TTR0118
Written evidence submitted by Khulisa
3. How well does the current teacher training framework work to prepare new teachers and how could it be improved?
The mentoring of early career teachers that underpins the Early Career Framework aims to allow mentors to provide clear guidance and strategies to early career teachers in how to manage being a teacher in an increasingly demanding environment. Currently, very little can be reported on the relationship between the Early Career Framework and the retention of early career teachers, as Department for Education (DfE) school workforce data for the first year of the Early Career Framework will not be available until June 2023 (Ovenden-Hope, 2023). Nevertheless, what can be noted is that since its implementation, new teachers continue to plan on leaving the profession.
School leaders, Early Career Framework mentors and early career teachers have also reported mixed feelings about the efficacy of the Early Career Framework as a supportive framework for professional development (Ovenden-Hope, 2023). This may be partly due to the fact that it only provides training and support for early career teachers for the first two years of their practice (Dunn, 2022). With research suggesting that one-third of teachers in England are leaving the profession by their fifth year, there is clearly more development needed for the Early Career Framework to achieve its desired impact on the recruitment and retention of early career teachers (See: Ovenden-Hope, 2023).
Teachers have a unique role to play in the lives of children. Research shows that relationships with trusted adults, also known as ‘benevolent childhood experiences’ (Crandall et al, 2019), are not only the most common factor found in resilient children but are the strongest buffer against the effects of ‘adverse childhood experiences’ (Biggs et al., 2020). In cases where young people have insecure attachments with their primary caregivers (often these are the most vulnerable young people in our schools), secondary attachments with other adults in their lives (such as teachers) reduces the risk of children developing mental ill-health in later life (Imran, S., 2020).
Despite playing this crucial role in the lives of young people, teachers feel ill-equipped to support pupils with the most complex needs. More than a third of teachers say they have received no training on how to support pupils with their mental health (Mason, 2022). This in turn has an impact on the extent to which teachers can build supportive relationships with the young people in their care. As we see in the increasing rate of school exclusions and suspensions (Gov.UK, 2023), teachers are instead turning toward punitive behaviour management strategies to manage unmet needs. This leaves young people more vulnerable to being labelled ‘disruptive’ and being excluded.
Another downstream effect of teachers feeling ill-equipped to support pupils is increased teacher attrition rates; a report highlighted that 51% of secondary school teachers reported that pupil behaviour was one of their reasons for leaving (Savill-Smith and Scanlan, 2022).
One way that training could be improved is by taking a relational approach to education that embeds expert training on the underlying causes of poor behaviour (including mental health needs, attachment, trauma and speech, language and communication needs). This should include equipping teachers with the knowledge, skills and confidence to:
1) Equipping teachers with the knowledge, skills and confidence to address pupils' mental health needs
Young people’s mental health needs have become worse after the pandemic – a 2022 study showed that almost half (48%) reported experiencing a mental health problem, with 46% saying the pandemic has made their mental health worse, and 44% agreeing they are more anxious now (The Prince’s Trust, 2022). Despite this, in 2021, 65% of teachers reported that they had not received any training related to mental health in the last twelve months and 97% expressed a desire to receive training in supporting young people’s mental health (Casebourne, 2021). “So many children are struggling and we are not qualified to help them as much as we want to.” (National Education Union, 2023).
2) Giving teachers the skills to co-regulate young people in distress in a way that nurtures rather than exacerbates behaviour
We develop our social-emotional skills in early childhood, learning these skills through our relationship with primary caregivers (Skuse and Matthew, 2015). Children who do not have these responsive caregivers miss out on this and rely on other relationships (such as with teachers) to develop the capacity to learn appropriate relational skills.
A child’s behaviour is often a form of communication and in order to be successful in communicating these needs effectively, they need – as highlighted above – to develop secure relationships that enable them to feel safe, secure and positive about who they are. The first step in building this sense of safety is having an adult with the skills to help co-regulate a child in distress as they develop the skills to do this on their own. Unless children – particularly those who have sustained trauma or adverse childhood experiences – feel safe, they will be unable to relate to others or engage in higher levels of cognitive ability. This is key to reasoning, consequential thinking and what we typically consider good behaviour (Perry, 2013).
What we know is that teachers have limited training, knowledge, or skills, to recognise student misbehaviour as reactions to stress and trauma, and therefore are often locked in negative cycles of punitive approaches and escalating misbehaviour (MacLochlainn et al, 2022). In order to be effective in their role, we believe teachers not only need to have an understanding of how trauma affects the brain and the body, they must also have the skills to co-regulate young people in distress, who communicate that distress in the form of challenging behaviour.
Teachers with an understanding of trauma and how to co-regulate young people in distress not only helps to set them up for success in the classroom, but also has the potential to increase retention in schools (outlined below). Trauma-informed training that focuses upon: a) co-regulating a pupil in distress, b) helping the pupil to label their emotions, c) providing structure and boundaries and d) engaging in joint-problem solving with the pupil, is proven to reduce both school exclusions and incidents of students being sent out of class (Rose et al, 2015), and also improve teachers’ feelings of self-efficacy (Foreman and Bates, 2021). Importantly, increased self-efficacy is proven to have positive effects on teacher retention (Ware and Kitsantas, 2007). Such a relational model works because it reduces the need for rewards/sanctions, and instead empowers young people and improves relationships between pupils and the adults around them. In this way, schools are well-positioned to support the resolution of trauma experienced by pupils.
