaldson, 2015, p.30). Keyes and Haidt (2003) and Muir et al (2009) state that conflict, family breakdowns and antisocial behaviour is increasing and therefore preventing our children, young people and communities from flourishing. Families that live in poverty, unemployment and that suffer with their mental or physical health may find it a challenge to provide their children with supportive relationships, therefore having an impact on the child’s wellbeing, where they may display challenging behaviour and become disengaged in school. However, a variety of studies have discovered that if pupils do not have positive relationships or are having a challenging time at home, this can be overcome or ‘reversed’ if they have a positive relationship with a trusted adult in school (Roffey, 2012). Effective relationships with teaching staff that consist of trust, kindness and respect can result in pupils having a positive outlook on their learning (Hattie, 2009 and Hamre and Pianta, 2001). However, Pianta and Nimetz (1991) express it is vital that these positive teacher-pupil relationships are secure, built on trust where the pupils feel safe and confident. As opposed to a dependant relationship, where the pupils may become too attached, seeking constant reassurance and finding separations challenging. Garmezy (1992 cited in Roffey, 2012, p.23) and Bronfenbrenner (1979) suggest if a pupil has a significant relationship with their teacher it can equip them to be confident in overcoming challenges and therefore, they are more likely to succeed. Teacher-parent relationships can also have an impact on pupils’ learning outcomes and wellbeing, with Epstein (2011) describing teacher-parent relationships as a partnership which involves the school and pupils’ families taking responsibility and working together to improve and promote their pupils’ learning and progression. Ratcliff and Hunt (2009) also suggest that positive teacher-parent relationships enable teachers to gain more knowledge and understanding on successful collaboration and what is effective with their children. This can be linked the Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems theory (1979), with the home environment being the Microsystem and the school environment being the Mesosystem (Bronfenbrenner, 1979 and Benjamin, 2015). Bronfenbrenner (1979) suggests that the way these systems function together will either have a positive or negative impact on children’s’ growth and development, meaning strong parent, teacher and pupil relationships are vital contributors to a child’s wellbeing and learning outcomes.
During the strategic planning process, School A made the decision to replace their behaviour management policy with a relationships policy which involves all staff having a restorative practice approach to behaviour. This involves the whole school and its community being invested in promoting relationships, wellbeing and positive behaviour rather than using sanctions and consequences as a way of behaviour management. Kohn (1994) supports this approach, stating the use of rewards is a short-term solution, which will not improve pupils’ values. When pupils are provided with a safe and trusting school community and an engaging curriculum, they are more likely to become enthusiastic, lifelong learners (Kohn, 1994 and Donaldson, 2015). This approach goes against Skinner’s theory of Behaviourism in which it is believed that a child will repeat a behaviour if it is rewarded whereas if a child displays challenging behaviour and receives a consequence or sanction, they will not repeat that behaviour (Trivedi, 2014). In order to evaluate their progress on healthy relationships, School A uses the Kirkpatrick Model in which they reflect on the impact their new approach has had on their staff and pupils throughout the academic school year. This involves SLT and teaching staff measuring how the learners react to the new initiative and then analysing whether the staff and pupils understand the new approach and what they have learnt. The behaviour of the pupils is observed on a daily basis by class teachers to discover whether staff are developing what they have learnt and whether the pupils’ behaviour has changed since the implementation of the new policy. SLT then look at the results and evidence they have collected, where they determine whether their actions have had a positive impact on the behaviour, wellbeing and learning outcomes of the pupils (Kirkpatrick, 2008 and Kurt, 2018). Kurt (2018) believes if this model is implemented correctly it can award teaching practitioners with vital information about their pupils, giving them insight on what works and does not work for them as well as giving them more knowledge on their needs and how they can improve their learning. However, Edwin (2016) argues that this is a time-consuming approach and teachers need to be fully involved, engaged and consistent. When it comes to evaluating its effectiveness, it may be a challenge due to teachers having different approaches in their classrooms. Therefore, it seems that all teachers, stakeholders, pupils and parents need to fully understand how to apply a restorative approach, which will require training, as well as consistently seeking improvement in order for this model of evaluation to be fully effective (Edwin, 2016). The SLT have review meetings at interim points of the year to discuss the impact and their findings from using this model as well as analysing its effectiveness in order to decide on what they will be doing in order to move forward. The school’s SDP states the importance of the active engagement of all staff and stakeholders during the reflection process and they are required to create their own personal development plan in order to show their own understanding of their responsibilities and commitment to the SDP. Stakeholders and staff continually deepen their knowledge and understanding of human relationships through conducting research through professional learning. Flood and Brown (2018) suggest that in order to improve teaching and learning it is beneficial when teachers have access to academic research in which they can evaluate and implement their findings to improve