Have you ever wondered what ‘beyond the pale’ means?

The term pale came to mean the area enclosed by a fence and later just the figurative meaning of ‘the area that is enclosed and safe’. So, to be ‘beyond the pale’ was to be outside the area accepted as ‘home’. In 1791 in Russia Catherine the Great created a ‘Pale of Settlement’, which was a western border region in which Jews were allowed to live. This was to restrict trade between Jews and native Russians. Some Jews were allowed to live, as a concession, beyond the pale. Pales were also enforced in various other European countries for similar political reasons, especially in Ireland (the Pale of Dublin) and France (the Pale of Calais).

Two recent events have caused me to think about this topic. First because I have just stepped down as editor of the International Journal of Pastoral Care in Education (the NAPCE journal) and was reflecting upon how things had changed in the ten years of my editorship. Then I was also conducting a review of the literature on bullying and young people with Special Educational Needs and/or Disability (SEND) with colleagues*. In both cases it is the inability to tolerate difference which seems to me to come to the fore. In thinking about education, pastoral care and SEND it seems to me that we have abandoned any notion that some pupils who are ‘difficultly different’ can or should be considered for inclusion in mainstream settings. It is now tolerable to think that pupils with emotional and behavioural difficulties who display difficult to manage behaviour are now literally beyond the pale. This is not challenged in the general discourse – it has become an idea on which there is mostly silence. We know that the modern world is full of contradictions but this acceptance runs alongside international movements of Education for All, an emphasis on inclusion and the rights of the child. However, some young people seem to have different rights and that there is no longer a strong questioning of this. The contrast between the technical goals of education seem to have made these students inadmissible and ‘beyond the pale’.

What if we look at other groups who are different? There is a lot of evidence** that confirms that children with SEN and/or disabilities are significantly more likely to be bullied or victimised than their non-disabled peers. Various reports suggest, for example, that bullying may have been experienced by:

• 83% of children with learning difficulties (or eight out of ten)
• 82% of children who are disfluent (those with a stammer), 59% of them at least once a week, and 91% for name calling
• 70% of children with autistic spectrum disorders combined with other characteristics
• 39% of children with speech and language difficulties
• 30% of children with reading difficulties

My reading of the research is that this bullying reaction comes from fear and inability to understand the social situation which young people might find themselves in their peer group. They don’t understand the difference and so can bully in response. There has been some considerable success with educating young people about different behaviours and characteristics of their peers.

Maybe the reaction of adults to the ‘difficulty difficult’ is also rooted in an inability to understand? I would like to argue for greater understanding and tolerance of difference and the need to focus on this within schools. The social environment is also an arena for work in education. No pupils should be beyond the pale and all young people have the same rights, including the right to be included socially in their society and their peer group, to have appropriate resources for their education and not to be placed in a pale.

Colleen McLaughlin
December 2010

* McLaughlin, C., Byers, R. and Peppin-Vaughan, R. (2010) Responding to Bullying among Children with Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities. London: Anti Bullying Alliance
**All the research is reporting in full in the previous cited report on bullying and SEND

Adolescence has often been defined as a period within the life span when most of the person’s physical, psychological and social characteristics are in a state of transition from childhood to adulthood. This adolescence stage can be described as ‘Identity versus Identity Confusion’. While the adolescent’s sense of identity begins to emerge, he may suffer more deeply than at any other time in his life from a confusion of roles. Characteristic of this stage of adolescence is increased risk-taking behaviour along with exploratory behaviour and experimentation with a wide range of new and different behaviours. This is recognised as normal adolescent development. Central to our role as educators is the question, ‘How do we best protect our young people during adolescence to facilitate their development and engage them in the learning process?’ To achieve this we must arrive at a closer understanding and articulation of the links between emotional literacy, thinking skills and values education.

Clearly, emotional processes have a significant impact upon an ability to learn, to think and to make decisions. Self-awareness; expressing and managing feelings; impulse control; handling stress; empathy and understanding are vital. The emotionally intelligent adolescent confronted with risk-taking dilemmas and temptations will acknowledge initial reactions and impulses and challenge automatic impulses. He will understand that while it is one thing to have initial thoughts and reactions it is quite another to act on them.

Teaching students to become effective thinkers is increasingly recognised as an immediate goal of education. As a critical thinker, the adolescent will recognise the negative consequences of making hasty, unplanned decisions. Having rehearsed techniques and strategies of reasoning, problem solving and decision making, the adolescent will be better prepared to challenge self-destructive activities.

