Inspiration from ACE Interrupters in Great Britain
Rob Green – pastoral at heart Assistant head, Pencoed Comprehensive School, Wales Everything shifted for Rob Green when he became a father. His career, prior to parenthood, had been focused on teaching information technology and setting up data-tracking systems in schools. He was good at what he did and got promoted quickly, but found he didn’t enjoy the systems work. “There was always something missing,” Rob says. “I can’t describe it – it wasn’t as fulfilling.” A close colleague advised him to diversify into wellbeing, to pick up experience dealing with conflict between pupils. “When I started to go into wellbeing, I was a father as well,” says Rob. “Being a parent really does change you because that’s somebody’s child that you’re dealing with.” He now has five daughters of his own, as well as a pet dog. “Don’t ask,” he jokes, “I’ve got a teenager down to a three-year old.” As assistant head of Pencoed Comprehensive School in south Wales, Rob has found a job that fulfils his need to nurture. “I could never do another role now,” he says. “That is where my skillset is – I’m a people person more than anything else.” With the support of head teacher Edward Jones, Rob has made wellbeing a priority at the school, introducing programmes to tackle challenging pupil behaviour, attendance and mental health issues. The school also signed up to a pilot training scheme to understand the impact of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on some of its pupils. The pilot to roll out and evaluate training in Welsh secondary schools is an initiative by the ACE Support Hub.ii “… I’m a people person more than anything else …”
Pencoed School, a mixed comprehensive in Bridgend, has about 900 pupils, aged between 11 and 18. Its catchment area includes the small town of Pencoed and the countryside beyond. In 2016, about 15% of its pupils were eligible for free school meals, below the national average of 17.4% for secondary schools, according to Estyn, the Welsh education inspectorate. “It’s a lovely school, lovely pupils, lovely parents,” says Rob, who initially worked at Pencoed as head of IT, before leaving in 2011 to join the senior leadership team of a boys’ school in Barry. He returned to Pencoed as assistant head in 2017. “When I came back, it dawned on me the big impact that mental health was having on inhibiting our pupils,” he says. “It really interested me and we did have pupils when I looked into it who did have a few ACEs.” One of Rob’s first tasks was to address the dysfunctional dynamic “… They didn’t have between a group of girls. “A lot of my time last year was dealing with resilience, self-respect or relationships between girls,” he says. “They didn’t have resilience, respect for others …” self-respect or respect for others.” One stood out – she was one of the worst-behaved pupils in school. Within a matter of months, however, this same pupil was participating in assembly, representing the school council and delivering a pupil manifesto. She owes The ACE Support Hub has received £1.2 million funding over three years from the Welsh Government to promote systems change that transforms public services, and Welsh society, to be ACE-aware and trauma-informed. Training is offered to all schools in Wales.
ii
10
