Adopting the solution focused technique in schools
Small change leads to big change
I work in local schools, with children and young people, to work alongside them to achieve the change they hope for. To support them to be agents of their own change and to build their self-efficacy.
I also provide training in the solution focused technique, so that schools can adopt it and use it themselves.
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I've worked with more than 15 schools in the past six years and have found this ground-breaking work incredibly rewarding.
Using the solution focused technique in schools has proven to be highly effective, and I've had extremely positive feedback from both the students and staff I have worked with.
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The solution focused approach is about enabling people to make positive change in their lives by building on existing strengths and capabilities and achieving their preferred future.
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I have found it is possible to develop a culture where students can learn to manage and support their own emotional wellbeing and not depend on a professional. Students quickly begin to understand that it is important to talk about their emotional wellbeing, but that they also have the capacity to manage their own feelings.
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Results are generally seen within six sessions or less. Staff report students seeming more relaxed, more willing to open up and engage, and having greater insight into their emotions. They also develop a stronger vocabulary to translate their feelings intro strengths and capabilities, allowing them to better support their own emotional well-being.
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Tara is inspirational. After workshops, the children are buzzing! She allows them to challenge their own thinking in a constructive way. Staff have seen the children adopt their new strategies during lessons, and this shows that they really listen to what 'solution focus' has to offer.
Jo Bird, Deputy Head, Combe Down Primary
Case Study: Beechen Cliff School, Bath
Since 2019, I worked with Beechen Cliff School to introduce the solution focused approach across the whole school, working with students in their lower school and in their sixth form. School leaders were so impressed with the results of this initial partnership that they are now rolling the SF technique out across the school, where we are training all staff in the solution focused approach and inviting parents to be involved with training as well. Beechen Cliff now considers itself due to the huge success of implementing the approach a 'Solution Focused School'.
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What the staff at Beechen Cliff have really noticed, is how the solution-focused approach really builds on the students existing resilience. And with this outcome-focused approach, the students are able to grow from the inside out, noticing their own existing strengths and resources, to be able to achieve their best hopes and support their own mental wellbeing.
This is fantastic news for both the school, and the solution-focused approach. Beechen Cliff have taken a ground-breaking step towards changing the way problems are addressed in schools, moving from the typical problem-focused language to a solution-focused approach to helping their students.
In the video below, see how the solution focused approach has changed the culture of the school.
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Tara has been working with Beechen Cliff for nine months. Her approach is really gathering momentum, as staff and students alike see benefits. Students have given high praise of their sessions with Tara and have been able to move, within a short time-span, to feel better about themselves and see their strengths.
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James Oldham, Head of Sixth,
Beechen Cliff School