This autumn, more than 80 senior staff from girls’ schools across the community joined Sunbeams for a three-part training series through our Mental Health Network. Headteachers, SENCOs and pastoral leads came together to learn, reflect and connect on one of the most challenging areas of school life: behaviour.

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The sessions were led by Dr Lisa Shostak and focused on the core principles of behaviour change. The first session introduced key psychological ideas, including Social Learning Theory and reinforcement models, and explored how these principles relate to current school policies and real classroom practice. Staff also reflected on the complexities they face when supporting pupils with ADHD, ASC and other emerging needs.

In the follow-up sessions, leaders looked at how to apply these principles to the issues they see every day: school refusal, fear of failure, unkindness, low motivation and more. Primary and secondary schools met separately so that the examples, challenges and discussions could reflect their different contexts. A strong theme across the series was the importance of working closely with parents and pupils to find solutions that feel realistic and supportive.

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Staff described the sessions as grounding and deeply relevant. One SENCO shared,
“It gave us a rare chance to pause and rethink our day-to-day responses. I left with real tools I can use immediately, and also a better understanding of why certain patterns keep repeating.”

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Another participant reflected,
“What I valued most was honesty. We talked about what is actually happening in schools, not theory in isolation. It felt like a safe space to say, ‘This is hard’, and still come away with clarity and hope.”

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The Mental Health Network continues to grow as a trusted place for learning and collaboration, helping schools build calmer, more emotionally responsive environments for the children and young people they support every day.

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