At Holton, our focus is on the whole child, not just on academic achievement or output.
We place huge importance on providing children with the necessary skills and experience to help them become well-rounded, responsible members of society. We want our students to leave us prepared for adulthood, so we aim to equip them with key life skills such as independence, self-control, communication and cooperation.
Of course, we do place some importance on academic study, but for us, it is just as, if not more, important to provide pupils with the skills and confidence needed to play a full and active part in society when they leave us.
We firmly believe that in order to succeed after school, our students need a set of core skills. Through our ‘Self-Cos’ we work with our students to help them build their skills in self-control, communication and cooperation – and we recognise and reward them when they do something well.
For some of our students, these achievements, and the positive recognition that goes with them, can start small – but they are hugely significant. We want the children in our care to start believing in themselves, believe that they can do things, that they can achieve, that they are worthy, and that people care about them. Little by little, through this positive reinforcement and building good habits and behaviour, pupils learn how to manage themselves, work effectively with others and respond positively to challenges.
These skills are essential beyond school, helping students navigate the expectations of the real world, whether forming positive relationships, contributing to their communities or succeeding in the workplace.
“There is nothing more rewarding than seeing breakthrough moments. Everything we do is built around achieving the best outcomes for our young people and their families.”
To help track progress in these important soft skills, we’ve created the Self-Co Behaviour Tracker. It plays a key role in recognising and rewarding positive behaviour, while also helping pupils identify areas they can work on and identify goals they would like to reach.
The Self-Co Behaviour Tracker identifies three key areas related to self-development – care, confidence, and control, as well as three key areas in interacting with the world around them – cooperation, communication, and community. Within each of these key areas are six sub-sections, giving us clear key areas to work on together.
The tracker allows us see the progress each pupil is making over time in these different areas, gives them lots of mini goals to work towards and importantly gives us lots of positives to talk to families about.
Hygiene: How able and willing pupils are at meeting and maintaining a socially acceptable level of personal hygiene.
Nutrition: How able and willing pupils are at choosing food and drink options that benefit their health and general wellbeing along with the capability to prepare their own food and drink.
Sleep: The extent to which pupils are aware of the need and benefits of enough sleep, together with their ability to ensure that they fulfil that requirement.
Exercise: The extent to which pupils are aware of the need and benefits of exercise, together with a willingness to achieve their own exercise goals.
Hobbies: Show a desire to pursue their own interests and have an awareness of how this liberty aids their own mental health.
Reflection: How able pupils are at assessing events/actions and occurrences and the extent to which they can critically reflect on their own involvement.
Body Awareness: The extent to which pupils are aware of different body types and how these are often portrayed in the media, together with a knowledge of how to maintain a fit and healthy body and consequently have ‘body confidence’.
Push Yourself: How willing pupils are to rise to new challenges no matter how big or small.
Seek Competition: How willing pupils are to test their skills and abilities against others, perhaps overcoming a fear of failure.
Accept Compliments: Show an acceptance of praise when it is given.
Act on Criticism: Show a desire to improve when receiving constructive criticism.
Ask for Help: The extent to which pupils are prepared to seek assistance from staff and peers.
Gratitude: Pupils are able to recognise the positive aspects of their life and understand that these are things to be grateful for.
Etiquette: The extent to which pupils are able to adjust the way they act and speak to match the needs of differing situations.
Presentation: Similar to above but one of dress and appearance matching the needs of different environments.
Emotional: How able pupils are at managing their own emotions, relative to actions of others, events out of their control and their own personal anxieties or feelings.
Physical: How able pupils are at managing their own physical responses (some of which may be violent), relative to actions of others, events out of their control and their own personal anxieties or feelings.
Time Management: The extent to which pupils are able to be on time, along with an awareness of how long different tasks and journeys may take.
Appearance: Pupils are able to show an awareness of how different appearances may elicit a range of reactions in the wider community.
Cultural Values: The extent to which pupils have knowledge of and accepting differences between contrasting cultures and specifically their willingness to embrace British Values of liberty/democracy, be law abiding, show respect and tolerance.
Volunteering: A gauge of pupils’ enthusiasm and willingness to help others.
