This Country

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Last week I had the incredible opportunity to meet up with actor Paul Cooper aka Martin Mucklowe, from my favourite British Comedy.


This Country follows two young adults, Kerry (Daisy Cooper) and Kurtan (Charlie Cooper), cousins (but brother and sister in real life) as they navigate life in a small Cotswolds town without much opportunity. It is a mocumentary, but reflects a lot of my childhood growing up in small town Northampton. Comparisons aside, this comedy has helped me through dark time, I absolutely love i

Imagine my delight then when one of the main actors reached out to me on X after coming across my Excluded story on the BBC. Last week, I had the incredible opportunity to join Paul Cooper (Martin Mucklow) on a tour of Northleach, learning all about how the comedy was filmed and getting a glimpse into the writing and some scenes that didn't quite make it.


On a personal note, I found him personally inspiring. As a father, he always supported his children through difficult times, to pursue their interests. Offering praise every step of the way. Their journey to success was palpably human and it filled me with hope and admiration.


Paul reached out because he used to work in an isolation unit within a school. He would help young people work on themselves and get back into the mainstream classes. The keys to success said Paul are utilising their interests and praise



He told me an excellent story about one particular young man. He said one day that he was not going to do any work because he already knew what he was going to do for a job. Professional Fisherman. Paul said, fantastic! Though you are going to need to do some work because you cannot be a pro fisherman without a match diary! Paul explained he would need maths and science to record water temperatures, weights, baits used etc. The young man said ok, well at least I won’t need RE! Not true said Paul, who explained that the ethics taught in RE would be important for him to learn to defend his occupation. Paul took that same young man on a fishing trip with his arch nemesis, another teacher. Something amazing happened on that trip. The student became the teacher, helping her land a rather large carp, explaining what to do clearly and calmly, forging a new bond based on mutual respect.

Staff student activities became a feature that built relationships and kept young people in school. Students vs staff football was chaos, but everybody loved it. All of this backed up by constant praise. Something many young people almost never receive. Instead, being the recipient of constant criticism.
What student staff activities have you been a part of, organised or witnessed? Would you consider it?
How is praise built in to your practice?Let me know and watch the short videos here.

I wrote an article for Teaching Times, it is behind a paywall, though I have included a readable version below. Please let me know your thoughts!
‘Severance’ And What It Means For Exclusion In Schools’

Extrapolating from the themes of the Apple TV drama, Tier Blundell sees the same worrying patterns repeated in modern education.

''Neurodiversity, too, is often read as misbehaviour or deficit. But consider how trauma and loss also remodel neural pathways, affecting attention, executive function and emotional regulation. A child who appears ‘difficult’, ‘inattentive’ or ‘immature’, may be living with a brain shaped by grief or adversity. To demand that they behave as if none of that matters is a demand for severance.''

Tier Blundell - 'Severance' And What It Means For Exclusion In Schools.pdf
Here is a post I did on LinkedIn about an event I was invited to.
How do you think technology could be utilisied to help excluded children?
I wonder if AI is a great tool that young people could be guided to use to their advantage. Particularly those out of education?
Thoughts?
It was great to be invited to Slenky late lunch for regional leadership on digital engagement. Slenky is all about offering young people a 'Shot' at a work and growth opportunity. One of the guest speakers, ex-footballer and Strictly star, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink said:

''They have to want to do something. They have to want to work and those that do want, you have to give a shot.''

Underrepresented people, the working class especially, I and the panel believe, will work harder as a result of you giving them that shot.

Guest speaker and alumnus of Slenky, Sunjay Kohli, had a literal door closed in his face on an experience at a music company he was supposed to be attending. I felt it was really powerful how raw and honest he was about his outburst and his reaction to something clearly wrong and likely discriminatory. Echoes of a hope of social mobility shattered arbitrarily by the usual gatekeepers. Slenky stood up for him, made a call and got him through the door. He now owns his own music label and employs staff. An inspiration and a livelihood for many.

