Today we had a fantastic Part B of our first ITAP Intensive Training and Practice Day. Although the session carries the title Positive Behaviour Management and High Expectations, our discussions and practice focused on how our interactions, routines, and systems can motivate children and help every learner thrive. We keep revisiting the idea of capacity versus deficit—a mindset often highlighted in relation to our most disadvantaged pupils—but we are seeing how these approaches benefit all children and contribute to a smooth-running, purposeful classroom.

This week, Builing on last weeks work, we took things a step further:
• Countdown – developing the use of an effective countdown for a reset and a strategies for re setting expectations mid-lesson with the highly skilled Megan king
• Least Invasive Interventions – refining non-verbal cues, Offstage chats and narrating postives to discreetly bring behaviour back on track, allowing pupils to give their full attention.
• Circulation & Seating Plans – Harry Chambers led a brilliant session on how we circulate with purpose and what effective seating plans look like. We use our SEND and DS data to considered how flexible grouping and intentional circulation at key lesson moments can make a big difference.

All these layers are now coming together, and our trainees are heading into their third week on placement. Many will be teaching multiple lessons this week. Last week we were thrilled that 93% of trainees taught full lesson during their three days on placement. That’s a fantastic start!

Now the focus shifts to practice and embedding—developing that automaticity by getting up, moving faster, and making these strategies a natural part of classroom life. Thank you again Team West EXE.