Case studies

Starting with the BASICS
Sally Hammond
Hornsea Community Primary

The school aims greet the visitor to Hornsea Community Primary. They’re written in the form of an acrostic, the root message being that you are entering a ‘Learning Place’. Around the walls of the entrance are the children’s aspirations.

I want to write lots of funny stories
I want to be kind and helpful like my Grandad
I want to write neatly every day
I hope to show a piece of artwork in assembly
I want to get better at Science
I want to draw beautiful pictures
I will try to help my friends
I want to write a children’s book or a newsletter
I want to win a race on Sports Day

Aspirations within her Year 2 class were an area that Sally Hammond had chosen to work on. Together with the other aspects of BASICS (belonging, safety, identity, challenge and success) she hoped to raise the self-esteem of the group and of one child in particular. X began the year very withdrawn. He sat apart from the rest of the group, didn’t volunteer any answers to questions and rarely asked Sally for help, choosing instead to wait until she noticed him. Her objectives, then, were to influence his and the others’ behaviour and how they felt about themselves.

She began by making the classroom a welcoming and safe environment. She sought out situations to give praise when it was due, drove home the message that she was there to help them and provided X with his own place in class to give him a sense of security. There is also a visual timetable on display that shows in words and pictures where they are in the day and what is to come. Other strategies she has found successful from the BASICS model include:

Belonging

• Greeting by name and commenting where possible on individuals’ previous day’s work.
• Inviting the children to bring in photos of themselves involved in a hobby, and photos of their families and pets. Sally did the same and all were displayed.

Aspirations

• Displaying every child’s aspiration in the classroom (and in the entrance).
• Setting class and individual targets. The class targets were the rules devised (and therefore owned) by the children. These were used as a reference point throughout the year. X had an individual target to answer questions in class.

Safety

• Using ‘question buddies’. For X this was essential to achieve his target. He was accompanied to the board by his ‘buddy’ to write up an answer, making him feel less exposed.
• Emphasising that making mistakes is part of learning.

Identity

• Always using the children’s names when asking questions.

Challenge

• Making sure targets were achievable by giving them in small steps so that children could see them achieved on a regular basis.

Success

• Celebrating achievements of individual targets as a class, and with parents and other teachers. Successes were celebrated in class by transferring the child’s photo to the board for the day with an affirmation written beneath it. One day spontaneous applause from the class for an achievement took Sally by surprise. It’s now become the norm.
• Using ‘Show and Share’ assemblies to celebrate. Parents have commented on their children talking at home about others’ successes.

Sally believes that from a disparate group at the beginning of the year these techniques have helped her to create a class of confident individuals with a group identity and a sense of worth. X has metamorphosed into a different child. Although still quiet, he answers questions in class and initiates conversations, sharing what he did at the weekend, for example. His mother has written to Sally saying that he even looks forward to going to school now and every evening is eager to tell her what he’s been taught. He was removed from the SEN register at Easter.

Success in Sally’s class has prompted action throughout the school. This year the school is producing a list of minimum requirements for what should be done in every class to create a similar environment. This follows trials and comments from staff on strategies Sally has found to be successful. The school has its own aspirations that are starting with BASICS.