James’s story

James was Duty Behaviour Lead at a school in Warwickshire when he did a 2-day Grit programme.

It was very full on!  Grit is intensive, reflective, educational, absorbing. I was fully engaged the whole time. My background is in Youth Work and I’ve been a Social Worker so I’ve been using some of the techniques subconsciously. But Grit brought it all together. It consolidated what I knew, and put it all into context so everything fell into place in a way that it hadn’t before. And, of course, there was lots of new stuff.

Grit makes you reflect on your own journey, makes you think about choices you have made, about what you really want to achieve. Doing this has really helped me put myself in the students’ shoes. This has been incredibly useful in helping students work through their issues and challenges.

I think the most extraordinary moment was simply listening to other people’s stories and being comfortable with just listening. I realised that I don’t always have to jump in immediately and fix a situation. So, with students now I always try to listen to what they are experiencing, to hear their voice, to acknowledge their journey. It gives them a sense of control, a sense of ownership.

I’ve been using Grit with some of the year 11s. Some of them have been feeling overwhelmed by the prospect of leaving school, of what comes next. In particular, there are those who suddenly think, “What have I been doing for the last four years?” It’s a lightbulb moment for them. We work on goals – where it is they want to get to, and the steps they need to take to get there. It makes it all seem so much more manageable, so much more achievable.

Students reflect back and I’ve even had apologies for “being such a pain.” These are massive steps.

There was one particular student who had a long history of challenging behaviour. He was always being removed, or removing himself, from class. He told me that he felt he had already failed: “If I’m not in lessons, don’t do assessments or mocks then I won’t fail again.” We spent time working on his goal (to do a particular course) and went through the choices he had (not to go to class, go to class) and the resulting consequences.

It took the pressure right off. He was able to relax, think more clearly, and actively make a choice. Engagement improved. Attendance improved. His schoolwork improved. It made all the difference.

Grit has helped me consolidate all my professional experience, and all my life experience. It’s given me a structure, a toolbox to really make a difference with some of our most challenging young people.