Official
“Your reputation speaks volumes. I have not ever come across a school that does not rate your work; they enthuse over the training they have attended and are employing many of the techniques locally.”
Judith MacMorran, Health Improvement Practitioner Advanced, Newcastle Healthy Schools November 2017
Effectively delivered Quality Circle Time can have a profound impact on the ethos of a school, through enhanced inter and intra personal skills and improved emotional wellbeing of pupils. …the vast majority of Leeds primary school heads ensure that every teacher regularly facilitates circle time lessons. Many secondary schools, keen to build on these tremendous skills, now include QCT in the PSHCE curriculum. It is a democratic and creative approach used to consider a wide range of issues affecting the whole school community. The QCT model provides a safe environment in which all children feel equally valued and learn to develop mutual respect, trust, empathy and understanding.” Leeds City Council www.leedsadviceforschools.com/services/health_initiatives_healthy_schools_standards.htm
Ofsted promotes circle time to help with behaviour and reduce exclusions in June 2009. OFSTED looked at schools with low exclusion rates to see what they were doing well. The education watchdog found that in schools with low exclusion rates:
“‘Circle time’ approaches were widely used, which enabled children to develop the skills to negotiate, listen and respond with empathy, as well as to express themselves and to solve problems. In many cases, children were involved in defining the class rules or expectations based on the whole-school rules, and designing rewards and even sanctions. In the best practice, children were taught and encouraged to be highly aware of their own behaviour, including the possible triggers for poor behaviour, and to regulate it accordingly."
The report recommends finding out more information about circle time from: J Mosley, Quality circle time in the primary school, LDA, 1993 or go to the Quality Circle Time website www.circle-time.co.uk
They also reported that many schools provided lessons in social and emotional skills and encouraged staff and children to "speak pleasantly" to the children. Other measures schools have taken to reduce challenging behaviour include calming tents and parenting workshops.
Ofsted have called for these measures to take place more widely to halt the alarming numbers of children being suspended or expelled.
Christine Gilbert, chief inspector of schools, said: "As our evidence shows, many schools are skilled at promoting positive behaviour and attitudes in all young children, and giving them a good start in their education. It is important that others can learn from this."
Jenny Mosley’s Quality Circle Time model was described in: "Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning for Secondary School (SEAL)”: Further Reading Booklet. Secondary National Strategy 2007 - which in turn was adapted by the Government from J.Mosley (2002) Important issues relating to the promotion of positive behaviour and self-esteem in secondary schools. Positive Press.
“Excellence and Enjoyment: Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning (SEAL)”, released in May 2005, supports the learning of children with diverse needs. It uniquely provides a creative and structured whole-curriculum framework for developing children’s social, emotional and behavioural skills. Featured as a key strategy for implementing these ideas, Jenny Mosley’s Quality Circle Time Model is highlighted as a highly effective approach for the delivery of the SEAL curriculum.
The social and emotional aspects of learning are described in this resource as self-awareness, managing feelings, motivation, empathy and social skills. There are a number of skills involved with each of these aspects. The skills underlie almost all aspects of school life, home life and community life.
Jenny Mosley was asked by DfES to produce a summary of the Whole School Quality Circle Time Model for the guidance book. It was also recommended that staff working in this area need professional development. Circle time was identified as a specific training need for teachers as is lends itself especially well to working on developing children’s social, emotional and behavioural skills. In the circle time section are:
descriptions as to exactly what circle time sessions are
general guidelines for setting up circle time sessions
ground rules for circle time sessions
an outline of the structure of circle time sessions
a summary of the whole-school model
To find out more, please enquire.
This document, promoting mental health in education, was funded by the Small Programmes fund and the Special Educational Needs Section of the Department for Education and Skills.
Quality Circle Time is promoted in the document as a well-used methodology for increasing self-awareness and self-esteem in primary children, stating that it encourages young people to:
reflect on their behaviour
set goals for improvements
regulate their personal behaviour
acquire skills and attitudes relevant to the establishement of positive relationships with peers
become more sensitive to and tolerant of others
develop competencies and skills in attending, observing, thinking, speaking and listening.
