St Osmund’s CE Middle School in Dorchester is one of our lovely Partner Schools and is a real beacon of relational practice. You can read their Partner School story here. They have established a deep sense of ‘How We Do It Here’ in their middle school setting, and are now going further, sharing their experience with council leads and local schools in their Learning Walks.
Education leaders have been invited into St Osmund’s for a while, since 2022 in fact, with mornings set out to showcase their proactive approach to cultural diversity. Relational practice has been a real focus of the school over the past four or so years, and this is something that they were keen to showcase. As the only When The Adults Change Partner School in Dorset (and the surrounding area), Gareth Biddle, Head of School at St Osmund’s, saw the opportunity to dovetail highlighting their continued proactive approach to cultural diversity with their unique ‘relationships first’ approach. This is where the idea of ‘Building up Belonging and Relational Practice Learning Walks’ came about.
These Learning Walks are facilitated and hosted by St Osmund’s but are coordinated and publicised by Richard Howes, one of Dorset Council’s Education Challenge Leads. Paul Dix was a keynote speaker at Dorset Council’s Education Conference last summer, and the local authority are actively promoting relational practice for Dorset schools to consider. St. Osmund’s is open to any school in Dorset or surrounding counties, or indeed to anyone who’s interested and would like to visit and find out more about what goes on at the school in terms of cultural diversity and relational practice! This is of particular relevance to any school or setting wanting to see this in a rural area, away from a big city vibe.
Two of these Learning Walk mornings have already taken place, and two more are scheduled this academic year. They have seen two Education Challenge Leads from Dorset Council attend and a total of seven other school leaders (ranging from Headteachers, to senior leaders, to heads of year), drawn in from north Dorset and east Dorset, as well as the local area. Representatives from primary schools have also attended, as well as leaders from first schools and other middle schools.
The mornings consist of Gareth sharing the school’s story and answering questions, before leading a tour of the school to see the approach in reality, and then finishing with any final questions. Visitors have been very open about seeing a relational practice school working and flourishing in the flesh. Gareth explains that “the hope is to continue to demonstrate that relational practice, and having a Relationships Policy CAN work, not just in the primary, first and middle school sectors, but also in the secondary sector. I frequently hear secondary colleagues say things like, ‘that'll never work in a secondary school’. Before coming to St. Osmund's, the rest of my career was in large secondary schools. I can understand their initial concerns, however I am totally convinced that relational practice can really work in secondary schools. It's literally all about promoting when the adults change!”
We are delighted that St Osmund’s are such passionate advocates for relational practice and that others are able to visit their setting and can learn from them. Sometimes it is only by seeing things in the flesh that you can visualise how it might translate to your unique setting. We’ve had the pleasure of visiting St Osmund’s ourselves and, if you’re nearby, we’d encourage you to visit as well! Or do you feel that your school or college can inspire local schools and educators? Get in touch and we can try to connect you to the right people at your council to facilitate this. We’d love to help you to showcase relational practice.
We’ll end on another quote from Gareth; “Education is all about sharing good practice for others to consider and possibly benefit from. We do not profess to be 'THE way to do this' or try to convert other schools or their leaders to come to this approach. We just share our story as it works for us and it makes the school feel warm, friendly and overwhelmingly a positive place”.
The next Building up Belonging and Relational Practice Learning Walks at St Osmund’s are taking place on Thursday 20th March and Thursday 1st May from 9.15 - 11.00am. If you’d like to attend, please email Richard Howes, the Education Challenge Lead for Chesil: Richard.howes@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk
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