their pedagogy. Professional learning can also be linked to collecting data on what needs to be improved through engaging with, analysing and interpreting existing research evidence with the aim of improving the school’s outcomes (Schildkamp, 2019). Pulis (2016) state that one stakeholder perspective that is often overlooked in many schools is pupil voice, however, School A seem to fully involve their pupils in the improvement of the school, as pupils seem to understand they have their own responsibilities to improve their learning environment. Crane (2001 cited in Pulis, 2016, para 3) suggests if schools do not listen to pupil voice this can have a negative impact on their learning and wellbeing and therefore preventing them from improving their school. In order to measure the impact of their development to improve wellbeing, behaviour and learning through promoting positive relationships, School A uses methods such as lesson observations, an open-door approach policy and pupil voice.  This type of informal data enables teachers to gather evidence on their pupils’ and their family’s needs in everyday practice (Schildkamp, 2019). School A uses pupil and parent surveys that they send out termly to gain more insight on how their pupils feel about their learning environment and how their parents are coping at home with regards to promoting positive relationships. Hanover Research (2014) believes that the use of pupil/parent surveys can enable schools to fully include their chosen aspect in their development and can continually work towards improvement. This allows the school to work towards their goal of healthy relationships in school and at home, by gathering data to find out if there is anything they need to improve on, for example, providing more support to parents. Schildkamp (2019) states all staff involved with the SDP need to fully understand how their data is related to their goals as well as knowing how to interpret and analyse it. When it comes to data analysis, it seems that the only data that can be analysed thoroughly is through the pupil/parent surveys, as the other methods they use to measure the impact is through education research evidence, observation and through pupils’ and parents’ opinions or feelings (Brown, 2015). However, it seems this form of qualitative data may equip SLT and stakeholders to analyse new themes and patterns as well as uncovering pupils’ and parents’ perceptions, insights and understanding (Patton, 2002).
Brighouse and Woods (2001) state that effective school improvement requires a whole school approach and there seems to be a genuine whole school approach in School A. Their SDP was created by all of its staff, stakeholders and community with a vision to improve healthy behaviours, where all individuals are aware of how they interact and connect with one another. They seem to be promoting Four Purposes fully into their school, aiming for all pupils to have confidence and an understanding on how to build positive relationships through trust and respect and therefore having a positive impact on their behaviour, learning and wellbeing (Welsh Gov, 2020 and Donaldson, 2015). School A has implemented a relationships policy, focussing on the development of healthy relationships through restorative practice which has replaced their behaviour management policy. This approach does not require the use of rewards or sanctions to promote positive behaviour and supports the views of Kohn (1994), where behaviour is seen as a means of communication and the use of sanctions can result in pupils feeling angry and disengaged. However, Hopkins (2002) states when it comes to changing school culture with a restorative approach, time can be a major factor. It can be time consuming dealing with incidents in a restorative manner which then prevents staff from meeting the rest of their pupils’ educational and wellbeing needs. In order to overcome this barrier, the use of peer mediation may significantly reduce the time that teachers spend on conflict. This involves pupils collaboratively resolving the problem, pupils volunteer and receive training to become mediators and are then equipped to deal with minor conflict (Hopkin, 2002 and Baginsky, 2002). School A reviews and continually evaluates the effectiveness of their new healthy relationships approach through the Kirkpatrick model, where they also measure impact through lesson observations, pupil voice and parent/pupil surveys. Their data analysis on developing relationships seems to be mainly from analysing qualitative data. It seems the school may benefit from more robust quantitative data in order to discover the full benefits or implications of their new healthy relationships approach (Ohly, 2016). In order to measure the impact thoroughly, it may be beneficial that the school uses a web-based data management programme that allows teachers to record any behavioural issues that has happened during the school day, providing staff with measurable evidence. This may give teachers, stakeholders and SLT the opportunity to consistently record, measure and track any progress or issues in regard to pupil behaviour and wellbeing (Estyn, 2014). 
To conclude, when it comes to school improvement it is vital that there is a whole school approach throughout the development process. Not only is it important for teachers to have positive relationships with their pupils, it is also greatly beneficial when teachers, stakeholders, parents and the school’s community work in partnership to meet the educational and wellbeing needs of all pupils (Bronfenbrenner, 1979 and Benjamin, 2015). Healthy relationships are at the heart of School A’s SDP in which they promote parental and pupil engagement through surveys and an open-door approach. This report has influenced me to ensure that I promote healthy relationships in the classroom whilst continually deepening my knowledge through professional learning. I understand the importance of working alongside the whole school community in order to continually improve practice and therefore providing pupils with a safe and consistent environment that enables them to become confident, enthusiastic learners ready to reach their full potential.