I would say I have only ever really been given one 'shot' where someone stuck their neck out for me and that was after my refusal to study at college. An inhuman, generic response to a screening of my very real human experience. A failure to capture my true potential. A moment that was captured on the BBC Radio Four Life Changing series, when a human being decided to give me a shot after I made my commitment to want to do something, known. (https://lnkd.in/eDT5-ugr)


Another example of how giving someone a shot can not only change one life, but many.

So,

Who gave you a shot?

And..

Who could you or your organisation, be giving a shot to?


Who has seen Time Bandits?

Young Kevin Haddock has a thirst for adventure. An interest in history and times gone by and with the help of some magic (I have not finished it, it could all be imagination) is travelling through time to see Dinosaurs and Vikings.

His parents, on the other hand, are both often engaged in their phones and missing what is happening in young Kevin's life.

Do we think this sounds familiar? Is this a comic appropriation of Adolescence by Stephen Graham? Perhaps.

I spend so much time talking to visionary school leaders and keen reformers of education.

We often think school should be different. More vocational, more this and less that.
But what if school is exactly the place to be academic and engage in intellectual wonder.

BUT, young people are struggling because their thirst for physical adventure is not being quenched outside of school. I often hear that many parents/caregivers are a bit like Kevin Haddock's, who would rather sit on their phones and encourage their children to the same.

In the show, they bemoan Kevin's interest in 'the past' and when hearing a loud commotion from his room, (bandits) feel encouraged that he might be playing video games, calling it 'very modern.'

How young people show up to school is contingent on what is happening in their life, of course. We often focus on trauma, but sometimes I wonder if it is simply a lack. Turning up to math at 9am after a long night on Fortnite and a weekend where the most exotic thing they may seen is the outside of a Homebase, may not lead to on-task behaviour.

In this case, the lack is of adventure and physical exercise. Embodied, mental and physical stimulation.

Should schools provide this or can we/how do we, support parents/carers to provide this? Should budget be made?

Many wealthy young people I have supported get this by engaging in countless sports and clubs, including international travel.

I am convinced that many of these young people would be embarking on a quest for an EHCP should they be working class.

Is then one of the answers to persistent disruptive behaviour not the school's going through radical changes, but in supporting parents/carers to improve extra-curricular activity?

In the show the parents get turned to coal. I must say, after a consultation I did recently with young people in alternative provision, most of their parents/carers may as well be coal. Not one in 30 said they had any aspiration for them.
So let’s have your thoughts. How do you engage your young people? Does it help? Did a drop off of such things cause issues during covid? Let me know!





One in 12 secondary pupils put in isolation rooms at least once a week, study finds | Schools | The Guardian a short response I did on LinkedIn to this article..says it all!

"What was the lesson in that?"

"It made me worse!"

Two recent comments from two young people thriving in Post-16 after suffering extended periods in isolation in mainstream school.

I'm not interested in pussy footing around to keep certain educators feeling good about themselves.

It's lazy.

It's inhumane.

It's wrong.

I have been very open about my experience in extended internal exclusion as a child and it took world class therapy to get me over it two decades later.

A privilege most will be unable to access.

Schools need to do better.

The state needs to impose strict guidelines and limitations.A small request for help if any are able.
I am hoping to be able to attend this online conference to aid in the work I do with local authorities, schools and young people. I have managed to get a 30% discount off of the charity price of 249.00 but I was hoping to raise some money from donations to go towards this if possible. If I am able to attend, not only will it help the work we do, I will also write a detailed brief of all my learnings to pass that knowledge on to you. If you can help, please do get in touch! That is all for now.
final word goes to something I am painstakingly developing. A toolkit that is accessible for schools and educators to use to reduce and prevent suspensions and exclusions. Grounded in evidenced based research AND including lived experience perspectives and case studies. Please get in touch if you would be open to sharing your experiences and reactions to certain studies for the toolkit. It would be appreciated!
Best wishes all,

Tier