Adele Bates

Teacher, speaker, writer and educator
 for students with Emotional
and Behavioural Difficulties.

 

An interview with Adele…

How long have you been doing what you do and how did you get to be a Behaviour and Education Specialist? 

Oooo, good place to start.

I have been teaching now for 20 years(!). I began as a teenager myself when I set up a drama school at the age of 16 for primary school pupils. My students won first places in National Festivals, had 100% pass rate on their LAMDA exams and participated in many productions – all before I went to university myself! Even at this early stage, the bits I loved best cheap retin-a were helping the *more challenging* students enjoy my subject. Since then I haven’t stopped teaching in one guise or another. I have taught in mainstream schools: infants, primary and secondary; and specialist schools: Pupil Referral Units, SEND schools, schools for students with profound disabilities and Alternative Provisions; I have also taught undergraduate trainee teachers at the University of Brighton. I have a First Class BA(Hons), Masters and PGCE.

Over the years I increasingly found myself put with the ‘naughty’ pupils – and couldn’t have been happier about it. I became the lead on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in my last full-time post, and spent an increasing amount of lunchtimes, before schools and after school slots supporting students’ wellbeing and mental health within the education setting.

cialis The pivotal point came one meeting with my Headteacher. Having noticed how much time and dedication I was giving to the more vulnerable students, he informed me:

Adele, you’re doing too much pastoral.

It made my blood boil.

Adele speaking on a panel at BAFTA venue, London

I knew that this was what made me a good teacher, this was the type of teacher I am, and I could also see in a school of 1300+ pupils and one part-time counsellor, how big a problem lack of wellbeing support was for our young people.

I made a decision: I wanted to work with these pupils as my focus, I wanted it to be my job to advocate for their, sometimes terribly misunderstood, learning needs. I left that post in 2017 to specialise in working specifically with students with SEMH and EBD.

Are you still in the classroom regularly?

Yes!

Have a look at my #Insultoftheweek posts on Twitter – a share of the most amusing insults that my community and I receive each week.

I offer schools programmes in which I teach, observe, work alongside teaching staff, supports specific pupils with SEMH – whatever is needed. So one term I might spend a lot of time in a school teaching, working with specific pupils or staff, and the next term be travelling to conferences, writing and leading training – it’s a mixture; regularly being in the classroom is important to me. If I haven’t been called a ‘c*nt’ every so often, my thumbs start to itch.

Who are your clients exactly?

People like you.

People who are passionate about education for all – especially those ‘hard to reach’, ‘tricky’ or damn right occasional &?!*s.

You have the best of intentions to be inclusive and differentiate in your classroom/school/academy chain/local authority – but somewhere along the way it’s got a bit messy… you may be:

  • A school/education leader who is watching your students, staff or local borough of schools become de-moralised over behaviour issues – resulting in a decreasing learning focus
  • A classroom teacher or teaching assistant with a particular class or pupil who is disrupting the learning – and giving you sleepless nights
  • A trainee, NQT or NCT/ECT sometimes not even teaching your own class, and struggling to find a seemingly allusive behaviour management approach that works for you
  • A Homeschooling parent or carer, maybe you have been told that your child’s needs cannot be met by the school, you have been advised or chosen to homeschool or are in quarantine with your child who has specific behavioural needs

What you need right now are some targeted solutions; tried and tested techniques; some wider perspective, long-term thinking (as well as what to do first thing Monday morning); and maybe a little TLC yourself; in order to transform the current status quo of disrupted lessons, stressed teaching staff

 

How are you different from other “Behaviour Consultants”?

Good question; what separates my services from others is that I don’t have a set formula – kids aren’t data! Instead, my approach is flexible and relevant for each situation and young person; because of this educators who work with me discover the techniques and solutions that work for your particular students in your particular setting for first thing Monday morning and last period on a Friday afternoon…

I offer practical, step-by-step actions that are doable and easy to implement.

I work with these students because I choose to; I know what it’s like to be on the front-line – and I enjoy it – which means I also love to help motivate others to do the best they can for these students too

Also, I don’t shy away from the hard bits, and I don’t offer you my 1,2,3, easy method – that lasts until playtime. Shifting behaviour across a school, or with a pupils with SEMH needs is not an overnight job. It can be hard, not straight forward and require patience and perseverance. I know this – because I’ve done it, and I support those who work with me to get through the challenges.

Staff Meeting in Dominican Republic with Principal Kate McAllister

Adele speaking on a panel at BAFTA venue, London

What type of personality do you work best with and what is expected of me?

I work best with educators who want to put the children first.

I work best with educators who believe in education for all – even the hard-to-reach-ers; the educators who get excited about leading and teaching the next generation and who see their role as the valuable, honoured position it is.

I work with educators who may have got a little bit stuck when it comes to behaviour; who are finding the behaviour is getting in the way of the learning, who are starting to feel weary, who are dreading the next lesson with 9FP next Tuesday period 2…and who are starting to wonder why they first started working with young people in the first place…

My work provides educators with fresh perspectives and strategies for their specific pupils and specific days in specific environments on a blue moon next Wednesday… clear and consistent structures for behaviour that enable the learning focus – and joy! – to return.

I can do this because I know what it’s like. I have also got out of this spot many times and helped others to do so too – it is absolutely possible.

