System Redesign – 4: Personalising relationships

Schools face significant challenges in providing deep support for students, in the context of the United Kingdom ranks poorly in child well-being among industrialised countries.

“System redesign: Personalising relationships” is an examination of how schools have had to review their structures, curriculum, and community relationships to address complex problems such as violence, substance abuse, gangs, and technological challenges like cyberbullying. They now work more closely with external agencies like the police, social services, and health services to provide better support.

Schools have revised their curriculum to include personal and social education, citizenship, money management, and team-building activities. These aspects historically delivered separately from the academic curriculum have been integrated, although challenges remain in delivering them effectively.

To address the complex problems students face and the lack of supportive family units, school leaders have rethought academic and pastoral structures. The move from year groups to vertical tutoring, as demonstrated in the case studies, creates opportunities for tutors to work closely with students and develop their expertise. It also helps foster student leadership and mentorship.

The reconfigurations of schooling, as described in the first publication of this series – System Redesign – 1 – have complementary relationships that amplify their impact when implemented together. The case studies in this pamphlet show how reconfiguring academic/pastoral structures and creating smaller units within schools strengthen relationships between teachers and students.

This pamphlet is the fourth in the third series of SSAT publications on personalising learning and explores how schools are redesigning their systems to provide deep support for students, integrating various reconfigurations and fostering a sense of community.