We have also seen the results of such an approach in our own work. While our focus is primarily on building the social and emotional wellbeing of children, we recognise that many of the behavioural and wellbeing issues we see in schools are a product of systemic issues, and as such, require a systemic approach to fix them. This is why our ‘whole-school approach’ focuses upon training school staff, parents and carers in how to 1) look after their own resilience and wellbeing, 2) understand the impact of trauma on the brain and body and 3) how to respond to young people in distress in a way that co-regulates and nurtures them. The teachers we have trained as part of our whole-school approach interventions have told us that receiving training on how to identify pupils’ needs has enhanced their confidence and their ability to better support pupils. Our own evidence, like much of the global evidence in this area, suggests that this is an approach appreciated by both teachers and pupils. Teachers and senior leaders also reported that in addition to leading to fewer behaviour-related incidents, these developments also helped improve trust and communication in the classroom.
In one pilot we found that:
3) Giving teachers training that includes guidance on identifying and managing their own mental health needs
Teacher wellbeing is closely linked to student behaviour (Winstanley and Haynes, 2014) and wellbeing (Oberle, et al., 2016), as well as teacher retention. According to the 2022 Teacher Wellbeing Index, record numbers of UK teachers and education staff have considered leaving the profession in the past academic year due to pressures on their own mental health and wellbeing (Savill-Smith and Scanlan, 2022). And in the last year, 91% of teachers, surveyed by NASUWT The Teachers’ Union, reported that their job had affected their mental health, with teachers reporting an average wellbeing score of 38.7 (a score below 41 indicates a risk of probable clinical depression) (NASUWT The Teachers Union, 2022).
Poor teacher wellbeing has been proven to reduce teachers’ ability to provide sensitive, responsive care which can, in turn, intensify the distress and aggression shown by young people. A 2018 research study found that teachers with poor mental wellbeing were seen as ‘stressed’ by children when they were: unusually short tempered; they shouted at the class more than normal; they got upset when pupils did not understand the work they were given; classroom behaviour deteriorated; and less work than usual was completed in lessons (Glazzard and Rose, 2019). This situation furthers the spiral of disruptive classroom behaviour and the mental strain felt by teachers, and may pose a significant risk of compassion fatigue in staff (Paterson, Taylor and Young, 2021). Unaddressed, burnout and poor teacher wellbeing are closely linked to why teachers are leaving the profession (Fazackerley, 2022). This is shown where 41% of teachers surveyed in 2022 admitted that they were considering changing professions because of the emotional toll of dealing with children’s behavioural and emotional issues (Tayler, 2022).
One factor exacerbating poor teacher mental health and wellbeing could be the lack of current guidance and support about mental health - the 2019 Teacher Wellbeing Index identified that 61% of education professionals felt they did not have enough guidance about mental health and wellbeing at work (Scanlan, Savill-Smith, 2021). Unfortunately, many schools are unprepared (and ill-equipped due to funding constraints) to adequately address the burnout and trauma that teachers experience (Jackson et al, 2018). This clearly points to the need for teacher training that includes guidance about how teachers can actively look after their mental health and wellbeing and prevent burnout.
While training in this area is a start, it is also important to note that training alone will not fix deep-rooted systemic issues in the education system. Workload remains the main factor responsible for creating work-related stress for teachers, with 90% of teachers saying they have experienced more work-related stress in the last 12 months (NASUWT The Teachers’ Union, 2022). If we want teacher wellbeing training to be effective, schools will also need to have the resources to ease the workload strain on teachers and implement initiatives that support teacher wellbeing once teachers are in post.
As evidenced above, there are gaps in teacher training in the UK related to difficulty in addressing poor pupil behaviour, addressing pupils’ mental health needs and co-regulating young people. In contrast, Australia is paving the way in highlighting the importance of trauma-training for teachers. The National Guidelines for Trauma-Aware Education in Australia were developed during 2017–2019 and finalised in 2021. These guidelines were developed in response to an increasing interest in trauma-aware education across Australia. Guideline two for education sites recommends that “schools and early childhood services engage in high quality whole-of-staff training in trauma-aware education”. In practice, this means that where possible, education sectors should develop internal training structures to provide training to sites and also incorporate sustainability measures (e.g., ongoing resourcing and staff recruitment) to ensure consistent availability of training. Similarly, guideline nine for education systems states that the education system “ensures trauma-aware principles and implementation strategies be incorporated into pre-service training and ongoing professional development for both school educators and any support practitioners in education settings”. (Howard, L’Estrange, and Brown, 2022).
Alongside the Early Career Framework, the DfE designed the Initial Teacher Training Core Content Framework in 2019. This has been designed to support trainee development in five core areas – behaviour management, pedagogy, curriculum, assessment and professional behaviours. This Framework is a clear advantage of the English teacher training programme given that it was designed in the knowledge that the quality of teaching is the most important factor in improving outcomes for pupils – particularly pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds and those with additional needs (Department of Education, 2019). On the other hand, a major gap in the English teacher training programme is the omission of trauma training. This, as we’ve outlined above, means that teachers have a deficit in their knowledge and skills which are needed to effectively address young people’s needs. The result is reduced teacher wellbeing and increased burnout, which have been shown to influence retention rates.
On the other hand, the provision of trauma-awareness training has been shown to increase preservice teachers' knowledge, awareness, and self-efficacy for working with students affected by trauma (Foreman and Bates, 2021). As outlined above, this is important, as increased self-efficacy is proven to have positive effects on teacher retention (Ware and Kitsantas, 2007). This is one key area that the training system in England can learn from the progress made in the Australian system.
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