The Belonging Collective

As the new term begins, it is vital that we get off on the right foot, making sure that from day one, all of our students, old and new, feel a connection with us that will activate their sense of belonging. By doing this, we can make sure that our schools are a positive environment that will maximise learning potential, as outlined in my previous blog post The Belonging Bonus

These are my best bets in getting that right from day 1 so that we can fly together.

1. Get Policy right. According to Allen and Kern’s Bio-Psycho-Socio-Ecological model of school belonging, We need to get the Meso-system right before we even start the term. That means making sure that our Vision, Policy and Practice are truly representative of ALL of those in our community. Take a really close look at the climate and culture of your school, the language used in your documentation, the texts studied in class, the posters and the role models. Can all of your students see themselves there? Most schools have a Vision statement, but how long ago was it written? Did the whole community contribute? Does it still hold the same value today? The meso-system is shaped by your Vision, so make sure that embraces your community. But most of all, make sure that once you get the policies right, they are consistently applied across the whole school.
2. Create a welcoming environment and emphasise the importance of teacher student relationships. Is the physical space warm, clean and inviting? Get to know your students well, their interests and strengths and any challenges that they may face. Over communicate the strengths that every student brings to the school and don’t underestimate the negative impact of sarcasm or negative humour towards any child, especially those who you may feel ‘can take it.’ They can’t.
3. Establish your Rituals and Routines. Lemov et al in their book “Reconnect” talk about the importance of establishing clear and consistent routines across the school to foster a sense of stability and community. Establish these quickly and clearly from the start of term. Greet students as they enter your room, positively reinforce behaviour systems and most of all, make sure that they are consistently applied throughout all classrooms and departments. These rituals are another opportunity to connect. In my school, students and staff ate together, and that simple act of casual connection and shared experience daily helped to cement the teacher-student bond. (Staff got a free meal for giving up this part of their lunchtime, and some top chefs provided our meals, which did help.)
4. Sing together. Never underestimate the power of song. We will get more in to this in a future blog post, but singing together unites and unifies a group of people more than anything else. Brene Brown talks about how sharing in moments of communal joy and pain can help to bind us together and connect with those around us. Think of how it feels to sing with the audience at a concert or a sporting event. If you are a Liverpool fan, how does it feel to sing “You’ll Never Walk Alone” with 60 000 others? Song has a unique power to bind us emotionally and this can be harnessed to amazing effect. I am eternally grateful to Out of the Ark Music for their song, “Give it All You’ve Got,” which has helped to unite thousands of groups of pupils across the globe! Singing with your students also makes you vulnerable, many people are afraid of it, but by showing vulnerability, you are helping to cement the trust your pupils will have in you, affirming your connection.
5. Enhance your extra curricular offer. Nearly all of the studies I have looked at have put students finding success in extra curricular activities as one of the keys to establishing a strong sense of belonging. That means providing a wide range of activities that will suit the interests and abilities of all of your students whether they are sporty, creative, academic, social, practical or adventurous. In so many of our schools, the only chance to represent your school is through sport, but there are so many other opportunities we could embrace in public speaking, chess or music for example, but there are many others. Being part of a team reinforces your sense of belonging, so the whole school should be a team, with people that use their strengths to represent the team in different events. Knowing and being confident in your own strengths is the most powerful tool in helping you to develop your weaknesses.
6. Cultural Competence. Another area advocated in Lemov et al’s book is raising awareness of other cultures. Making sure that we build in opportunities for our students, and staff, to learn about the rich tapestry of cultures that make up our community, and our world. These however should be taught with love and intrigue, rather than tolerance and respect. Tolerance and respect are needed when we put up with things or accept difference, even when we might not agree, love and intrigue are the key to really embracing and valuing difference.
7. Finding opportunities for parental and community engagement. Again, high on the list of all research into fostering a strong sense of belonging is embracing and engaging with the wider community. In Allen and Kern’s BPSEM, it is known as the Micro system. Build activities such as cooperative learning tasks, parental skills classes into your school timetable, as well as safeguarding time for teachers to support pupils pastorally through a well planned and structured program. Break down the barriers for those families who may be intimidated by school and encourage parents and carers across the threshold at every opportunity.
8. Strong first wave mental health support systems. Schools can never take the place of specialist mental health support, but we can build in strong MHWB support structures that will help our students to develop high self esteem and strong character strengths. Psychological safety is vital to ensure that students feel that they can ask for help, make mistakes and try new things. Mentoring support, relationships and behaviour management all play a key role in securing this so that our students feel brave enough to embrace their reality. In the Brené Brown quote included on my home page she states that in order to truly belong, we need to feel accepted for who we are, not feel the pressure to fit in. Strong psychological confidence is needed to do this, alongside the confidence that we are not being judged for it.
9. Embrace and manage failure. We know from history that all of learning stems from failure, from trial and error, from mistakes and misfortune and yet in schools, we more often celebrate success. Feeling like a failure is one of the most common reasons students give for not feeling like they belong in academic establishments. We need to work with our students to celebrate those moments where we get things wrong and help them to navigate the road to future success. Allen and Kern talk about making sure that we use SMART goal setting techniques with our students and, to me, the most important two letters in that acronym are A and R. If goals are Achievable and Realistic, more students will experience success and, consequently, that they belong in an academic environment.
10. Speak Truth to Bullshit, but always be civil. This last point I have proudly stolen directly from Brene Brown. We need to give our students the courage to stand up directly for what they believe and not be afraid to shout loudly when they hear others talking nonsense, particularly when it is devisive nonsense. Giving our students the courage, and the licence, to call out racism, homophobia, bullying, rumour and gossip will help our school environment to become a warm and fertile ground of harmony and growth.

I believe that if we get these things right from day one of the new academic year, we stand a strong chance of ensuring that all of our students experience the bonus of belonging and make a strong start on the road to academic success.