Empathy: The extent to which pupils are able to recognise the difficulties and differing needs of other people.
Consideration: How able pupils are at making allowances for the difficulties and needs of other people.
Personal Roles: The awareness pupils have of their own role in different communities, plus how and why these differ eg school, home, other.
Teamwork: How able pupils are at working within teams and the awareness they have of their own role within a team and the skills that they bring.
Friendship: How able pupils are at building and maintaining friendships along with an awareness of what friendship entails.
Peer Assessment (+&-): The extent to which pupils are able to react appropriately to criticism and praise from their peers.
Deal with Change: How able pupils are at coping with planned and unexpected differences to their established norms.
Leading by Example: An assessment of the ability of pupils to set high standards by their actions.
Accept Differences: The extent to which pupils are aware of and accepting of differences in all people.
Appropriate: How able pupils are at speaking to others in a socially acceptable fashion both in school and in other situations.
Vocal Leadership: The extent to which pupils can lead through words not simply actions, this can range from isolated tasks to sustained events.
Cyber Awareness: An assessment of how able pupils are at protecting themselves online on a range of devices and with a particular focus on social media.
Presenting: How able pupils are at talking to groups (more than four people) and their ability to deliver their thoughts effectively in these circumstances.
Personal: How able pupils are at talking to individuals or small groups (three or less) and their ability to deliver their thoughts effectively in these circumstances.
Written: The extent to which pupils are able to convey information and ideas in writing.
Such is our emphasis on building pupils’ self-esteem, resilience and confidence, that as soon as a child joins us, we begin to use our Self-Co Behaviour Tracker.
The child’s tracker stays with them throughout their time at Holton, giving a visual reminder of how much they have achieved and how far they have come. It also serves as a prompt to remind pupils about their next goals.
We work with our younger pupils on small targets, which may include tying shoe laces, staying hydrated, showing respect, using appropriate language, taking turns, attempting eye contact, answering questions and speaking in a group. These are just a few examples from a long list of actions and behaviours which can contribute to achieving Self-Co.
By the time a young person leaves Holton, our aim is for them to be equipped with the necessary skills to take their next step, be that another school, college or employment.
✨ What’s been happening in the Upper School this term? ✨
It’s been a busy and exciting start, with our students getting stuck into a fantastic range of practical, creative and enriching experiences! 🙌
• Construction Skills – developing bricklaying skills
• Hair & Beauty – creating creative nail art
• Art & Design – experimenting with printmaking
• Volunteering – supporting at Billinghay Swimming Pool
• Careers – welcoming a guest speaker from Boston College
• Outdoor Education – getting active with watersports
• Enrichment – building skills and confidence through Mixed Martial Arts
Today, we welcomed our second visit from an ex-pupil this week — and what a lovely reminder of how far we’ve come.
Alfie was our third ever pupil, and five years on, we’re now having a positive impact on over 100 pupils.
One of the things we’re most proud of is seeing our pupils return to visit staff and share their achievements. Today, Alfie dropped in to say hello and proudly hand out his business cards after successfully setting up his own business.
We couldn’t be prouder of him and everything he has achieved. 💙
Another fantastic success story and a brilliant example of what can happen when young people are given the right support, encouragement and opportunities.
Experiences like this fishing residential are hugely beneficial. They support personal development, strengthen positive relationships between pupils and staff, and create lasting memories that can be brought back into everyday school life.
A huge thank you to everyone who helped make the residential such a positive and memorable experience. 🎣👏
WE ARE HIRING! 🌿☀️
If you’re an enthusiastic, outdoorsy person who loves being active, working with children, and being part of a warm, supportive community, we’d love to hear from you.
Come join the Holton family — where adventure, connection, and making a difference are all part of the day. 💜🌳
Could you be our next team member? Get in touch to find out more! https://holtonsch.uk/
Enrichment activities provide valuable opportunities for our pupils to develop skills and knowledge beyond the classroom. They support the achievement of school targets by building confidence, teamwork, communication, creativity and independence. By offering a range of engaging activities, pupils are encouraged to develop their interests, challenge themselves and apply their learning in different contexts! 💜
