Behaviour hubs

Apply

Prospective partner schools and multi-academy trusts MATs can apply to the behaviour hubs programme at any time. New cohorts start at the beginning of each term so schools do not need to wait until the start of the academic year.

Please note that we are not accepting applications for new lead schools at this time.

Overview

The Department for Education (DfE) is funding a 3-year programme to improve pupil behaviour.

The programme pairs schools and MATs with exemplary behaviour practices, called lead schools or MATs, with partner schools or MATs who want and need to improve pupil behaviour.

The programme is flexible with a tailored offer of support depending on partner schools’ circumstances but all partner schools can expect to get support with:

diagnosing specific areas of improvement
designing and developing new approaches to addressing poor behaviour
developing clear, sustainable behaviour cultures for all pupils

The programme is based on creating a culture: how school leaders can optimise behaviour. Good behaviour, routines and structures in schools support all pupils’ engagement in education, and their mental health and wellbeing. Schools will work together to apply these principles to the individual context of the school.

Download the behaviour hubs programme brochure for an overview of support available.

Criteria

Partner school and MAT criteria

The following partner schools can apply:

primary schools
secondary schools
alternative provision schools
special schools
MATs

To be a partner school you must be rated ‘good’, ‘requires improvement’ or ‘inadequate’ by Ofsted. Applications are currently being accepted from schools of all provisions across England.

To be a partner MAT you should have at least one secondary school within your trust rated ‘good’, ‘requires improvement’ or ‘inadequate’ by Ofsted.

Partner schools will need to allocate around 20 to 30 days of engagement to the programme. This can be spread out among school staff including senior leaders.

Lead and partner schools on the programme will be expected to work with each other for one year but schools may be able to work together for 2 years if it is required after completion of the first year.

The partner school support offer

1. One-to-one support

There are 3 possible streams.

Core support

This offer is for schools who want to work more independently. As a partner school, you will have access to:

an action planning session with the lead school to identify areas for change and establish a plan to implement and monitor that change
ongoing engagement with your lead school through hub networking events
a follow up meeting with the lead school in the third term to review progress and provide further advice

In total, partner schools under the core offer will be expected to dedicate 12 to 20 days to the programme and will receive £3,000 at the end of the programme to contribute to staff time and expenses.

Extended support

This offer is for schools who want more one-to-one support. The partner school will have access to 8 to 12 days of in-depth support from their lead school to:

co-diagnose key behaviour issues through site visits and data sharing.
identify areas for change and support to develop and implement an action plan, that will set out how to quickly improve and embed a whole school approach to behaviour management, including how to monitor the impact
co-deliver whole-school training to support the launch of new behaviour policies,
provide ongoing support, mentoring, coaching and monitoring to support leaders in implementing lasting change

In total, partner schools under the extended offer will be expected to dedicate 20 to 40 days to the programme and will receive £9,000 at the end of the programme to contribute to staff time and expenses.

Multi-school support

This offer is for multi-academy trusts who would like to implement change across several schools within the trust. The partner MAT will have access to 5 to 7 days of in-depth support from the lead MAT exec team to:

co-diagnose key behaviour issues through site visits and data sharing and identify areas for change
consider, develop and implement a MAT-wide approach to behaviour management across their schools to create a sustained cultural change throughout the trust, including how to monitor impact
provide ongoing one-to-one support, mentoring, coaching and monitoring to support leaders in implementing lasting change

In total, partner MATs under the multi-school offer will be expected to dedicate 22 to 30 days to the programme and will receive £6,000 at the end of the programme to contribute to staff time and expenses. In addition, they will receive extended support for a ‘requires improvement’ school within the partner MAT.

2. Training

All partner schools, regardless of their support stream, will have access to training on specific issues, common problems and effective approaches led by expert advisers, that can be implemented in their school context. Training modules have been developed and reviewed by experts from across the school sector. The training includes:

induction training, providing an overview of the programme and its principles
specialist modules on the different challenges faced when managing behaviour in alternative provision, special schools and MATs

essential mandatory modules on leadership and management, creating systems and social norms, consequences, including sanctions and rewards, and SEND which covers how to ensure behaviour policies and practices are inclusive
additional modules on data monitoring and accountability, attendance and punctuality, high challenge behaviour in mainstream settings and using alternative provision effectively

3. Open days

Lead schools will hold open days 3 times a year. These days will be opportunities for partner schools and MATs to observe good systems and approaches in action, as well as reflect on any common themes and challenges.