In almost all primary schools, HMI Inspectors found …. most primary schools gave PSD appropriate emphasis in the curriculum. Many ensured that time was given to circle time when pupils were encouraged to address sensitive issues and through class discussions and/or through Golden Time when pupils were able to choose their own rewards for working well. Pupils often reported on these experiences with enthusiasm and were clear about their purpose.”
The Whole School Quality Circle Time Model (WSQCT) is recommended “as an effective approach primary schools can use to help pupils to get the best from school.”
The Health Promoting School approach, in parallel with the Whole School Quality Circle Time (WSQCT) approach, attempts to shape the whole school context, including the school’s ethos, organisation, management structures, relationships and physical environment, as well as the taught curriculum, so that the total experience of school life is conducive to the health of all who learn and work there. The 12 World Health Organisation (WHO) ‘criteria for a healthy school’ start with three which are directly linked with mental, emotional and social health, and which are promoted by the WCQCT Model – i.e. ‘the active promotion of self esteem of all pupils’, ‘the development of good relations’, and ‘the clarification of the social aims of the school’. National Healthy Schools Report.
Report of the Discipline Task Group Scottish Executive 2001“. The philosophy behind Quality Circle Time, increasingly being used at all levels, reflects mutual respect and a capacity for children to be given opportunities to talk, share concerns and participate in decision-making. The exchange of views and ideas can cover a range of different topics, including learning and teaching, personal/social relationships and bullying. Quality Circle Time can support the personal and social development of children and young people and it can be an opportunity for them to be heard by other children and adults in a secure and supportive atmosphere.”
"QCT is widely acclaimed as an ideal vehicle for delivery of the PSHE Curriculum."
"The business community wants education to give a much bigger priority to promoting young people's creative abilities, to developing teamwork, social skills and powers of communication." (DFEE 2000)
“Owing to the sensitive nature of some of the subject matter being dealt with, it may be useful to establish a few ground rules before embarking on such a programme of work. The use of ‘golden rules’, as suggested in Jenny Mosley’s 'Turn Your School Round' should enable you and your class to discuss sensitive issues more freely… “We have weekly timetabled whole-school ‘circle time’ sessions and also have weekly assemblies where good effort, kindness, helpfulness, neighbourliness and other worthwhile attributes are recognised and rewarded with a personal certificate, a copy of which is displayed on the special award noticeboard. Nursery, class, school and playground rules are displayed and regularly reinforced.” Example of topic planning – all topics taken from ‘Quality Circle Time in the Primary School’ by Jenny Mosley
DfES Social Inclusion: Pupil Support July 1999 (Circular No. 10/99)
Supporting behaviour management… The Whole School Quality Circle Time Model … can help improve and maintain high standards of behaviour and discipline.
For the first time the National Curriculum includes a statement of common values and fundamental principles underlying the curriculum, including valuing ourselves, our families and other relationships, the wider groups to which we belong, the diversity in our society and the environment in which we live, and reaffirming our commitment to the virtues of truth, justice, honesty, trust and a sense of duty – all of which are embodied in the Golden Rules of Quality Circle Time and reinforced by all the practical Circle Time structures and strategies. The National Curriculum has two interdependent broad aims:
1. The school curriculum should aim to provide opportunities for all pupils to learn and achieve.
2. The school curriculum should aim to promote pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. These two aims reinforce each other and there is a clear commitment to the concept of the impact of PSD on the ability of pupils to learn and achieve.
Key Stage One - During Key Stage One pupils learn about themselves as developing individuals and as members of their communities, building on their own experiences and on the early learning goals for personal, social and emotional development.· They learn the basic rules and skills for keeping themselves healthy and safe and for behaving well.· They have opportunities to show they can take some responsibility for themselves and their environment.· They begin to learn about their own and other people’s feelings and become aware of the views, needs and rights of other children and older people.· As members of a class and school community, they learn social skills such as how to share, take turns, play, help others, resolve simple arguments and resist bullying.· They begin to take an active part in the life of their school and it’s neighbourhood.
