Supporting behaviour and emotions in school: an exploration into school staff perspectives on the journey from punitive approaches to relational-based approaches

Figures & data

Table 1. Participant roles.

School A	School B	School C
Inclusion Lead and Deputy Headteacher	Finance Manager	Teaching Assistant
Headteacher	Inclusion Lead	Class Teacher
Class Teacher	Class Teacher	Pastoral Support Worker
Lunchtime Staff Member	Teaching Assistant	Deputy Headteacher
Teaching Assistant	KS1 Lead	SENCo

Figure 1. Themes and subthemes of the advantages and disadvantages task.

Figure 2. Themes and subthemes for the facilitators and barriers task.

Table 2. Facilitators and resulting implications of adopting relational-based approaches.

Facilitator	Implications
Whole-school training	- Ensure training on new approaches is rolled out to all staff in the school community. - Information evenings for families. - Monitor the consistency of approaches used across staff. - Provide information to the CYP on the new approaches.
Whole-school ethos	- Establish a whole-school compassionate and nurturing policy and ethos. - Update the school website, policies, staff contracts, letters/communication with home, reports and other school communication.
Starting with ‘why’	- Start the roll out of training with evidence, research and information on the purpose and reasoning behind the approaches. - Encourage open reflection and honesty. - Ensure CYP and parents understand the new approaches and are aware of the reasoning behind the shift.
Training roll out	- Ensure all members of the SLT receive training, understand the approaches and are motivated to establish the shift in school. - Ensure a spread of people across the year groups receive the training and act as ‘advocates’ or ‘champions’.
Engaging and practical training opportunities	- Allocate time to conduct practical whole-school training. - Offer one to one support and opportunities to reflect.
Regular training reminders and reflections	- Provide regular bite size reminders of the training and the approach (monthly updates/letters, regular slots in team meetings, bulletins, notice boards, podcasts, videos)
Support from Senior Leadership Teams	- Provide regular drop-in for concerns or questions and to receive support, praise and supervision/joint problem-solving. - Offer practical and physical support and observation in the classroom, particularly for complex cases.
Sharing successes	- Regularly share successes in staff teams through meetings, bulletins, notice boards or online groups. - Share successes with parents (sending emails, letters or postcards home) and governors (send termly updates).

Figure 3. Visual representation of the key facilitators in making the shift to using relational-based approaches.