Positive Relationships in Schools | Hannah Smart

In this episode, Hannah Smart discusses all things related to positive relationships and why she feels these are the foundation of great schools and effective classroom practice.

Hannah is an Executive Headteacher of two special schools which are part of the Transforming Futures Multi Academy Trust. The trust is based predominately in Plymouth but covers, through their Alternative Provision (AP) and Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) schools, most of the south-west peninsula.

She has been working in education for 24 years and has experience in both Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) and Autistic Spectrum Condition (ASC) specialist settings, following time as a senior and middle leader in inner city schools in Bristol.

You can find Hannah on Instagram, Facebook & Twitter, as well as on the ACE Tiverton School website.

Hannah recommends the book, When the Adults Change, Everything Changes.

She also shares three tips during the episode:

Be the adult you wanted in your life at school. Spend time with students outside of classrooms, enjoy their company and engage in conversations about shared interests.

Consider how you like to be treated at work and replicate that for your pupils. Being ‘seen’ is a central part of our willingness to work for someone. What do you create for your pupils and do they see it the way you do? It’s never about what is said or done; it’s about how it is said, done or intended that counts.

Every interaction is an intervention. A simple ‘hello’ can change the course of someone’s day. There is no great mystery to great classroom practice; it starts and ends with strong relationships based on clear boundaries, high expectations and integrity.

The Team Teach podcast shares the latest thinking in behaviour, all in handy 15-minute (ish) bite-sized chunks. Each episode features a new guest chatting about a different aspect of behaviour and leaves you with three handy tips to use in your setting.