Key Stage Two - During Key Stage Two pupils learn about themselves as growing and changing individuals with their own experiences and ideas, and as members of their communities.· They become more mature, independent and self-confident. They learn about the wider world and the interdependence of communities within it.· They develop a sense of social justice and moral responsibility and begin to understand that their own choices and behaviour can affect local, national or global issues and political and social institutions.· They learn how to take part more fully in school and community activities.· face the changes of puberty and transfer to secondary school with support and encouragement from their school.· They learn how to make more confident choices about their health and environment; to take more responsibility, individually and as a group, for their own learning; and to resist bullying.
This book points out the relationship between emotions and intellect, between feeling and thinking, and between all these and behaviour. It emphasises a need for educationalists to recognise the potential for feelings to contribute to enriched learning experiences, and for the capacity of emotional factors to disrupt, block or destroy the pupils ability to learn. Circle Time is cited as an approach which takes children and teachers seriously as emotional beings.
(Decker S, Kirby S, Greenwood A, Moore D. 1999)
Dear Jenny
I would like to take the opportunity to place on record my interest in the work you have undertaken in this area. It is encouraging to note the supportive statements made by schools which have employed Quality Circle Time approach to encourage self-discipline, collective responsibility and to combat bullying and the negative effects of poor relationships, and also to learn of the benefits by the children participating. It is important that strategies which demonstrate successful outcomes are widely disseminated.
“Excellence and Enjoyment: Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning (SEAL)”, released in May 2005, supports the learning of children with diverse needs. It uniquely provides a creative and structured whole-curriculum framework for developing children’s social, emotional and behavioural skills. Featured as a key strategy for implementing these ideas, Jenny Mosley’s Quality Circle Time Model is highlighted as a highly effective approach for the delivery of the SEAL curriculum.
The social and emotional aspects of learning are described in this resource as self-awareness, managing feelings, motivation, empathy and social skills. There are a number of skills involved with each of these aspects. The skills underlie almost all aspects of school life, home life and community life.
Jenny Mosley was asked by DfES to produce a summary of the Whole School Quality Circle Time Model for the guidance book. It was also recommended that staff working in this area need professional development. Circle time was identified as a specific training need for teachers as is lends itself especially well to working on developing children’s social, emotional and behavioural skills. In the circle time section are:
· descriptions as to exactly what circle time sessions are
· general guidelines for setting up circle time sessions
· ground rules for circle time sessions
· an outline of the structure of circle time sessions
· a summary of the whole-school model
This inspiring DfES publication consists of a guidance booklet, a set of resources to deliver seven whole-school themes, each consisting of an assembly to launch the theme, followed by teaching materials. It has ideas for classroom follow-up sessions for individual year groups. There is also a range of differentiated resources for small group work, family activities and a whole-school resource file consisting of posters, photographs and photocopiables. Look out for the large and excellent set of A4 colour photographs depicting different feelings to be used as a discussion prompt, with structured questions for teachers.
To obtain a copy, contact DFES publications:
Tel: 0845 60 222 60 Fax: 0845 60 333 60
Textphone: 0845 60 555 60
E-mail:dfes@prolog.uk.com
The reference number of the main pack is DfES 0110-2005 G.
The reference number of the whole-school resource file is DfES 1379-2005 G.
For enquiries about Jenny Mosley’s Quality Circle Time training and resources, see this website for details, telephone 01225 767157 or email: circletime@jennymosley.co.uk
“All the schools in the survey adapted the curriculum to meet the specific needs of their students. At Key Stage 3, this most commonly involved the use of carefully chosen reading schemes, nurture groups, Quality Circle Time and materials relating to the social and emotional aspects of learning.”
This report, situated on the Ofsted Website, presents the results of a survey of 29 secondary schools (including one academy and one pupil referral unit) to identify sustained good practice in re-engaging disaffected and reluctant students in their learning.
The schools were surveyed between 2007-2008. The schools chosen for the survey all had a marked decrease in the number of unauthorised absences between 2004 and 2006 and they also had a good record of re-engaging disaffected and reluctant pupils in their learning.
