A couple of weeks ago, I had the pleasure of meeting with some excellent Inclusion Leaders from the Ted Wragg Trust. I was really inspired by the work that they’ve done to generate a shared understanding of what inclusion means and how they have collectively, codified the shared behaviours that exemplify this. Now, interestingly they are turning their hand to doing the same with ‘Belonging’
They are not the only ones talking about it. It seems ‘Belonging’ is in right now. As with any hot topic, there is always a danger of it becoming just another buzzword. So the deep thinking that these colleagues are doing, to articulate what it really means in their context, is absolutely key.
This got me thinking about why it is that there is so much appetite for these conversations right now. We live in an increasingly phone-based world (if you haven’t read The Anxious Generation: How the great rewiring of childhood is causing an epidemic of mental illness by Jonathan Haidt I strongly recommend you do). We are more connected but also more isolated than ever and the need for young people to belong, in the real world, has never felt more urgent. Haidt talks extensively about the decline in play based childhood that has come around as a result of increasing ‘safetyism’ in the real world combined with increasing smart phone use.
However, something Haidt doesn’t make reference to is the role of austerity in facilitating the decline of communality. Play parks in disarray, youth services decimated and a cost of living crisis forcing families to work longer and longer hours breeds a perfect storm for the most vulnerable in society to be raised by their screens.
I also fear that we are in danger of once again expecting schools to fix all the ills of society. However, School Trusts as ‘Anchor Institutions’ as CST and The Reach Foundation describe them are also uniquely placed to do this.
After my conversation with Ted Wragg I had another exciting conversation with a MAT SEND Leader whose trust is doing just that. They are thinking through different stakeholder responsibilities students, teachers, parents, carers and external agencies in fostering a collective sense of belonging.
So yes, we need a public conversation about how we rebuild communities and services so they foster a sense of belonging for all, and in particular the most marginalised. However, I’m also reminded (as the note that sits next to my desk tells me- the single biggest determinant in educational success is the teacher) and there is lots that can be done just in the classroom to make children feel that they matter.
In the Spring of last year I had the great pleasure of attending the CST Belonging conference, where Doug Lemov delivered an excellent keynote about the ways we can signal belonging and build connection in the classroom. His talk (and his book, which I highly recommend) changed my practice in subtle but practical ways. I think I loved it so much because it really resonated with my own work, which draws on Dr Stephen Porges poly vagal theory explore how we might to cue signs of safety in the classroom. I wrote recently about how truly being present and listening being the signal most important thing we can do in the classroom. It is in these simple acts that we make our children feel welcome, included, like they belong. A by product and a cause of that is also academic success. We can’t fix all the ills of society but we can make our young people feel like they belong in our schools and classrooms, so it does seem like a good place to start.
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