Case studies

Esteemed in East Riding

Several heads nod and many look thoughtful. When Nicky Anastasiou finishes explaining to assembled teachers from across LEAs and EAZs about the self-esteem purse, only murmurs of agreement usually punctuate the silence. The purse is one way of looking at how others' comments and actions can make us feel good about ourselves ¿ or have the opposite effect. From day one, suggests Nicky, children are susceptible to the investors and robbers of that valuable currency, those who put pennies into the child's self-esteem purse and those who inadvertently take from it. On the day that Nicky outlined her analogy to a group of teachers from East Riding, a number of them decided that their children needed a healthy deposit to top up dwindling accounts if effective learners were to be nurtured.

Although many of the teachers focussed on raising self-esteem by attending to the BASICS, an assortment of other methods were also used in conjunction, in a range of circumstances and with a variety of children from different year groups. Some also sought to utilise the esteeming benefits of Multiple Intelligence (MI) or VAK, highlighting and celebrating the differences between children, and working with these rather than allowing the learners to feel that being different is in some way a euphemism for being defective.

Reaching for the Stars

Willerby Carr Lane is one such example of this merging of approaches. In the Infant school, Su Bolton-Ali decided that MI would be a good way of explaining to her Year 2 class that everybody is good at something, not necessarily everything. The children were then encouraged to share where they felt their strengths lay, revealing amongst their number an Artistic Sophie, Mathematical Joseph, Friendly Kirsty, Loving Bethany, and so on. These individual identities were celebrated and captured when they created stars for themselves with their new names on. The challenge was then made: to receive praise for work done in class that would result in their star being displayed on the board. Su soon allowed the responsibility of nomination to pass to the children, as they began to suggest classmate's names for particular successes. Another particularly esteeming activity for this class is Show and Tell time on a Thursday. Everybody has the opportunity to share their successes with others when they bring in dance awards, swimming certificates, medals for football, models and artwork produced at home ¿ anything that they feel proud of. The children have the chance to explain their success, be praised for it and realise that experiences outside of school are just as important as those inside. It also enables the teacher to see the whole child. Though Su was concerned about raising the esteem of all her class through these and other methods, there were three children she was particularly concerned about. However, together with everyone else, they seem much happier and more aware of their strengths. One of the trio's mothers said that her son appeared more confident now; a real breakthrough in the circumstances.

Subtracting the Negative

Further up the school, in Year 6, Helen Gilson was looking at helping her lower ability Numeracy group see themselves and their situation in a more positive way. In an open and honest discussion, many of the children reported they hated or panicked about maths and that they must be ñrubbishî at it because they were in the bottom set. Not only was Helen hoping her work would lift their self-esteem, but that it would raise their attainment from level 3 to 4 and improve behaviour. A beginning would be the conscious effort on her part to keep her spoken and body language positive. She wondered if her apprehension in the past at teaching this challenging group, in feeling on her guard, may have reflected in her communication. Now she sought opportunities to praise each of them by name in the lesson. As she adopted a more positive view of the class, so she encouraged them to see the lesson in a similar way; in fact see, hear and feel it differently. She asked the learners about their views on success when they understand a new mathematical concept. The consensus was that they:

Helen put all this into a poster and displayed it on the wall, constantly referring to it to remind them of the look/sound/feelings of success. Success was also celebrated with ïWorker of the Day / Week', something she wasn't ever allowed to forget; a safe ïHave a Go' environment was nurtured (ïYour Challenge isƒ' became a regular feature to urge them on); everyday benefits of tasks were explained so that everyone could see the point of doing it and individual's strengths were recognised and utilised. One such example is the child who normally had been ñall over the placeî in lessons. He appeared to be adept with technology, so Helen used him as her consultant technician, esteeming him with his new role. How did she know it was working? Improvements in class atmosphere, behaviour, attitude to challenge and new concepts, and attainment all convinced Helen to keep up the work. Of no small significance either is that they now enjoy Numeracy, even booster lessons that take part when Art and PE is running at the same time.