The following factors were deemed to be most successful in helping to re-engage pupils:
a commitment from all staff to meeting the students’ needs
effective monitoring systems to identify students at risk
close collaboration between primary and secondary schools to prevent students’ disengagement at transition
the involvement of a wide variety of adults within the school and the community to support the students
regular and effective communication with parents and carers, including involving them closely in determining the strategies to be used to support their children
modifying the curriculum and drawing on educational providers beyond the school
close working relationships with local agencies responsible for supporting children and young people.
Ofsted reported that amongst the schools identified as being very successful at re-engaging pupils, an adapted curriculum that involved Quality Circle Time, amongst other initiatives, was most common. The Jenny Mosley Consultancies website was quoted as the source of further information about Quality Circle Time.
http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/Ofsted-home/Publications-and-research/Browse-all-by/Documents-by-type/Thematic-reports/Good-practice-in-re-engaging-disaffected-and-reluctant-students-in-secondary-schools
Foreword for Step by Step
We all have our own ‘light bulb’ moments in our career as educators. For me such a moment was when I began to understand that there are three very different reasons for children not behaving as we want them to. One reason may be that they have not yet learned the skills that underpin positive and pro-social behaviour. Another may be that they have the skills but are not choosing to use them – because alternative choices offer them bigger pay-offs. A third reason may be that although they have the skills, and although the incentives to use those skills are in place, they are simply too hurt and distressed to make wise choices.
Quality Circle Time was another light-bulb moment for me. It seemed a magic way of addressing all three of the reasons for behaviour difficulties. The framework of golden rules and golden time provides the motivation. Circle sessions provide the teaching of the skills children need in order to manage their feelings, develop empathy, and make and keep friends. The sessions also provide the kind of nurturing environment that reduces children’s distress and hurt by enabling them to share it with others and receive support.
That is why circle time is important in the government’s approach to the social and emotional aspects of learning materials (SEAL), on which I was privileged to work. More and more teachers are using circle time routinely in their classrooms, and looking for guidance and support in how to use it well.
This book provides that guidance. It explains the benefits of circle time and takes us through the immensely helpful structure of meeting up, warming up, opening up, cheering up and calming down. It provides just enough worked examples, helpfully grouped under the SEAL themes, to give confidence to a practitioner new to circle time. It then leads the practitioner into the next, less scripted steps where children explore the issues that are relevant to them as a group and as individuals.
The ideas in this book are practical and realistic. They acknowledge that some circle times can feel flat or go wrong. They help us get over those humps and become ever more confident in our practice.
Enjoy the ideas…. look out for the ‘Bag of Power’ – and have fun with the children you teach.
Jean Gross
Jean was formerly responsible for the Primary National Strategy’s work on behaviour and inclusion. She now directs the Every Child a Reader initiative
Jenny Mosley is delighted to have been invited onto several television and radio programmes over the last few years. Among them are:
Just One Chance
Kilroy
Woman's Hour (Radio 4)
Radio Berkshire
Independent Supplement on ‘Citizenship’ Sept 27 2002 Bernard Crick “Civic education is about the civic virtues and decent behaviour adults wish to see in young people… and more than this… Active citizens are as political as they are moral; moral sensibility derives in part from political understanding; political apathy spawns moral apathy. Citizenship education firstly involves pupils learning from the beginning socially responsible behaviour and personal character both in and beyond the classroom……. Secondly learning about and participating in the life and concerns of (their class) their school and their local communities…..”
“It is essential that at primary school ‘Circle’ teaching or interactive experimental teaching is practised for both PSE and Citizenship objectives.”
“Every teacher knows that children’s educational development depends on much more than their ability to fulfil academic learning intentions…… research shows that there is a definite link between so called ‘non-academic’ achievement, if celebrated and used to raise pupils self esteem, having an impact on their academic achievement.” Circle Time provided practical structures and strategies for celebrating success across a broad spectrum of achievements and positive affirmation of both pupils and staff.
