James, (not his real name) joined the school at the start of his year 2, he came from out of the area, he had a troubled educational background and found it difficult to settle. He had been on the point of permanent exclusion from his previous school, attended a Pupil Referral Unit and then gained a place at Revoe Learning Academy. 

At Revoe the Resilience Revolution Framework noble truths form the cornerstone of the ethos of the school. So, when James joined the school, Revoe ‘accepted’ they were at the start of a journey with him, they were ‘committed’ for the long term to making a difference to James life, ‘conserving’ the positives in his life and using the framework to build resilience. Using the learning from the whole school resilience training and being mindful of system changes that could be made to prevent, as far as possible, a difficult start to year 2 in a new school James was attending a breakfast club and was encouraged to build a positive relationship with a trusted adult in school. Staff in school are familiar with the framework and have the time and space to use it with children in school. 

After 3 weeks James was ‘acting out’ and demonstrating his need for attention in ways that were public and not socially acceptable in a school situation. At breakfast club one morning a pupil member of the breakfast club in the same year as James took him to one side and said

             “I’ve seen you around school having a strop; I used to be that boy when I came here. I was naughty at my previous school so I had to come here, but the teachers are really nice and they help you. So stop stressing” 

He then gave James a hug

Both boys are now successful pupils at Revoe Learning Academy contributing positively to the rich and resilient culture of the school.

The contribution that Headstart has made to this already successful, inclusive and resilient school is to provide the school with a common understanding of resilience, a common language to talk about resilience and a framework to use to enhance the magic they weave every day with their children in school.