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Press release: Pilot aids teachers' understanding of how to develop pupils' social, emotional and behavioural skills

The programme for social, emotional and behavioural skills needs to be embedded in the curriculum rather than bolted on to PSHE lessons

The Secondary National Strategy’s pilot programme for developing social, emotional and behavioural skills (SEBS) was introduced successfully when senior school leaders understood its underlying philosophy. Where this was not the case, it remained a ‘bolt on’ to personal, social and health education (PSHE) lessons or form tutor time, and was largely ineffective.

According to Developing social, emotional and behavioural skills in secondary schools published today by the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills, (Ofsted), the greatest impact of the programme was on developing teachers’ understanding of pupils’ social, emotional and behavioural skills. The report found that this understanding improved how teachers and pupils interacted with each other.

In nine of the eleven schools inspected for this survey there were noticeable improvements in some teachers’ skills in developing pupils’ social, emotional and behavioural skills. Inspectors found the pilot was most effective where teachers adjusted their teaching methods to take account of pupils’ specific needs. As a result pupils showed more respect for each other, worked better in teams, and were better able to articulate and recognise their feelings. In particular pupils’ resilience, which means their ability to cope and recover from challenges and change, and their willingness to take risks, had improved.

Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills, Christine Gilbert, commented:

“The pilot has aided teachers’ understanding of how to develop pupils’ social emotional and behavioural skills in a relatively short period of time. Ofsted witnessed changes in pupils’ behaviour which will benefit them in the long-term. ”

Whether the school was high or low attaining was not a factor in ensuring success. Ultimately success depended on the extent to which the headteacher and senior leadership team believed in and supported the social, emotional and behavioural skills approach. In schools where the initiative was successful senior leaders were quick to recognise the contribution the initiative could make to supporting or improving the school’s ethos and values and promptly became part of the way things were done.

Some teachers were initially resistant to the initiative as they expected an increase in workload and had reservations regarding the extent to which developing pupils’ social, emotional and behavioural skills should be part of their role. In high attaining schools some teachers were concerned that the focus on social, emotional and behavioural skills would adversely affect academic results. More detailed data that illustrated positively the benefits on academic results was an area that required greater emphasis. Where senior leaders and consultants gave good practice examples this reassured teachers and they could see how they could adapt what they already did to enhance pupils’ social, emotional and behavioural skills.

The initial documentation from the Secondary National Strategy lacked sufficient guidance to help schools to find the right starting point. Schools’ approach to the pilot depended on a number of factors. Initially schools found the requirements of the pilot difficult to understand and some staff were anxious about what it would entail. Generally schools found it difficult to analyse their pupils’ specific needs. Several schools began by focusing on behaviour: more than half of the schools reviewed their behaviour policy during the first year before moving on to the pilot’s wider remit of developing social, emotional and behavioural skills.

The social, emotional and behavioural skills programme prompted two different types of actions; reviewing and adapting current practice, particularly related to behaviour policies, and introducing new concepts and ways of working with pupils. By the end of the first year, actions the schools had taken included among others, providing training for all staff on aspects of social, emotional and behavioural skills work; introducing a student support centre as an outcome of the policy review; reviewing anti-bullying policies and procedures; and explicit teaching of the skills pupils would need to develop resilience, co-operation and empathy.

Evaluating the success of the pilot was a challenge. All schools found it difficult to evaluate the impact of the work. Separating what the pilot had achieved from a range of other initiatives in which the schools were involved was difficult. All schools required clearer guidance from the National Strategy to help them to monitor and evaluate effectiveness. Local authority consultants specialising in behaviour and attendance sometimes assisted in the evaluation and found the additional analysis provided by Ofsted’s survey useful.

All but one school said they planned to continue with social, emotional and behavioural skills work when the pilot finished and almost all had clear plans about the next steps. Even in the most effective schools, it was clear that social, emotional and behavioural skills development needed to be continued for a period of time before it would have a significant impact on pupils' skills. The report makes a number of recommendations to the Department for Education and Skills, local authorities and for schools implementing the secondary Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning (SEAL) programme.

Related Links

• Read the report
• Read the news article

Notes For Editors

1. Developing social, emotional and behavioural skills in secondary schools can be found on the Ofsted website at www.ofsted.gov.uk

2. Ofsted evaluated the development and impact of the pilot scheme over five terms in 11 schools, which were selected to represent a range of types of schools. Her Majesty's Inspectors (HMI) observed the same group of pupils within, and outside, lessons during four or five visits to each school.

3. The Secondary National Strategy pilot programme, developing social, emotional and behavioural skills (SEBS) was introduced to 54 schools in five local authorities in the summer term 2005. A sixth authority joined the pilot one term later. During the period of the pilot, the Department for Education and Skills decided to expand the scope of the programme and to rename it the secondary 'Social and Emotional Aspect of Learning' (SEAL) programme. The programme aims to help teachers develop pupils' skills in five key areas:

- self awareness: knowing and valuing oneself; understanding feelings - the management of feelings; improving the management and expression of emotions - motivation: developing persistence, resilience and optimism; improving strategies to reach goals - empathy: understanding the thoughts and feelings of others; valuing and supporting others. - forming positive relationships; building, maintaining and improving relationships with others.

4. On 1 April 2007, a new single inspectorate for children and learners came into being. It has responsibility for the inspection of adult learning and training - work formerly undertaken by the Adult Learning Inspectorate; the regulation and inspection of children's social care - work formerly undertaken by the Commission for Social Care Inspection; the inspection of the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service - work formerly undertaken by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Court Administration; and the existing regulatory and inspection activities of Ofsted.

5. The Ofsted Press Office can be contacted on 08456 4040404 between 8am - 6pm Monday - Friday. During evenings and weekends we can be reached on 07919 057359.

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