rimary school girls in uniform interacting with their teacher in a classroom setting.

Castle Primary School: Transforming Behaviour for Outstanding Ofsted Success  

Castle Primary School implemented CPI Pivotal Education training to support diverse learners and overcome behavioural challenges. This transformed the school’s culture, leading to better student outcomes and an Outstanding Ofsted rating for Behaviours and Attitudes.

Impact of CPI Training

  • Improved Ofsted Classification: Shift from ‘Requires Improvement’ to ‘Outstanding’ for Behaviours and Attitudes
  • Reduced Intervention: SLT time saved by significantly reducing the need to attend behaviour incidents between 9:00am and 3:00pm daily
  • Enhanced Reputation: Castle Primary's improved reputation is now celebrated by local parents
  • Unified Approach: Staff are equipped to manage behaviour calmly and consistently, creating a cohesive, high-morale environment.
  • Targeted Support: Training helped identify students with the highest needs, guiding them to appropriate specialist support.

Situation

Castle Primary School, a nurturing environment for diverse learners, faced significant challenges due to its complex catchment area and above-average number of SEN (Special Educational Needs) pupils. With many Pupil Premium children and staff already trained in trauma care, the school needed a more effective approach to managing behaviour.

When Sarah Marriott, Assistant Head/SENCO and the new headteacher joined in September 2018, they inherited a punitive behaviour policy that was confusing and ineffective. The policy focused solely on punishment, leaving both students and teachers unclear on rules and consequences. There were too many rules, some as rigid as restricting bathroom breaks, and neither students nor staff fully understood the meaning of sanctions like the 'double red.'

Recognising the urgent need for change, Sarah and the headteacher initiated CPI training to implement a complete overhaul of the school's approach to behaviour management. They streamlined the rules, introducing three core values that now guide every aspect of behaviour at Castle Primary School. This shift marked the beginning of a more positive and effective learning environment.

Challenge

In addition to the challenge of both pupils and teachers not fully understanding the behaviour policy, Castle Primary faced significant challenges with inconsistent behaviour management across the school. Staff were each following their own approach, creating a fragmented environment where the school felt like ten separate entities rather than one cohesive unit.

Before the training, pupil behaviour was poor, with some students "playing the system" to avoid learning, even treating time spent outside the classroom as a reward. Sarah recognised the need for a swift cultural shift to eliminate these loopholes and establish a positive, unified approach to behaviour. Reflecting on the transformation, she acknowledges that the training played a crucial role in turning the school around.

"When I think back to what it was like when I first started here it is a different place, and that’s hugely down to the training."
Sarah MarriottAssistant Head and SENCO

CPI’s education training transformed Castle Primary School by fostering a positive environment where students now thrive on recognition and praise. Students who previously exhibited challenging behaviour now strive to make better choices, influenced by the positive reinforcement they observe in their peers.

The training also helped Sarah and her team identify students with the highest needs, revealing that some required specialist support beyond mainstream schooling.

The school's reputation significantly improved, with local parents now praising Castle Primary. This positive shift was reflected in their recent Ofsted inspection, where the school achieved an Outstanding rating for Behaviour and Attitudes.

‘Locally, the school had a negative reputation and the word of mouth message was 'Don't go to Castle! But now local parents are aware that we have made so many changes and the parents love our school’.

Staff are now better equipped to manage behaviour calmly and consistently, allowing them to focus on teaching. The school environment is calmer, staff morale is high and there's a unified approach to behaviour management. As a result, Sarah is rarely called upon to handle challenging behaviour, a stark contrast to the past.

Implementation

Now, at the start of each school year, Sarah trains all staff on CPI’s Five Key Classroom Culture Principles, ensuring everyone understands and applies them constantly. Throughout the year, she reinforces these core values and routines through reminders, notices and staff briefings to maintain consistency.

Recognising teachers' busy schedules, Sarah supports them by providing scripts for parent phone calls, making the process easier. Sarah appreciates that engaging parents is also crucial. Upon completion of CPI training the headteacher introduced parent forums to explain the new approach to behaviour management, which was met with positive feedback. Parents appreciated that their children, previously overlooked while the ‘naughty ones got the treats’ were now being recognised and praised, fostering a more inclusive and positive environment.

"My headteacher always says this was the best money he's ever spent in a school."
Sarah MarriottAssistant Head and SENCO

Future Perspectives

Castle Primary School's three core values are now central to daily life at the school.

  1. Value Learning
  2. Value Others
  3. Value Ourselves

These values are reinforced every morning in assembly and are especially ingrained in the current Year Six class, the last group to experience the old behaviour policy.

Sarah believes that once the entire school fully embraces the new approach, it will create the calmest environment they've ever had. Looking ahead, the team plans to introduce a nurture provision to support children who struggle with behaviour, helping them join their peers in positive experiences like hot chocolate Fridays.

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6 hours
a day saved from SLT’s time on attending behaviour incidents
100%
of school staff trained in CPI training
Outstanding
classification by Ofsted for Behaviours and Attitudes