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To an overstretched teacher, working more hours than they ought to be at a level of intensity far beyond healthy limits, giving more of yourself may sound counter-intuitive. But notice the change in the headteacher and his team in the story when they begin to do some really simple things. At the end of this chapter the headteacher asks the team to greet their students, notice the positives and say goodbye at the end of the lesson. It is simple, perhaps it even sounds like what a teacher would do anyway but, as we see from the team, it is often counterintuitive and when we do it offers more benefits than we might first expect. It can also be completely transformational of our experience of being in school each day. Maybe the most important thing to notice in this chapter is that the team appear to enjoying themselves a bit more.

These strategies are taken from the trauma informed practice movement and most particularly the work of Paul Dix. That may make them less attractive to some people who do not see schools that way. Just changing the character of the staff without also attending to the structural and cultural issues of the school will not make a fundamental change. However, if you are only able to change yourself or your immediate sphere of influence, these strategies can still have a huge impact on how you experience your job day to day. It is hard to argue that greeting each person by name or emphasising the good things they do is a bad thing. The question is, is it enough? The first thing to say about that is that when one person changes, it has an impact on other people around them. When the members of the team start trying things out in their classrooms other members of staff notice and begin to ask what they are doing. Students ask why the leaders are suddenly ‘being nice’ to them. If it works it is likely to be infectious.

Behind this is a change in attitude about what we want for and from students. I was looking for every student to excel and achieve their very best. There is nothing wrong with wanting that for someone, high expectations are at the root of every successful classroom and school. What changed in my thinking was not that I wanted the best but that the best could only be achieved one step at a time. That meant beginning with the student in front of me in the place they were at, at that precise moment in time. If a student was capable but had just come from a playground conflict that step might not be as big as I would have liked. If that student was behind where they ought to have been at that age, frustrating though it was, I could only expect that they would work from where they were, not where they ought to have been. And yes, that did mean at times students getting exam results way below what they really ought to have achieved. But it is better to treat that student as a person and help them take the next step than try to force them to do something they were unwilling or unable to do. At the same time, for those who are where they should be and those who want to achieve as much as possible, that next step ought to be an ambitious one. It is possible to be kind to people and ambitious for them at the same time.

In terms of how things impact you and your wellbeing, just think about how you feel at the end of a day of positive interactions as opposed to a day of constant battles. It does not take much imagination to see the difference. The trouble is that it may not lead to amazing outcomes for all students. That is the challenge the team are trying to work; should the school be focused on academic results or on students enjoying school? As they discuss, the two are not mutually exclusive but sometimes the latter will not happen if we focus only on the former. Again this leads us back to sustainability. To fight hard to get the best academic outcomes is waring and cannot be sustained for long, a few years of working like this leads to burnout and often people leaving their schools for somewhere quieter, very likely to everyone’s loss. But to work hard on caring for people in the most basic ways pays back, it makes the experience of work more pleasant and energising for staff and students alike. When people (staff and students) want to come to school it is far more likely that they will progress. Perhaps they will not reach the highest heights but they might just take the next step and there is something profoundly satisfying in helping someone do that.

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