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Reframing behaviour: a collective conversation for multi-academy trusts
In education, conversations about behaviour often fall into a binary choice: punitive or restorative. But what if we reframed the entire discussion? What if behaviour wasn鈥檛 something to be controlled but something to be understood, nurtured and shaped?
This article isn鈥檛 about prescribing a solution; it鈥檚 about challenging the status quo. Are we comfortable with how behaviour is managed in our schools? And more importantly, do we fully understand the power MATs have to reshape the culture of behaviour across multiple schools?
What do we really mean by behaviour?
The language we use around behaviour matters. Often, we talk about 鈥渂ehaviour鈥 only when it is negative, and 鈥渃onsequence鈥 is often synonymous with 鈥減unishment.鈥 But behaviour is simply how we act: every action has a consequence and not all of which are negative.
What if behaviour wasn鈥檛 something to be controlled but something to be understood, nurtured and shaped?
A student who arrives early to class, engages with their work, and contributes to discussion is exhibiting behaviour. The consequence is positive: they succeed, they grow and they develop key skills. Yet too often, schools focus on controlling unwanted behaviour rather than fostering and recognising positive behaviour.
So how do we reframe the way we think about behaviour?
The role of a multi-academy trust in shaping behaviour culture
MATs have an opportunity to do more than set policies. They can shape a collective culture. Instead of each school handling behaviour independently, MATs can unify their approach, ensuring every school has a shared vision and a clear strategy for supporting behaviour.
The key question isn鈥檛 what are the rules? but rather:
- What do we want behaviour in our trust to reflect?
- How do we ensure that behaviour systems are effective, fair and sustainable?
- How do we support staff across our schools to create consistency?
By building collaboration across schools, MATs can move beyond reactive behaviour management and create an environment where all students and staff contribute to a positive, thriving culture.
The limitations of traditional behaviour approaches
Schools have long relied on hierarchical models of discipline that focus on compliance rather than understanding. The false binary between punitive and restorative approaches often prevents meaningful reform.
- The punitive approach assumes deterrence works but research suggests it does little to teach long-term self-regulation.
- The , when implemented superficially, is sometimes seen as a 鈥渟oft鈥 replacement for punishment rather than a meaningful way to teach students reflection and accountability.
Neither approach alone is enough. Schools need a deeper, systemic approach to behaviour, one that recognises the complexity of human development, the role of neuroscience, and the impact of trauma, neurodiversity and social context.
What鈥檚 missing? Training, culture and long-term support
One of the biggest challenges in education is that CPD around behaviour is often reduced to a one-off training day. While valuable in the short term, inset training rarely leads to long-term culture change because schools are too busy to sustain the momentum.
A true culture shift requires:
- Consistent, ongoing training rather than one-off interventions.
- A strategic, trust-wide approachthat aligns behaviour management across all schools.
- Collaboration between staff, students and families to build a shared vision.
MATs are perfectly positioned to provide this level of consistency, ensuring that behaviour strategies aren鈥檛 isolated to individual schools but are part of a cohesive, trust-wide culture.
A new way forward: Reframing the conversation on behaviour
Instead of managing behaviour through compliance, what if we focused on empowerment? What if behaviour was not seen as a problem to be fixed but as a language to be understood?
A new approach would:
- Move beyond reacting to behaviour and focus on teaching self-regulation.
- Ensure co-regulation (supporting students emotionally) is embedded before expecting self-regulation.
- Recognise that behaviour is a continuum, not just a set of isolated incidents requiring intervention.
- Encourage critical thinking and self-reflection as part of behaviour development, not just academic learning.
If your MAT is looking for a structured, long-term approach to reframing behaviour, the provides an excellent platform for ongoing support and the tools to begin embedding these new approaches across your schools.
A final thought: Are we ready to reframe?
MATs have the opportunity to lead this transformation, not by imposing top-down behaviour policies, but by shaping a culture that is consistent, sustainable and embedded in long-term development.
To truly reframe behaviour, we need to move beyond short-term fixes and commit to long-term, meaningful change. We need to ensure behaviour is not just something we manage: it鈥檚 something we nurture.
So, the question remains: Are we ready to start the conversation?
