1st Edition
Improving Behaviour and Wellbeing in Primary Schools Harnessing Social and Emotional Learning in the Classroom and Beyond
This accessible resource provides a vivid and practical guide to social and emotional learning and will help primary schools tackle and improve behaviour and wellbeing. With content written by teachers and used successfully in real classrooms, chapters include powerful stories from teachers about their work and the impact it has had. Developed within a theoretical framework of evidence-based strategies, the resources included are fully illustrated with photographs from classrooms and draw upon a useful bank of downloadable resources and proformas. Taking the reader through a journey of how a group of schools worked together to develop practical and effective approaches, this essential resource features:
- Tried and tested strategies for improving behaviour and wellbeing
- Ready-to-use classroom resources – lesson slides; top picture-books for teaching about emotions; 20 simple exercises to help children stay calm; playground conflict resources and a progression in learning emotion vocabulary from Reception to Year 6
- Powerful stories from individual teachers about their work and its impact
- An in-depth understanding of research evidence on what works in tackling social, emotional and mental health needs from best-selling author and expert Jean Gross
Children’s social, emotional and mental health needs have never been of more concern to teachers than they are now — this book genuinely brings theory to life and is essential reading for today’s primary teachers, SENCOs, support staff and safeguarding leads.
1. What works in improving behaviour and wellbeing
Jean Gross
2. The action research project
Sarah Seleznyov
3. Conker the chameleon: how we taught children about the Zones of Regulation at Drew Primary school
Demi Demizogh and Una Murtagh
4. The upstairs and downstairs brain: learning about neuroscience at New City Primary
Eilidh Kirkpatrick and Annabelle Greyling
5. How we solved playground problems at Cubitt Town Primary
Emma Whitwam and Jessica Robinson
6. How we helped withdrawn children come out of their shells at Selwyn Primary
Laura Partington and Susan Potter
7. Creating calmer classrooms at Redriff Primary
Claire Taylor and Maia Mitchell
8. Tackling football problems at lunch and breaktimes at Shaftesbury Primary
Zainab Khonat, Jo O’Connor and Aaron Bennett
9. How we engaged children with learning at Portway Primary and Pinner Primary
Saidat Olajide, Casey Rich, Jessica Rubens and Emily Thomas
10. Colour monsters and feelings wheels: emotional literacy at Carpenters’ Primary
Stephen Goggin and Melissa Hobbs
11. Older children coaching younger buddies at School 21
Lauren James and Lisa Placks
12. Postscript
Jean Gross and Sarah Seleznyov
13. Resources
Biography
Jean Gross has been a teacher, an educational psychologist, head of children’s services in a local authority and a Visiting and Associate Fellow at three universities. She has written multiple books for Routledge, including Time to Talk (2018), Reaching the Unseen Children (2021) and Beating Bureaucracy in Special Educational Needs (2023).
Sarah Seleznyov is a Co-Headteacher of School 360 and Strategic Lead for Learning and Development at Big Education Trust. She formerly worked at UCL Institute of Education and is the author of numerous articles and chapters on research approaches to teacher professional development.
