Research School Network: Supporting disadvantaged learners through consistency, clear routines and high expectations The role that high expectations, routines, consistency and strong relationships in supporting disadvantaged learners.

In the Supporting School Attendance guidance the EEF recommend (recommendation 2) that we build a culture of community and belonging for pupils’ by:

- Being inclusive by design, promoting positive relationships and attitudes
- Promoting positive relationships and active engagement for all pupils
- Adopting a positive and proactive approach to behaviour for learning

The golden thread that runs through how best to support our disadvantaged learners to thrive in our settings is relationships. The common driver to support low attendance, to foster a sense of belonging in the community, to develop as a learner – is positive relationships amongst staff and students.

Julie Kettlewell, Assistant Director of Huntington Research School discusses the power of belonging and the direct impact of this has on student motivation, engagement and self-efficacy in her blog The Power of Belonging. John Rogers, Director of Cornwall Research School suggests that ​“to understand disadvantage in our schools and settings we must begin to listen to the stories of our pupils and families”. In his blog Stories make us stay John discusses the importance of moving from assumption and ignorance to being informed and empowered. If we are deliberate and unwavering in addressing disadvantage in our settings we must first look at our school through the lens of each of the individual disadvantaged student we teach. This starts with ensuring that students feel like your school is for them, it is their school, it is where they belong, it is where they are valued and challenged to be the best version of themselves. And this starts with strong, professional and positive relationships between staff, students and their families.

If we know relationships are crucial in supporting all children to thrive in schools irrespective of starting point or background, but particularly important for children from a disadvantaged background, then how do we as teachers and leaders build and maintain positive relationships?

Tom Bennett OBE offers the insight that; ​“Relationships are built on trust, which is built on predictability, consistency of consequences, transparency of expectations and taught routines. And the growing certainty that the teacher has a sincere regard for the student. This is built, not bought.”

If we unpick this quote further, three phrases jump out to me, consistency of consequences, transparency of expectations and taught routines.

Consistency of consequences in simple terms is about each student knowing exactly what will happen if they do not meet the schools expectations, there a multitude of areas this refers to ranging from attendance to behaviour, from in class work to social time issues. For students this means if I do X then Z will happen – there are consequences to the choices I make when I am at this school.

Taught routines refers to knowing and understanding the routines around language, behaviour and teaching and learning. Jody Chan, Research Associate here at Durrington Research School highlights the importance of routines within our teaching in this blog titled Routines for attention.

Transparency of expectations leads my thinking to 2 quotes; This one from Sylvia Path ​“if you expect nothing from somebody you are never disappointed” and this one from Dan Nicholls ​“Don’t call me disadvantaged, I’m Alice, I don’t need a label, I need equity… to be offered the supported opportunity and high expectations that allow me to take control of my life; to have the agency to choose what I do, where I go, with whom, when…. I do not need you to collude with me, or pity me, I need you to notice me, know me, to teach me” To hone in further here, the line ​“I do not need you to collude with me, or pity me, I need you to notice me, know me, to teach me” highlights the power our expectations have on the disadvantaged students we teach. If you were to ask 1000 teachers, none of them would say they had low expectations about what the disadvantaged students they taught could do. Every teacher would say that they had the highest expectations. It is a vital part of building relationships, having the highest expectations of what each individual student can do and not subconsciously, or even consciously, lowering our expectations of what our students can do regardless of starting point or background. Here are a few ways we can ensure we do actually have, high expectations:

- Always modelling warmth, respect and enthusiasm. Set the tone from the moment you greet the students. All uniform issues are dealt with prior to entering the room. Give a warm welcome regardless of whether it is a class that can be challenging to work with or not. For example: ​‘hello, lovely to see you… in you come, Do now is on the board… books are out, great to see you… let’s come in quietly… I saw you won in the rugby match on Thursday… Did your dad pass on my praise call?’ This can also be done at the end of the lesson wishing everyone well with specifics: ​‘I am so pleased with how many times you put your hand up Luke …excellent effort with your extended writing today Sophia… thank you for working so hard… have a lovely evening/​rest of day… you were far more focused.’

- Clear instructions and routines for behaviour. Thank students for meeting expectations but don’t over-praise. Praise should be valued, and have the effect of encouraging them because they believe it is earned. Be explicit and clear about the parameters for how the task needs to be done – what do I expect in terms of noise level? In terms of quality of work? In terms of tier 3 vocabulary? Use clear phrases to determine the behaviour you would like: silent work, quiet work (can whisper about work no louder) or occasionally allowed to talk.

- No opting out. It is important that students know that when they enter your room if you ask them to do something then they need to do it, there is no wiggle room or an opportunity to opt out. If students get away with opting out then this reinforces the message that we have lower expectations of those specific students. If you ask students to write down the answer on their mini white boards then that is what all students need to do. You can use prompts or scaffolding here, but the students who have opted out will need to be addressed.

- Insisting, consistently. We as educators are the variability in our classrooms, if we are consistent in our expectations and the students are fully aware of how they need to engage in our lessons they will invariably rise to the challenge we set. If we insist that all of the students in our lessons regardless of their background need to behave and contribute to the learning environment in a specific way it will support all the students who we encounter. It is this consistent approach that will enable our learners, particularly our disadvantaged learners to flourish.

We know that the young people that attend our schools have one opportunity to maximise the impact and outcome of their own education. It is our role, as educators and leaders, to ensure that they are supported and guided to be in the best possible position to do this. By doing so their educational outcomes can and will open doors beyond their time with us and will open up opportunities to them. We need to support them to make progress, both academically and socially. We have the power to transform lives and make meaningful difference to the children who come through our doors. This stands or falls with the relationships we build, with clear routines, transparency of consequences and the highest of expectations. This is important for all students irrespective of starting point or background, but particularly those from a disadvantaged background. Every interaction we have with the young people we serve should have a resounding message – we know you can do it, we will challenge you, we will push to the outer limits of what you believe you can do and we will do this consistently. Our support will be unwavering, we care about you and we won’t give up or stop trying because we want nothing but the best for you, that is the very least you deserve. We will challenge you through all that we do because we want you to be the very best version of yourself.

James Crane

Deputy Director Durrington Research School