At Cowie Primary School in Stirling, relationships between children, and children and adults, were often confrontational. This led to:   

• high levels of conflict throughout the school
• high numbers of recorded incidents of bullying
• children saying they did not feel safe at school
• complaints about behaviour and bullying becoming the main reason for parent engagement

What the school did  

The whole-school community worked together to develop a culture and ethos building and maintaining positive relationships and promoting positive behaviours. This is underpinned by the school's vision:

'At Cowie Primary School we CARE.
We are working together to achieve equity for all through
Co-operation, Aspiration, Respect and Empathy.'

Senior leaders now make themselves visible throughout the school day. They role-model the expected relational approaches to all stakeholders. 

Building effective partnerships

The headteacher worked with partners to develop and implement a clear anti-bullying plan. This included:

• continually reinforcing school values to staff, children and partners 
• prioritising quality professional learning
• reviewing the health and wellbeing (HWB) curriculum

Whole-school approaches

Staff use 'high structure, high nurture' approaches to help children build positive relationships with others.  Established routines and boundaries are in place in all school and classroom environments. These help children to understand what is expected of them.

Restorative approaches are part of the school’s planned response to managing conflict and relationships. All staff use restorative conversations to help children to:

• think about why something went wrong
• understand how to put things right
• remove the need for blame
• focus on responsibility and repair

The school informs parents about the outcomes of restorative conversations. 

Creating safe spaces

Staff have spent time explaining to children the new way of doing things and reasons for the changes. They share their expectations with children, emphasising the benefits of calm classrooms and corridors and safe playgrounds.  

The school uses a range of approaches to support children with regulation and re-engagement. These include safe break-out spaces, sensory regulation resources and visual check-ins.   

Senior leaders have worked with staff to create clear procedures and protocols. These support all children to develop 'Safe Hands, Safe Feet, and Safe Words' and to take responsibility for their actions. 

Professional learning

All staff have the opportunity to attend relevant professional learning. As a result, they are confident in how to use nurturing approaches in supporting culture change. Staff adapt and change their practice to better meet the needs of all children.   

Several partners, including the school's educational psychologist, have delivered training for staff. This has deepened their understanding of child brain development. Staff now understand the impact of trauma on a child's ability to function in school. 

The impact and what changed for children and young people 

Incidents of bullying have reduced significantly over a three-year period. Children, staff, and parents all comment that the school is now a very different place to how it used to be.

Children now describe their school as a very calm, inclusive, and safe place. They feel supported by staff who  help them self-regulate and manage their relationships with others. They feel safe, valued, and included in a school where bullying behaviour is unacceptable.

Senior leaders at Cowie Primary School describe the impact on the school as being transformational.