What are the most important things for emotionally safe classrooms?
Q: What would you consider the 5 most important things a school can do to have emotionally safe classrooms?
Jenny: The first tip for an emotionally safe classroom is an ‘emotionally safe teacher’! In other words teachers need to understand that they are the most powerful barometer of the emotional temperature of a class. It’s a truism to say that your mood affects the mood of everyone around you. When I am running training days I talk a lot about the fact there are days when even you know that you are too dangerous to go out! On those days I say to people ‘don’t try and do any exciting circle time or anything different – just get through the day with dignity…and treats’. We, as consultants, will then often help teachers work out how to put golden moments into their day and how to create their own personal care programme.
The second step would be to work out, with your pupils, the moral values you all wish to adopt to keep your classroom physically and emotionally safe. We call these ‘golden rules’. Once the golden rules are up, they are backed on gold paper and then we take photos of children (with the ideas being suggested by the pupils themselves) keeping the golden rules. In other words we would have photo’s of children being gentle, kind, honest, listening, working hard and looking after property. You then need to work with the pupils separately on the routines of the class; which we call class rules; ‘We put our pens and pencils over in the box, we line up calmly etc, etc’. These are the safety routines and help keep order…but they must not be muddled up with the moral values.
Once these are established, the third and fourth step would be to work out a clearly consistent, transparent and fair system of incentives and sanctions. Again, they need to be negotiated with the class and they need to reflect the language of the golden rules. In other words an emotionally safe classroom rewards children who look after other peoples emotions. Safe classrooms have rewards for children who are gentle, kind, honest etc. Your sanctions, to be emotionally safe, need to be based on sound psychological principles. We advocate the withdrawal of a privilege…which means that all children need to enjoy a weekly privilege in order that the class can celebrate all those pupils who kept to the moral values. We call this system Golden Time it has been structured particularly with the needs of ‘middle plodders’ in mind. In other words and emotionally safe classroom does not just focus on disruptive pupils it concentrates its resources and its energy on all those children who come in every day and keep to the ethos of the class.
The fifth and final step (and I am taking it for granted that an emotionally safe class teacher would only offer children a curriculum that enabled each one of them to experience success and excitement) …would be to ensure that the weekly forum of circle time was vibrant and fun. I have seen some very boring circle times where the children sit in a circle but the teacher talks too much. If done properly the teacher would adhere to a five step structure which would not only allow every child to be heard it would also ensure that the class celebrated success and that the over riding ethos was that this circle is a fun and friendly place to be. To laugh, to play, to be creative and imaginative are basic human needs. Some of our classrooms are not emotionally warm enough. I would advocate that teachers share ideas and have staff circle times where they can experience the support and help of others…in order to understand the importance of maintaining this same ethos for their pupils. If a teacher is not heard or supported by her or his staff … he or she will have no energy to give to the class. So, an emotionally safe school will have circle time for staff and pupils.
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