LISTENING TO THE VOICES OF THE SCHOOL SYSTEM
“I think we are still learning lots about how we’re feeling and how we move forward from this. I think…
RSE, Loneliness and Wellbeing
In the context of both Loneliness Awareness Week and @RSE_day, our measurement of relationships and wellbeing among 7500 Australian school…
Relational practice in the early years – how supporting secure attachments builds resilience for later educational success
If the development of self takes a lifetime to complete [1], then the start of that journey is of vital…
We Are Crew – building relationships through expeditionary learning at XP school
Welcome to our new documentary! 'We Are Crew' is a 45 minute film, exploring the importance of relationships as a…
I Hear You. I See You. I Trust You.
Reflections on a High School shooting from a relational perspective Nat Damon, author of ‘Time to Teach - Time to…
Relationships Education: Shoulder-to-shoulder not face-to-face
By Dr Rob Loe I very much enjoyed a pulsating encounter between Ireland and France last weekend but, despite an…
Wood, R. (2017) The Influence of Teacher-Student Relationships and Feedback on Students’ Engagement with Learning
A quick glance at the blurb on the back would have been all it took for Rob to realise he…
It takes two (or more) to tango
Schools and MATs are coming under increasing pressure - both financial and political - to collaborate with others, despite the…
Relationships and Gender: “face to face” or “side by side”?
In 1982 Paul Wright sought to describe the essential difference between male and female same-sex friendships; girls “face to face”…
Outdoor learning in natural environments
Photograph by Phil Rogers In an increasingly academic-achievement orientated education system, there are signs that we are reverting to the…
Unauthorised Absence: Responsibility and Relationships
Photograph by Ferad Zyulkyarov It’s that time of year again: the weather is getting (slightly) warmer, the sun is (sometimes)…
Education’s Role in Rebuilding Relationships
Photograph: Dylan Martinez/Reuters) Recent events have sent much uncertainty through Britain’s public sector, with far more questions than answers…
Teaching and Parenting: the conversation continues
The wonderful Emma Kell, friend of Relational Schools Project, reflects on a subject close to her heart, and at the…
Teaching and Parenting: the conversation continues
This week, to mark Mothering Sunday, the wonderful Emma Kell, friend of Relational Schools Project, reflects on a subject close…
If you could have dinner with anyone, living or dead, who would you choose?
It’s an interesting question you may have heard before or even asked others yourself: If you could invite (say) six…
Relational Thinking – what’s the big idea?
Have you ever wondered what Relational Thinking is all about? This video, from a talk by Dr Michael Schluter at the…
What makes a teacher whole? Part 2
Jared Scherz continues the series on what makes a teacher whole… We read a lot about ways to improve the…
What makes a teacher whole? Part 1
Today, Dr. Jared Scherz, a clinical psychologist, author and educational consultant, writes for Relational Schools Jared Scherz has been working with educators…
I’ve got your back
To support this year’s #ANTIBULLYINGWEEK, Relational Schools has teamed-up with koko to raise awareness and provide resource and stimulus material…
Can Students Have Too Much Tech?
Following her outstanding address at the launch of The Relational Teacher, Susan Pinker writes for Relational Schools today. Given the…
Relationships for learning: making the implicit explicit
My fascination and interest in school relationships and their effect on learning came to the fore while in the position…
The Relational Student: Part 2
Communication and Relationships in Schools Did anyone pick up on a hot topic at the National Association of Head Teacher’s…
The Relational Student: developing social capital capacity
This week saw the final day of filming for “The Relational Teacher”. The film explores a pedagogy for relationships and has…
What’s more worrying: why people won’t join the profession or why teachers won’t stay in it?