Esteem 450

When Sarah Brown and Lynne Cox approached their colleagues at the 450-pupil All Saints Juniors with the Accelerated Learning message, the consensus was that self-esteem and motivation should be addressed. After they had given two half-day training sessions, which introduced theory and practical ideas, and emphasised that this was a change in approach rather than extra work, the staff were enthused. Aspiration walls sprung up overnight and teachers were seen directing pupils towards them to help them ïsee the point' of what they were learning. Children interviewed each other in class to find out more about their classmates and posters appeared in rooms for each child with their picture on and three completed statements: ñI canƒî / ñI likeƒî / ñI amƒî As if to confirm the teachers' observations, many found being positive about something they are good at (ñI canƒî) the hardest to complete. Around the school, ïPraise the Positive!' and ïBin the Negative!' became rallying calls: children would be seen attaching sticky labels to large piggy bank posters and bins as they highlighted their achievements and the kindness of others or binned negatives they were carrying around with them that didn't require teacher intervention. Stars of the week ¿ chosen from a range of achievements ¿ were named and pupils were made aware of the effect of language on themselves as learners. Positivity became the focus. Certain macho boys, who had previously esteemed themselves by thumping others, found that they were losing out on extra playtime that the more deserving were awarded for their behaviour. Attention was being given to those who deserved it. Attitudes changed. The benefits of VAK were shared not only with staff and children, but also with parents. Everyone was becoming excited about learning.

After half a term the staff fed back on the effects and the children were asked to complete questionnaires and offer ideas for improvement. The staff were largely positive, with everyone attempting at least one strategy, though several attempted more. It was recognised that these were small steps on a journey but that ña positive self-image is crucial to successî ¿ and they had begun. And the children's thoughts on all this activity?

• ñThe self-esteem piggy bank was a way to share your emotions without shouting it out to all.î
• ñWhen you stick something on the piggy you know you have done something good.î
• ñI think the bin helps me because it gets rid of your bad things in your mind.î
• ñMy mum said that my speech is quite different.î
• ñEvery Wednesday our star of the week is chosen. It's very tense.î

Valued Across the Villages

Waggoners Cluster of Primaries, a partnership between village schools in East Riding, chose to focus on this issue of children valuing themselves and their achievements because each of the teachers involved in the training could identify at least one child in their class who would benefit from some attention to their beliefs. Typical of the excellent work that was done within the schools was that of Terri Coates from Middleton School, who chose a particularly challenging boy from her Reception, Year 1 and 2 class.

The pupil, X, is a bright Year 1 boy, though he was underachieving and exhibiting some unusual behaviour. One example was the issue he had with his name, refusing to accept or respond to it, sometimes calling himself by another name. He was a perfectionist too, manifesting itself in extreme ways, writing and scribbling over his work, sometimes destroying it totally if Terri didn't take it from him quickly. His behaviour was generally aggressive, hitting and kicking other children, driving them away from him and so reinforcing his low opinion of himself. Others' shoes, Lego models and his own work would all be hidden by him as well. This behaviour continued outside of the classroom as well ¿ in assemblies, on the school bus and even to the extent of smashing up his bedroom. The work that Terri did was for all the class, but with a focus on X.

She took aspects of the BASICS model and included all the adults who had contact with X in school. She explained and demonstrated positive language and attention strategies, how to reframe limiting self-talk, and the reward system she was to use in reinforcing good behaviour. In class, trust-building activities, collective celebrations and responsibility roles became the norm. Self-esteem games were also used. In Circle Time, for example, a small bell was passed around, which needed to reach the end without ringing. At first, X would deliberately ring the bell, but then he began to want to succeed and joined in properly. There was great celebration when the task was first completed. X has responsibility for the Lego now and is beginning to show a change in attitude. It is still early days, but Teri is confident that he will continue to progress.

Elsewhere in the Waggoners Cluster other teachers are using techniques to raise self-esteem with similar success. In all of the classroom research done by these teachers the importance of positive language features heavily (e.g. reframing the negative word ïwork' to ïlearning'), as does positive attention, praising appropriate behaviour and getting to know more about each individual child and catering for them in lessons. But what has been most beneficial for this group is the joint focus and working together to share ideas and outcomes with other schools in comparable contexts where pupils are often taught together in mixed year groups. Their pupils, who will mostly move on to the same secondary, have experienced similar work on an important aspect of their education.

Whether it was the girl from the privileged background, the child farmed out to nursery by career-orientated parents or the variety of experiences and levels of esteem of their charges, the Waggoners group of teachers found a commonality in their own learning:

• Starting small seems best ¿ cover one area at a time
• Include as many adults that come into contact with the children as possible
• Collect evidence to win over the doubters
• Reflect on what works well when and what can be improved
• Be patient and allow time for the strategies to work

This is just a sample of the excellent work taking place in East Riding schools on self-esteem. Many others are also working on a daily basis throughout the country to help children realise their own worth and the potential they hold if they could only harness positivity. With the right attitude and the right strategies many succeed. Helping their pupils flourish is just one way these adults can build up their own self-belief. After all, teachers need pennies for their self-esteem purses too. Just ask Nicky.