Moral Development Mary Warnock – ‘An Intelligent Person’s Guide To Ethics’ 1998 Duckbacks Publishing“A good school, then, will produce ambitious pupils who want to go on with what they have started. Whatever they do, they will want to do it well. ……… In ethical terms they will want to be good. Without this underlying private want, they cannot be relied upon to try for the ethically best in the public sphere. The morality that lies behind all efforts to improve things in the world at large, to defend human rights, to pass generally acceptable laws, to seek peace and justice, is essentially that of private standard setting, and of private ideals to be pursued. And this is why children from the earliest age, and in the most trivial and domestic and un-heroic contexts, must learn that, being human, they are subject to temptation, and being human, they can, if they want to, triumph.”Quality Circle Time’s Golden Rules, constantly reinforced through all the activities and structures, provided pupils with an internalised frame of reference against which to judge the ‘right’ thing to do, in the crunch moments of choice. Reward and sanction systems reinforce clearly for pupils the links between behaviours and outcomes.
"To me, perhaps the most appealing aspect of the Quality Circle Time model is this notion of young people being given time explicitly to socialise with each other. One of the most attractive features of the Quality Circle Time model is its importance to get the aspirations and expectations of children right: but how much easier that becomes if the elements of the model relating to staff morale and “quiet time” are right. Teachers, just as children, must be propelled towards greater levels of self-respect and self-esteem, and a real sense of their own achievements. Clearly, I’m no expert on the idea of Circle Time, but the reason I am here is because I understand that it is a model which has demonstrated - is demonstrating – that by treating children as adults, they have the opportunity to enjoy a better childhood. It must be possible to take the ‘them and us’ culture of staffroom and classroom and create a learning community in which all are respected and valued. And, most of all, it must be possible to imbue even the most ‘difficult’ children with a sense of self-esteem and respect, a sense of community and culture, as sense of respect and responsibility. I’m really excited that your day had dawned. I wished this conference joy and genuine enlightenment, and I’m thrilled to have been allowed to be part of it."
"I am delighted to be with you today to speak to you at the opening of your Spring Seminar. I note that you are focusing throughout the day on Circle Time and that your deliberations will be directed by Jenny Mosley, who is the leading practitioner in this field. I applaud the organisers for their foresight in obtaining such a well-known presenter.
I know that Circle Time has become a very popular activity in schools in schools in recent years. It is a very suitable activity particularly for implementing aspects of the Social Personal and Health Education programme in the revised Primary School Curriculum. SPHE is one of the subjects being addressed during the present school year in the in-service programme for schools provided through the Primary Curriculum Support Programme. Further in-service training on SPHE will be provided next year. This seminar on Circle Time is therefore very timely and is a great opportunity for teachers to learn at first hand from an acknowledged expert in the field.
Quality Circle Time encourages the development of many of the personal and social qualities that are endorsed in the SPHE Curriculum. Through their involvement in Circle Time, children are encouraged to engage in critical thinking and to participate as equals in dialogue with one another and with their teacher. Each child is given an opportunity to contribute and is encouraged to listen to the viewpoints of others. Good communication and the principles of sharing, equality and inclusiveness and a sense of caring for others are promoted. In the modern Ireland that is sometimes criticised for placing too much emphasis on materialistic values, these are indeed principles that should be cherished.
Your attendance at this seminar is evidence not only of your desire to increase your knowledge of this area but also to your commitment to children with learning difficulties. It is a cause for great concern for this government that despite the advances in education and in the world of technology in recent years, that too many of our young people are not benefiting from the advances that we have made particularly over the past ten years. It is not hard to see that placing high demands on students is likely to have been a more successful result in classrooms where there are good relations between teachers and pupils and where there is a positive disciplinary climate. I know that you are all aware that the promotion of good student-teacher relations and the development of a positive classroom climate are outcomes that underpin the philosophy of Circle Time. I congratulate you therefore again on the theme that you have chosen for your seminar and with you all a very successful day."
The Elton Report (1989) HMSO
“This book, ‘Turn Your School Round’, embodies some of the most important principles established by the Committee of Enquiry into Discipline in Schools. It has been very encouraging to hear, from many witnesses, of the success of Jenny Mosley’s work in improving good schools and ‘turning round’ those in difficulty, as it endorses some of the Committee’s most important findings. It therefore gives me great pleasure to commend her book to other teachers who may profit from her experience and advice.’ The Lord Elton