The lead education story which continues to rumble concerns teacher retention with warnings that: “Nearly four in ten qualifying teachers…
Show schools how they can work with families
Today, Dr Janet Goodall, Bath University lecturer in Educational Leadership and Management and renowned expert in parental engagement with children’s learning,…
The Village Effect
I took my family to the stunning King’s Cross Theatre production of The Railway Children yesterday. This wasn’t any visit to a theatre.…
The Impact of Classroom Design on Learning (Part 1)
Last November RSP Research Director, Robert Loe, attempted to articulate a purer education experience. Using Peter Brook’s “The Empty Space”…
The Impact of Classroom Design on Learning (Part 2)
The conversation continued… The design approach of Vittra School in Stockholm appears to be a positive attempt to simulate a ‘micro-village’…
The Humble Teacher: The Relational Teacher
I make no apology for writing a relational rugby inspired blog. We are all allowed one guilt pleasure and this…
The Relational Staffroom: The Power of Teacher Collaboration
The importance of teacher-teacher relationships, especially in the current climate, the power of collaboration and the necessity for school leaders…
Relationships Matter
The ability to connect to classrooms and to each other is crucial because, in a sense, it is playing out…
Leadership Principals
This Spring, the Relational Schools Project will working with educational thinkers and practitioners in Singapore. In advance of our visit,…
PEOPLE People
Mary Martin, former Deputy Headteacher of Comberton Village College blogs with us today: The film released today is an attempt to…
Relationships in an Empty Space
When I describe the current education system and project my vision of what it could be like, I use the…
Bullying in the workplace – looking at the relationships as well as the individuals
A survey of UNISON Trades Union members in 2011 suggested that up to 60% had been bullied or witnessed bullying…
The parent-child-teacher partnership
Dr David George was formerly Associate Director of Nene College (Now the University of Northampton) and before that Dean of…
Low-level disruption – it’s a Relational thing
by Steve Russell The latest pronouncement from OFSTED in relation to behaviour has whipped up, not surprisingly, something of a…
Fifth Space Thinking: Fifth Space Application?
Anne-Marie Booth explores the application of the “Fifth Space” approach, strategy and design (Loe, 2014) INTRODUCTION If ‘first space’ thinking…
100% Attendance: pay the price or pursue and punish?
Peterborough pupil Alex Gordon has been rewarded with Amazon vouchers by Cambridgeshire Country Council after completing over 2300 consecutive days…
Poorer Pupils; Poorer Parenting the Recipe for Poorer Performance?
“Poor white British children now come out of our schools with worse qualifications than equally poor children in any other…
Thinking of doing a PGCE?
Let’s be honest, doing a PGCE is tough. It’s a rollercoaster ride of pain, stress, endurance and perseverance. Yet there…
Building bridges between education and the community
Discussion paper Anne-Marie Booth, Policy Development Partner, outlines her thoughts on the current direction of the education system in the…
Eye of the Tiger
UK now sixth in Pearson international education system league tables Sir Michael Barber warns British children are less successful than…
School holidays: my BBC interview
The re-working of an old debate or the re-opening of an old wound? I was invited into the studio of…
School leavers: the fruit of our labours
A tree is known by its fruit… In Metaphor and Thought (1993) Otorny speaks of two principal standpoints: the constructivist…
Enemy Pie
Yi-Shan Tsai blogs with us today. She has been a Primary School teacher in Taiwan for three years. Yi-Shan completed her MPhil…
Economic impact of unpaid internships £243 million?
In recent years UK graduates have increasingly turned to internships as a way of launching their professional careers. Many leave…
Rules of Engagement
Nancy Gedge, author of the popular blog “The Diary of a Not So Ordinary Boy” explores the complexities of parental…
Being a teacher – being a parent: is being ‘good enough’ good enough? (part 2)
Emma Kell blogs for the RSP on the challenges of being a teacher and a parent (part 2). Teacher…
Being a teacher – being a parent: is being ‘good enough’ good enough? (part 1)
Emma Kell blogs for the RSP on the challenges of being a teacher and a parent (part 1). @thosethatcan …
The rView: Fifth-Space Thinking and Relational Education
Relational Schools Director Robert Loe reflects on his time in education and talks us through his vision for an education…
Peer Relationships Explored
Research Associate Bethan Brown blogs today on the importance of strong peer relationships in education Looking back at my time…
Relationship Advice?
It is said that relationships are the source of our greatest happiness and of our deepest pains. They are a…
Happiness or Success?
Tom Barwood is principal consultant and lead presenter at LikeMinds Consulting Ltd. You can contact him at info@tombarwood.com or go to www.tombarwood.com for more…
Gove’s right about holidays but has he missed the point?
“And therefore, unsurprisingly, if you ask people whether they feel that teachers are freer today than ever to inspire, whether…
Responding to Ofsted – the purpose of schooling
The Chief Inspector, Sir Michael Wilshaw, recently published his annual report on school inspections. This 38-page report contains few surprises:…
To be in one’s ‘element’ – a relational perspective
Have you ever seen stand-up comedy live? Did you go with another person? At those moments where you found yourself…
The ASCL ‘Education Great Debate’
Last night, the LTC at Shenley Brook End School played host to what will be a series of events around…