Tes Trusts in Education Networking and CPD Event | with ESW CEO on the Panel

“One of those gnarly topics that can cause huge amounts of passion and annoyance” was how Education South West (ESW) CEO, Matthew Shanks described the issue of behaviour in school, when he was invited to be part of an expert panel at a Tes Trusts in Education networking and CPD event last month.

Matthew shared his South West perspective on the “gnarly topic” of classroom behaviour at this open-ticketed event on the morning on Tuesday 4 March 2025 before a live audience of nearly 90 at Birmingham City Council House, home of Birmingham City Council. Chaired by Tes Editor, Jon Severs, fellow expert panellists from across the country included Gail Brown, CEO / Executive Headteacher at Ebor Academy Trust, Keziah Featherstone, Executive Headteacher of The Mercian Trust and also co-founder and trustee of WomenEd and co-chair of HTRT, closer to home, Rob Haring, CEO of Westcountry Schools Trust and Lyndsay Harris Director of Pastoral and Inclusion at Ark Schools.

The panel were tasked with exploring how schools can create a more consistent approach to behaviour, tackling policy implementation, and the most common behaviour challenges in school; as well as teacher confidence, and the balance between sanctions.
 
What is working, what is changing, and why behaviour remains one of the most debated topics in education.
 
Each Trust was asked one thing they have done that has had a significant impact on behaviour and to explain why.
As well as thinking aloud, it was a useful exercise to swap notes and to reflect on practice in their own School (s) /Multi Academy Trust - as you will perhaps be doing as you read this report.
 
Speaking for ESW, Matthew started with the positive premise. The Trust has high expectations of all children and are proud of the behaviour in their schools with a firm focus on outcomes and accountability, and schools are supported to be inclusive rather than exclusive. Factually, suspensions and permanent exclusions remain below the national average and ESW do not use a rigid, one-size fits all model to tackle the challenges in recent years, and have moved away from more strident and binary behaviour systems. Teachers value the children as individuals and schools are informed of each child’s USP at both primary and secondary. That said, Matthew recognises that standardised systems in place across School (s)/Trusts can be effective in encouraging respect, enjoyment and importantly, fun for children. 
 
The Trust works on the premise that children are children. The adults in school might have greater experience and wisdom, but that must come with the responsibility to act as a role model for good behaviour by managing the children’s behaviour and being respectful, which in turn, gains the respect of the children – whom it is anticipated, will behave (yes!).

Behaviour is, and will, always be seen across ESW as a form of communication. Teachers want to teach, most children who come to school want to learn and they cannot learn with distractions.
But children cannot learn if they do not feel comfortable, supported, cared for and secure, and which places them in a stronger position to be challenged.  
 
ESW respects the differing contexts and values of their communities and leaders and maintains a common philosophical core to behaviour approaches with high expectations firmly embedded in relational and restorative practice.  
 
Pedagogical principles have been developed and embedded to which all teachers have had opportunity to contribute and essentially, the curriculum is exciting and engaging. Above all, learning is intended to be exciting and delivered in a way that engages young people to thrive in the classroom. In line with many other schools across the country, mobile phones are banned in lessons for all ESW schools.  
 
This is all within the context of the effects and impact of detrimental curriculum development led by previous Governments; plus, the growing mental wellbeing and regulation crisis created by unfettered access to mobile phones and social media and ESW are striving to ride this wave along with other schools and Trusts. 
 
The caveat remains:
No matter what the behaviour systems are,
the key to managing behaviour in any classroom is the teacher understanding that behaviour is nuanced and maintaining good relationships with the children. 

Common to all ESW behaviour management policies are the widely known principles of Ready, Respectful and Safe. Implementation for some Trust schools might be different operationally; but they are all united in the belief that working with children and families is at the heart of inclusion for all. 
Communication with parents/carers is upfront. Whilst it is fair to say that parents can sometimes be the biggest issue in sometimes not supporting when their child has misbehaved, when meeting with parents or carers of troubled children there are clear guidelines and even if parents might occasionally not be in agreement, or it might not always be the successful outcome wanted by children, they are all treated as individuals. 
 
SEND plays a part too. Behaviour sits at the heart of the three-year SEND strategy with Ordinarily Available Inclusive Provision in every classroom as the key tenet in meeting children’s needs and minimising misbehaviour.  
 
Coaching is Trust-wide, and incremental and guides improvements in the quality of practice.
Mathew cited Jim Collins in “Good to Great” and The Window and the Mirror Leadership Model, in which effective and good leaders look out of the window to apportion credit to factors outside themselves when things go well but in the mirror to apportion responsibility, never blaming bad luck when things go poorly. Coaching helps teachers and leaders to always to look in the mirror.   

In conclusion, Matthew said:
“ESW looks for educational solutions to managing behaviour, supported by systems or processes. Ultimately, we want to develop and raise young people, helping them to develop into resilient and rounded young people.”
  
With opportunity for networking, Matthew also benefitted from looking at what other colleagues are doing in their Trusts, understanding how sharing and reflecting boosts the motivation to build and improve to become even better.
 
“The more you talk to other colleagues about what they do, the more it makes you reflect upon your own practice and how you can improve. Links between ESW and a large, national Trust are in motion to collaborate and share good practice with Attendance and Behaviour Leads.”

Other speakers in the mix included Natalie Pereira from Education Policy Institute, Chris Paterson from the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF), Sufian Sadiq from Chiltern Learning Trust and Amy Leonard MBE from The Talent Foundry, part of an Expert Clinic discussing how to support and manage parent and local media communications for behaviour management.
 
This rounded-off a detailed exploration of behaviour in the classroom and the ways children and teachers can be supported.
 
We thank Matthew for sharing his insights and experience on the Expert Panel of this recent Tes Trusts in Education networking and CPD event. 

Report by Jude Baylis, SWIFT Executive Assistant

Find more information about Tes Trusts in Education networking and CPD events here