Underpinning the development of autonomous young people is the need for them to formulate a set of values. In a culture of ‘anything goes’ educators have been challenged or completely rejected as didactic teachers of moral values. It is important that young people do not see morality as a system imposed on them. Rather we need to allow them the opportunity to explore, discuss and validate or confirm their own moral code in a safe and supportive environment. Regardless of their experiences outside of the classroom it is incumbent on teachers to promote opportunities for adolescents to apply moral principles in their thinking, and clarify their own value systems. Supporting young people through the adolescent years is a huge responsibility. Only by facilitating them to develop emotionally, to become constructive, creative and critical thinkers and to establish a values system for themselves are they equipped to deal with the personal issues they face growing up.

Eileen Donnelly

Have we ever started an educational year with more uncertainty than in 2010? It is true that people who work in education are seasoned campaigners in coping with change and new initiatives but this year it feels worse than usual. One example was two articles recently published in the national media. One in the Times Educational Supplement reported that Head teachers were planning on reducing MFL lessons to cope with the economic cutbacks and another article the same weekend reported that the new government had plans for an English Baccalaureate with MFL as a core subject. Secondary numbers are currently going down with schools across the country facing closure and primary numbers are increasing with a growing concern about how the extra places can be found. The policy of encouraging young people into Higher education in recent years seems to be being replaced with the view that many young people do not need to go into Higher Education. What doesn’t change is that there are young people who need an education and guidance on how to prepare for their future lives and this is probably more important in the 21st century than ever before.

New Technology means that young people are living and will be working in a rapidly changing world. This makes it more important that schools provide young people with learning activities that prepare them to take their place in society and make a contribution where they can feel valued. The drive for results and the pressure on schools to demonstrate performance makes it difficult for schools to allocate time for activities that develop personal skills and prepare learners for the demands that they will face in the future. One example of a learning activity that develops personal skills in my school is Leadership Day. Students in Year Ten are taken off timetable for a day and they attend school in smart business wear. The rationale for the event is that it is developing the attitudes and personal skills that young people need in their final years at school and when they go into the world of work. They spend the day engaged in activities in groups led by businesses and management training companies.

Another example is the High Achievers Conference. This takes place every year for students in year 11 who want to achieve at the highest level. It is not elitist because students nominate themselves to participate and have to justify how they qualify to be a High Achiever. In recent years the conference has taken place at Surrey University and has included students from 4 state schools and 1 independent school. The young people spend the three days working in teams with students form the other schools on problem solving and thinking skills activities. They learn how to approach problems and challenges and this helps them with their preparation for the final examinations and they learn how to work with people in teams that they have not met before which is good preparation for the world of work. The Young people are treated as University students for the three days which raises their aspirations and interest in entering Higher Education.

These learning activities provided by schools need to be valued. They give learners the confidence and self belief to prepare themselves for the working world of the 21st century. It ensures that young people can apply the knowledge, skills and understanding that they have developed from the school curriculum after they leave school. This is our countries best guarantee that we can compete in a global economy and are not left with a underclass of young people who cannot see a purpose in their lives because they performed below the national average at school. It is true that there is a need for a process in education where young people can demonstrate their ability. This is best achieved by a rigorous examination system where there is confidence that the standard for a grade is the same on all courses.

Alongside the examination system, in my view, there needs to be opportunities for young people to develop and have valued their personal skills and positive attitudes. This will give future employers and Universities a more accurate view about the potential for each young person to achieve in the future and make a positive contribution in the world of work. This I believe could be achieved by a standard ‘National School Reference’ that is completed for all young people when they leave school. This would recognise personal qualities in young people such as leadership, teamwork and problem solving.

Phil Jones

NAPCE membership includes a myriad of members, including primary and secondary teachers, and some who have straddled both phases. I am one of the latter, and have found NAPCE good for the soul when attending conferences, and reading key literature in the past twenty years has enhanced my understanding of my role. I have recently retired but maintain my role as treasurer of NAPCE. It is the least I can do!

It is my turn to write something for the website, and, as a simple soul, I have chosen to include some personal reflections of my teaching career. I have limited my piece to the statements made by Sage that ‘Good social and emotional skills help pupils to, for example, make friendships, work in teams, solve problems, deal with conflict, manage strong feelings, to be calmer and optimistic, recover from setbacks, compete fairly, and respect others’ rights and value diversity.’

The skills are in five groupings:

• self-awareness
• managing feelings
• empathy
• motivation
• social skills

How self aware was I when I started? Not very. One thing I learned very quickly was that the smallest kindness or awareness of individuality reaped huge dividends now that did resonate with me! Don’t do it for me, let me have a go myself, that was a good one! Please don’t talk too much, I need to process what you are saying…. and better still, let me learn by teaching others. I knew absolutely nothing until I tried to teach it to others, if it works for me, why not for the students. Sometimes I like to work on my own and sometimes I like to work with others, if would be nice if you gave me a choice sometimes.

