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This group of six outstanding independent special schools across Staffordshire and the northwest of England supports over 400 students, ranging from 3 to 19 years old. All students have been referred from the local authority, and have complex social, emotional and mental health needs, and/or cognitive and learning difficulties.
The Team Teach approach emphasises the importance of relationships for effective behaviour support, and this philosophy underpins Hopedale’s values and ethos. “Many of our students have had very difficult, fractured experiences before they come to us,” Craig explains. “We work hard to build those relationships. Our environments are incredibly inclusive, nurturing and therapeutic, allowing us to meet all students’ needs.”
Through training and support for all staff, leaders nurture a therapeutic, relational approach that recognises individual need. This equips staff teams with a toolkit of strategies to forge strong connections, reduce risk, and take a positive, proactive approach to behaviour support. Craig says, “Team Teach training ensures that our staff are focused on the 95% of de-escalation skills and relationship-building, meaning we can reduce the need for physical interventions.”
Hopedale Children & Family Services have 19 qualified Team Teach trainers across the organisation, including 8 Advanced Skills trainers.
These staff are responsible for sharing knowledge, skills and understanding, providing behaviour support for staff and students, and leading in-house training sessions.
This model ensures a consistent approach across every school in the group, and empowers all staff, no matter what their role, to effectively support behaviour.
At just 20 years old, Oliver is the youngest Team Teach trainer at Hopedale Children & Family Services.
Oliver supports staff in building relationships and de-escalating behaviour. He also helps with the induction of new staff and will use his Team Teach training to lead sessions across the organisation.
There is a clear professional development pathway for Oliver and the staff team at Hopedale with a large number of staff working towards or obtaining Qualified Teacher Status while working within the organisation
Training large numbers of staff to be Team Teach trainers and investing in development and training options means Hopedale Children & Family Services have exceptionally low staff turnover rates. In 2023, they won the NASS ‘Outstanding Impact’ award for their staff recruitment, retention and training programme.
Having so many certified Team Teach trainers has enabled leaders to build a consistent, coherent approach to behaviour across the whole organisation.
The benefits for staff, students, and their families are far-reaching:
As Craig explains, “Education is for everyone, and we strive to create an environment where everyone feels welcome and supported. After difficult experiences in the past, many of our families say they feel like they have won the lottery!”
*Estimates from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) of young people not in education, employment or training (NEET) in England, March 2024
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