School Without Sanctions
'I believe this book will change the conversation in schools on children's behaviour.' - Dr Luna Centifanti
A School Without Sanctions offers an innovative approach to behaviour management in schools, prioritising compassion and behaviour modification over punishment. Drawing on their award-winning methods, Steven Baker and Mick Simpson explain why challenging behaviour occurs and provide a toolbox of non-confrontational approaches that will benefit the whole school community.
When Steven and Mick set out to transform their school's approach to behaviour, it changed everything. With the help of Dr Alice Jones Bartoli at Goldsmiths, they developed a sanction-free approach in their special school for boys with social, emotional and mental health (SEMH) difficulties. Far from descending into anarchy, lessons began to improve and student–staff relationships flourished. The school is now rated outstanding in all areas, and more importantly, student outcomes have been remarkable.
Steven and Mick apply this experience, as well as their work in pupil referral units and young offender institutions, to explore their strategies for managing behaviour without the need for zero tolerance, discussing exclusions, trauma, motivation and engagement along the way. Rooted in neuroscience and evolutionary psychology, this book will revolutionise the way you think about behaviour management, help boost student mental health and academic achievement, and protect teacher wellbeing.
Steven Baker FCCT is the Executive Headteacher of two outstanding schools in Merseyside that cater for children aged five to 16 with social, emotional and mental health (SEMH) difficulties. The schools are both currently rated as outstanding in all areas and have won a range of national awards for their compassionate, collaborative approach; in 2018 the Department for Education cited the primary school as an example of best practice in mental health due to its focus on supporting pupil and staff wellbeing.
Steven has held a range of leadership roles, is a former Ofsted inspector and regularly delivers national keynotes. With Mick, he co-wrote an online behaviour management course which had almost 10,000 subscribers from 165 countries. Steven is a member of the Ambition Institute and Learnus advisory boards and he was recently made a Founding Fellow of the Chartered College of Teaching for his ‘significant and sustained’ impact on teaching. He is on the SecEd and Headteacher Update editorial board and works with the Ministry of Justice in youth and adult establishments nationwide. He is currently seconded on a part-time basis to a national charity that is developing a collective impact initiative to transform opportunities for children in Birkenhead over the next 20 years.
A former war crimes investigator, Steven regularly speaks in schools and prisons about the consequences of hatred; in addition to receiving the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service, he has been presented with an award by Lord Bourne for his ‘outstanding contributions to tackling hatred and building a better society’.
Mick Simpson has been a teacher for over 30 years and has spent his entire career serving schools in challenging circumstances. A Pearson Award-winning teacher of science, he has undertaken most middle and senior leadership roles that can be imagined. He has recently taken post in his third headship and is implementing his sanction-free approach in his new setting.
Mick has trained thousands of professionals, from teachers to members of the emergency services, in non-confrontational behaviour management theory and techniques and is a regular speaker at events and conferences. He has successfully facilitated learning for cohorts of middle and senior leaders in leadership theory and practice. Mick co-produced an online course on behaviour management, delivered on the Futurelearn platform, which was completed by almost 10,000 participants in 165 countries. He has worked with Her Majesty’s Prison Service, offering training in leadership and behaviour management to individual establishments and to the National Working Group on Rehabilitative Culture.