Case studies

The Harbinger of Great Things

Jill Chatt-Collins is in her fourth year of Primary teaching she has a Year 6 class at Harbinger Primary School, London. Amongst other things, she has helped them prepare for their SATs, using techniques that help both calm their nerves and stimulate their self-belief.

An unusual name, I know, but isn't Harbinger really quite an appropriate designation for a school? Shouldn't all schools announce themselves as forerunners ahead of the army of children, preparing the way and then proclaiming their arrival as they emerge successfully from another Stage of their learning journey? Our Year 6 children have just emerged from the latest Key Stage of their educational expedition. And it's not been all about test results, though these have been good. It's been about allowing them to achieve to the best of their individual abilities with the distraction of Test Tension minimised. And, by using certain strategies, we hope that we have equipped them for the next Stage of their school journey.

Harbinger school has 335 pupils, 90 of whom are in the Early Years unit. 34% of the children are on the Special Needs register, 3.6% are statemented, 57% have free school meals and we have 62% who speak English as an additional language. The last two figures are above the national average. Yet last year our KS2 results were also above the national and area's averages; English, Maths and Science had, respectively, 79%, 74% and 87% of children achieving level four and above at KS2. But what was really remarkable was the run up to the SATs. The school was a significantly calmer learning environment than previous years and this seems to be due to our use of certain strategies in the build up.

In 2002 Tower Hamlets EAZ paid for two teachers from every school in the Zone to attend a six-day ALPS course. I was one of those from Harbinger. After the first two sessions I was fired up; I could see the potential of some of the strategies for our own children. Using ideas from the course and the related books I put together a 'SATs Pack' for every teacher who would oversee a KS2 test. As our Year 6 are tested in a number of smaller rooms, rather than altogether in one hall, this meant that several teachers needed to be introduced to the material for the first time. Some were initially sceptical, but willing to give it a go. We were going to create the right conditions for optimal performance by using Brain Breaks, guided visualisation, the calming effect of music and motivational posters.

My main motivation was to give all the children the chance to do their best by providing a calm, controlled environment. Tension had been observed in some of the pupils prior to the SATs and stress would sometimes show itself in playground conflicts or through a subtle deterioration in individuals' classroom behaviour. This year we were able to begin introducing these techniques earlier, for example, by using a lot more visualisation in the weeks leading up to the tests to embed thoroughly those feelings of calmness. But last year I wanted to use what I had learnt for my class at the time - and the timing of the course meant that I had to act quickly.

Protocols were agreed and, just before each SAT, every invigilator, in their own particular test room, directed pupils to the actual desk where they would be sitting and told them that they could sit there now with their head on it or lie on the floor. Calming classical music was played in the background. Guided visualisation was about to begin. Every teacher gently read from a prepared script over the calming music. The object was to invoke a sense of calmness and for the children to link that with their surroundings and what would be happening there. All were encouraged to:

Think of something that they had done well - it could have been something from home, school or when they were out playing with their friends

Remember that feeling - think about how it felt at the time. Could they remember it and bring it back?

Push the 'magic button' to instil that good feeling - this could be pressing two fingers together, pushing fingers into the palm of their hand or even touching their nose. Pressing this magic button should help them to recreate that feeling later at the 'touch of a button'

Visualise themselves now coming into the room, sitting down, writing their name on the paper, opening it up, doing well as they worked their way through the tasks, looking around them at their friends also working confidently. This was all associated with the good feelings they had and the calmness they felt in the familiar surroundings of their test room.

And many said afterwards that they had felt more positive about the tests after using these techniques.

The surroundings themselves were also important. Around the room were motivational posters, highlighting how well they could do if they remained confident of their abilities, and posters that gave them advice, such as remembering to use their magic buttons, their 'brain buttons' (to get more oxygen to their brains to help with their thinking) and the importance of Brain Breaks. These terms were all explained so the children knew exactly why they were doing them and examples provided in the case of the Brain Breaks.

The children had been as prepared for the SATs experience as they could be. In the morning, we catered to their physiological needs by providing food and drink to make sure their bodies and brains had fuel. When they walked into their familiar SATs room with its posters on the walls and music playing, they found water bottles on their desks to ensure they maintained the optimum conditions for thinking. Every test was then preceded with the guided visualisation. To help further, we introduced brief Brain Breaks throughout the tests as well. Many said later that they found these useful and that their use helped them to stay calm. Naturally, one or two others said they felt silly, but at no time did these brief interludes signal that it was time to talk or to become disruptive. Everybody returned immediately to task.

I have regularly used Brain Breaks in my classroom and now many of the other teachers have incorporated them into their lessons as well. My children have grown used to them and have developed their own for different situations. Music is still a feature too, again for a variety of purposes.

We found that the SATs Pack helped the teachers to prepare the pupils to meet the challenge of the tests in a more composed manner than they might otherwise have done. They coped better than in previous years and there was a significant improvement in behaviour during the week of the tests. It was a calmer and more confident SATs week. Everybody knows that to measure the results of such strategies is difficult. But as their teacher, I can see the difference it has made and is making to them. The Head, who was also involved in administering the tests, saw the difference too. She mentioned the SATs Pack at the Headteachers' EAZ meeting and now we are providing many others with the ideas, suggestions and techniques that we found worked for us. It feels good to have trialled methods for others in similar positions. But most of all we feel that Harbinger has helped prepare the path for our charges - we know that we have created a calmer environment for the children to perform to the best of their abilities with fewer of those internal distractions.