Managing my feelings: Well, not in the early days, I was not confident enough, I did not have enough strategies up my sleeve, but then that comes with experience. I was lucky enough to be able to ‘occasionally’ laugh at myself and that proved invaluable. What pressed my button was something that I grew to recognise, but how can you expect an adolescent to have that amount of self awareness all the time. Knowing what makes individuals tick, allows planning to avoid such triggers. Planned programmes addressing understanding feelings, the knowledge that it is OK to feel how you do and events do not illicit the same responses in everyone is reassuring to a young person. Just looking at the body the language, a quick word, a mini check in, can save a great deal of angst. Being even tempered went down well with the students, and a smile went down quite well too.

Empathy: What has served me very well throughout my career has been sport! Large characters in class often support sport even if they do not participate themselves. Establishing a relationship with all students and especially the leaders is a must. How can you start a Monday morning without touching base about the football results? I have kept my own allegiance private when the students have been extremely partisan. Knowing that a teenage girl does not want to talk about her career options when her dog has just died, giving students space so that they are available for learning has been effective.

Motivation: What motivates me is when my individual talents are appreciated and I am given a certain amount of autonomy to get on with the job. There is no getting away from it, however, if the relationship between the teacher and student is strong then the student does not want to disappoint the teacher. I have always told my pupils that the first time you meet a teacher or hand in your first piece of work, go the extra mile, impress in the first instance, you can rest on that for some time!! When someone has been passionate about their subject and made lessons as active as possible, I have really appreciated it. I also like to know why I am doing something, I am not too hot at doing something for the sake of it. I do like to be challenged too, not too much but just enough for me to know I’ve done a good job. Self esteem comes from within, the behaviours of others enable a climate or situation that can seek to promote self esteem, but if we do not actually feel it, it is meaningless.

Social skills: Don’t ask me to do as you say and ignore what you do. Listening is the social skill that I will choose to emphasise. Hours of time can be saved if listening is truly active. Learning about the Chinese hieroglyphic that states that you listen with your eyes, ears, heart and the whole of you, was important for me to learn. I don’t think laughter is often described as a social skill, but this has probably been the most useful attribute to have. To laugh at self and with others has made this particular career a joy.

Meeting so many other professionals who care deeply about the personal and social development of young people but who have never lost sight of the need to provide the same level of care for the teachers has sustained and developed my enthusiasm over my varied career. Thank you NAPCE.

Ethel Southern

Held on Saturday 24th April 2010 at the London Institute of Education

1. Minutes of 2009 AGM held in March 2009 were accepted as a true record

Proposed: C. McLaughlin, Seconded: R. Best

2. Matters arising – None

3. Resolutions from 2009 AGM – None

4. Reports:

a) Chair/Secretary Report

This past year has been a time of review and reflection about the way forward for the Association. Our national conference which was planned to take place in June failed to attract many delegates and so had to be cancelled. Membership is not growing as quickly as we had hoped and few members respond to the invitation to attend the AGM. There is therefore a need to consider how best to serve members and this has been at the forefront of discussion at meetings of the National Executive Committee.

There are, however, also several positive things to report. The Journal continues to flourish and is expanding its audience. The new interactive website has been planned as an important means of disseminating information and generating debate. It is intended that each month a short article will appear in the “Home” page and to date these have been on topics as diverse as Student Voice, Learners with Medical Needs, the impact of budget cuts, and contrasts in pastoral care provision in schools. The “Reflecting on Pastoral Care Issues” section provides the opportunity for authors to share their “burning issues” with others, and there will be an opportunity for readers to respond to issues raised.

Mel, the NAPCE Administrator, provides our other main link with the membership. She liaises with Routledge on matters relating to membership and is at the front line for queries about the association and pastoral care concerns. Telephone contact is rare and most contact is via email or through the “contact” link on the website.

Following the sad death of Michael Marland in July 2008 we have been without a President. The NEC voted unanimously that we approach Professor Richard Pring who spoke at our Journal relaunch following our move to Routledge in November 2008. We are delighted to report that Richard has agreed to become the new President of the Association and we look forward to working with him.

The report was accepted:
Proposed: A. Boyd, Seconded: P. Jones

b) Treasurer’s Report:

The Association accounts were audited by AJ Thacker & Co and this year there was an excess of income over expenditure. Despite the lack of members the financial state of NAPCE is quite healthy. The National Officers expenses have decreased due to fewer meetings and the printing, telephone and postage costs are also less due to good housekeeping. Bank interest being received is minimal due to the economic situation in the UK and so the Association will investigate a range of financial institutions for a higher rate of interest.