4. Networking events

Hub networking events will take place once every term. Lead and partner schools and MATs will come together to share experiences and good practice. There will also be online forums to share learning hosted on the behaviour hubs portal.

5. Resources

Online resources developed by the expert advisers will be available for partner schools and MATs to equip and empower schools to implement changes in their settings. These will include programme handbooks, behaviour audit tools and good practice examples.

Schools will have access to the behaviour hubs portal, where they can book onto events, access resources and training materials and contribute to forums for school-to-school advice and support.

Lead schools and MATs provide tailored one-to-one support to a number of partner schools or MATs in their area, helping them to implement lasting whole school culture changes. They will be able to respond to the specific challenges that a partner school is facing, including those relating to special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) or mental health issues, and their context.

A lead school will be comprised of a team of inspirational senior leaders with proven experience in implementing successful behaviour cultures within their schools. A lead MAT will have experienced executives that are able to support the development of effective trust-wide approaches to managing behaviour.

Lead schools and MATs will be required to dedicate approximately 30 to 50 days of senior and middle leadership time per academic year to support their partner schools or MATs and will receive financial reimbursement for the work they do. They will be guided by a team of behaviour advisers led by Tom Bennett who oversees the behaviour hubs programme.

Lead schools and MATs are from across the school sector including primary, secondary, alternative provision, special and MATs. This provides partner schools and MATs with access to good practice across different types of provision, including specialist provision.

MAT hubs

Maiden Erlegh Trust and Maiden Erlegh School, Wokingham
Dixons Academy Trust and Dixons Trinity Academy, Bradford

Secondary hubs

Bedford Free School, Advantage Schools, Bedford
Saint Augustine’s Catholic High School, Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Multi-Academy Company, Worcestershire
Ashmole Academy, Ashmole Academy Trust Ltd, Barnet
Painsley Catholic College, The Painsley Catholic Academy, Staffordshire
St Gregory’s Catholic Science College, All Saints’ Trust, Brent
Carmel College, Bishop Hogarth Catholic Education Trust, Darlington
Sedgefield Community College, The Laidlaw Schools Trust, Durham
Glenmoor Academy, United Learning Trust, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole

Primary hubs

Evelyn Street Community Primary School, Warrington Primary Academy Trust, Warrington
Charles Dickens Primary School, The Charter Schools Educational Trust, Southwark
Lyons Hall Primary School, Learning Pathways Academy, Essex
Chepping View Primary Academy, Inspiring Futures Partnership Trust, Buckinghamshire
Polegate School, East Sussex
Throckley Primary School, Outer West Learning Trust, Newcastle Upon Tyne
Witham St Hughs Academy, L.E.A.D Academy Trust, Lincolnshire Local Authority

Alternative provision hubs

The Limes College, Alternative Learning Trust, Sutton
Perryfields Primary PRU, Worcestershire

Special school hubs

Tor View School, The Sea View Trust, Lancashire
Keyham Lodge School, Leicester City
Oak Bank School, Oak Bank School, Central Bedfordshire

Who is supporting the programme

Behaviour advisers

A team of behaviour advisers, led by Tom Bennett, will oversee the programme, deliver training and help support schools. The behaviour advisers bring experience from across the school sectors, including alternative provision and special schools, providing broad representation of all schools and their specific needs.

The current behaviour advisers are:

Tom Bennett, author of creating a culture: how school leaders can optimise behaviour and founder of researchED
Michelle Blanchard, Head of Junior Fulneck School. Former Executive Principal at Dixons Academy Trust and Principal of Dixons Music Primary in Bradford
John D’Abbro, founder of Dabbs Education ltd and former Head of the New Rush Hall Group
Mark Emmerson, Chief Executive Officer of City of London Academy Trust in London and formerly Principal of Stoke Newington School, The City Academy, Hackney and City of London Academy Islington
Marie Gentles, co-director of Magic Behaviour Management and former Principal of Hawkswood AP Primary in London
Jayne Lowe, Director of Bright Green Learning, education adviser, former PRU headteacher and currently supporting Ministry of Justice on ‘Transforming Youth Custody’
Jenny Thompson, Principal of Dixons Trinity Academy in Bradford

Delivery centre

Education Development Trust (EDT) has been appointed to:

manage the delivery of the programme
provide logistical and administrative support, including grant management, organising training, collecting monitoring information
be the central point of contact for lead schools, partner schools and the general public

For any queries relating to behaviour hubs, to find out more about the programme or to enquire about participation, email [email protected].