How do we developing Circle Time in a secondary EBD school?
Q: How would you suggest we develop circle time in a secondary EBD school?
Jenny: Your question is a nice simple one liner – the answer if probably five books! Interestingly I started my teaching career in an EBD school in the dim distant past! Circle time is only one of nine features of this model – although I call it the Quality Circle Time Model it includes recommendations for staff self esteem, the implementing of three pro-active systems, golden rules, rewards, sanctions, lunchtime policy and extra therapeutic and behaviour management support systems for pupils who cannot respond to the above. A lot of the work I do is just common sense and most schools are already, quite naturally, implementing some of what I suggest – but it is just pulling it together into a well organised consistent and structured systemic whole which is the hard, hard issue.
If I was a head
teacher of special schools I would definitely bring in a gifted facilitator to
work on weekly circle times with the staff first – if staff feel valued and
listened to they are more likely to want to try out circle time with the
pupils. I would make sure that you have very sound motivational rules, rewards
and sanction systems, so that the staff have the energy to want to listen to
pupils. If the above is not in place first, pupils will just sabotage the
teachers’ attempts to get circle time going. Staff need training and support to
take on group work of this nature. When
our consultants go in to schools we would, prior to the closure day for all
staff, go in on a ordinary day to work with the Year 7 pupils and Year 8 pupils
with teachers observing.
We recommend putting all the energy into the Year 7’s when they first come up as they will think that this is then the natural ethos and approach of the school and take to it more naturally. I recently worked in one EBD secondary school – the work with the pupils was the most motivating for the staff. In their particular case we brought the pupils back on an actual closure day. However the whole notion of EBD schools has its own problems for circle time. I believe that pupils learn more from each other than they do from the adults, therefore it is very important to have pupils within the circle who also have very good social skills. If the pupils only all have challenging ‘acting out‘ behaviour, then they will all model this behaviour. It is therefore a good idea to look carefully at the mix of social skills within the circle. It is also a good idea to sometimes combine two small classes as it can make it seem more special and exciting and you have more adults to help facilitate it.
Your head of Sixth Form in a local secondary school may be able to suggest Sixth Formers who would come and attend your circles (many sixth formers want to study psychology and are really happy to join in these type of projects – and they can bring in with them some good social skills). I am only throwing ideas out to you – what you would need would be to look at an overview of the whole model and see where you would need to put your energy first. Organise some training and go slowly at it. I don’t ask a school to all adopt a whole school policy until there are sufficient enthusiastic teachers within the staff. You may need to get one or two teachers very excited about the idea, especially those who are respected by other members of staff, and then time table them to support other circles. It is a five year model and sometimes it is best to move slowly through with your Year 7’s as role models.
In Circle Time for EBD we interweave a lot of creative arts and meditation as they need different ways of expressing themselves and also to learn strategies for calming down. When I was working in this field I trained as a dramatherapist as well, as I was fascinated how unhappy trouble pupils were less tense and angry if they were given different ways of expressing themselves through drama and the arts. I have always woven these into the circle and my books have many ideas for keeping Circlet Time exciting. If it was just about talking children would be turned off.
Hopefully I have given some ideas that you could think about. We have a range of books but nothing replaces good training in schools! One book that maybe very helpful, is a book called Effective IEP’s Through Circle Time – practical solutions to writing IEP’s for children with emotional and behavioural difficulties’. It is written by Margaret Goldthorpe who is one of my senior consultants…equally you may find a book I co-wrote with a former consultant called Quality Circle Time In Secondary School helpful as well. Good luck good luck good luck.
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