The report was accepted:
Proposed: J. Bray, Seconded: P. Hazzard

c) Journal Editor’s Report

Volume 27 was an interesting volume where we published a wide range of articles from practitioners in various settings in this country and from other countries. The articles ranged in type and in target audience. In addition the Reviews section built on the number of and range of books reviewed. Max Biddulph has managed to establish this section on a firmer footing now by making better contacts with publishers so that the books reviewed are more appropriate and wide ranging.

Another important development was the appointment of Stan Tucker as Deputy Editor and it was Stan and Mike Calvert who edited an interesting special edition for no 4 of this volume: Special Issue: A New Workforce, New Agendas. We continued with the peer refereeing system and it does not seem to have affected the types of writers submitting articles to us but is seen as important in keeping our journal competitive in the market place, as well as maintaining a quality service to the association. The journal was under budget in terms of pages and this is something that we intend to address in the next edition i.e. we intend to try to aim to be more on target rather than under budget. We also intend to continue with having one edition of the journal being a special edition.

The report was accepted:
Proposed R. Best, Seconded: P. Hazzard

5. Report on NEC Elections

The following have been elected to serve for two years (2010-2012)
Chairperson – Jill Robson
Vice-Chair – Mike Calvert
Elected member – Paula Spencer

6. Resolutions from AGM 2010

The National Executive Committee is asked to write an open letter to the Government expressing the Association’s great concern about the probable impact of cuts in Government expenditure on the training and employment of non-teaching staff. In line with the policy of the last ten years, teaching assistants and other ancillary staff have become essential to the delivery of Every Child Matters agenda and it is critical that this is not damaged.

7. AOB

Constitution: Section 6 of the Constitution is to be amended to state that all members of the National Executive Committee must be fully paid up members of NAPCE.

Proposed: R. Best, Seconded: J. Bray

The inaugural meeting of the Association was held in Dudley in 1982 and the first edition of the journal was published in 1983. Also in 1983 the first national conference on the theme “Pastoral Care in the 1980s” was held in Sheffield.

In those early days pastoral care systems were still emerging and developing and the pastoral-curriculum divide was at the forefront of discussion. NAPCE contributed extensively to the debate through the Journal, publications, conferences, briefing papers, and regional meetings and was thus instrumental in shaping the nature of pastoral care in schools. The Association had a clear role and purpose. Pastoral care has continued to evolve and NAPCE has attempted to reflect that in its activities and publications but there is an urgent need to review the provision that the Association offers to its’ members.

NAPCE provides a number of services for its members, including a subscription to the quarterly journal Pastoral Care in Education, an AGM in order to hear what the membership has to say and an interactive website regularly updated with events and useful links. It also used to arrange an annual conference as well as regional events.

The Journal has recently changed its title from the original “Pastoral Care in Education- The Journal for Pastoral Care and Personal and Social Education” to “Pastoral Care in Education – An International Journal of Personal, Social and Emotional Development”. The journal is directed at professionals such as teachers, researchers and counsellors who are concerned with the personal, social and emotional development; education and care of all students across the curriculum. It contains articles, papers and up to date information on pastoral care and PSHE issues. It thus continues to influence debate in the field at both a national and increasingly an international level.

The Annual NAPCE conferences used to be the highlight of the year for many delegates. Opportunities were provided for discussion and sharing best practice and teachers felt supported. Lifelong friendships were forged and important networks established. This is certainly a contrast to our more recent experiences where sadly our planned conferences have failed to attract delegates and we therefore need to review their relevance in the current climate. Suggestions from members about the way forward on this issue would be welcome.

The new interactive website has been planned as an important means of disseminating information and generating debate. It is intended that each month a short articles will appear in the “Home” page and to date these have been on topics as diverse as Student Voice, Learners with Medical Needs, the impact of budget cuts, and contrasts in pastoral care provision in schools. These have been contributed by members of the National Executive Committee. The “Reflecting on Pastoral Care Issues” section provides the opportunity for authors to share their “burning issues” with others, and there will be an opportunity for readers to respond to issues raised. Further details about this can be found on the appropriate section of the website.

Mel, the NAPCE Administrator, provides our other main link with the membership. She liaises with Routledge on matters relating to membership and is at the front line for queries about the association and pastoral care concerns. Recent queries have typically included a request for information about training, advice about career routes in pastoral care, advice about appointing a school counsellor, a request to share good practice with regard to vertical pastoral systems etc.

So what else do we need to do to meet the needs of the Association? – please let us know!