I have had bottles of juice poured on my head, been wacked by a skateboard – and I have taught a year 7 pupil who has experienced severe trauma in their life, how to read their first ever word.

I love working and learning with these students; I am also a strong advocate for helping them be better understood and provided for.

My workshops/training/key-notes are interactive, thought-provoking, engaging, inspiring and absolutely practical. They work best for educators who are a little stuck with behaviour in one way or another, who need a fresh eye on their individual situation and who are willing to give new things a go.

For what type of educator are your services NOT going to work?

Please know I’m very selective in who I work with and I cherry-pick my clients, choosing to (gently) turn away people who aren’t suited for work and who won’t get the results for which they would have signed up for. (It wouldn’t be fair to them.)

I do not work well with educators who believe there is only one way to teach/motivate young people. Another type of educator I won’t work with are those who think we should ‘just discipline harder/adopt a ‘zero-tolerance’ policy.’

I do not believe in isolation as a behaviour strategy: self-selected alone time is different.

I am an avid supporter of #banthebooths.

Do you work for free?

No.

I have 3 degrees, over 20 years of teaching and leadership experience, am a published author, have won an award for my work in Education, run a business in which I pay my staff above Living Wage… and have bills like most other people. 

In addition, as an LGBTQ+ woman I do not wish to perpetuate the intersectional pay gap that exists in every country still in this world for women and other minority represented groups. I deeply value the experience and knowledge myself and other professionals have to share. I pay those that work/speak for me too.

I do offer Free Behaviour resources to my community:

I have 2 Free 3-part Video Series to support Behaviour for Teaching Staff and School Leaders that you can sign up for at any time via my homepage here.

We can’t afford you at our school yet, but we really want to work with you, what can we do?

I understand it’s not always feasible, or that you may have to jiggery-poke some budgets over a while before getting me in, in person. For that exact reason, I offer some low cost online options for teachers and school leaders who may not have the funds at the moment for live training,:

In addition, some organisations/schools club together with other partnership schools, teaching hubs, academies etc. to split the cost, or other local schools in the area to split the travel/accommodation costs – are you linked to a network that could arrange this? My bookings agent Claire will be happy to help you arrange this. Get in contact with her through the bookings form here.

What packages/sessions do you offer?

Please click here to view my Behaviour Training Menu of sessions and packages. To make an enquiry please fill out the short form here.

Do you do discounts?

Yes, schools can save up to £1000 on the Bronze, Silver and Gold packages which also include bonus free access to part of The Behaviour Lead Mastermind. See the Behaviour Training Menu for details.  To make an enquiry please fill out the short form here.

Does this really work?

Yes! The result of our work is an approach to behaviour that, over time and with your dedication, works consistently to enable you to many types of situations with different types of young people.

You can read testimonials on my website.

What results can I expect?

You can expect to:

  1. Hone in on the EXACT behaviour situations/students that cause you difficulty – and celebrate the bits that are full of ease!
  2. Create a focused, calm learning environment
  3. Create your own ‘behaviour strategy’ for a class/situation, that can be adapted for other situations in the future
  4. Learn how to handle your students (and parents/carers) more efficiently so that you actually have time to teach those extra-geeky bits that excite you about your subject
  5. Work smarter at building your teaching practice, not harder
  6. Be able to support your colleagues with behaviour challenges
  7. Create new goals for your students and raise expectations on learning
  8. Stay accountable to these goals and achieve them
  9. Set up rinse-and-repeat systems
  10. Learn which situations are the most likely to trip you up/make you tear your hair out – and how to account for them
  11. Get proven techniques you can apply right away in your classroom to set a clear learning focus
  12. Receive specific tools for you to use: “just add water”
  13. Learn how to set and hold clear boundaries (that don’t involve you becoming Miss Trunchbull)
  14. Learn time saving techniques that will dramatically cut down your worry time
  15. Enjoy being in your learning environment and with your young people
  16. Implement systems so you consistently have a high level of behaviour in your learning environment
  17. Be totally dedicated to your young people and yourself – the most important resource for supporting behaviour.

Can I contact some of your former clients to see what it’s like to work with you?

Yes, I encourage you to! Please go to my website and read all of them. See which ones you feel drawn to, either because the person has gotten the results you want to get too, or perhaps because that person has a similar organisation to yours. Then feel free to email or call them and ask what they got from working with me.

Some of my previous clients:

How quickly can I expect results?

Obviously, this depends on how long you’ve been teaching, which package you work with me on and how much you put into the tasks that we work on together. That said, virtually all my clients see results within the first month in the form of a clearer learning environment structure, a deeper understanding of the whys behind a student’s behaviour, and therefore more strategies to effectively deal with it – leaving more time for you to breathe!

How can I guarantee myself that I will get these types of results?

Be totally dedicated to your young people.

As educators – in the midst of marking, ofsted and parents/carers’ evenings we forget who we’re really there for. Some of my approaches and tasks will involve you daring to try new things and holding your own through challenging moments – make this commitment, expect to fail sometimes – get back on the horse, and remember the huge impact you can make on a young person’s life.

Will I recover the investment I put into hiring you for this training/workshop/key-note?

Yes, a resounding Yes! Many educators and participants are excited to report that investing some time in behaviour training initially, enables them to free up time (and money!)

I want you to stop reading for just one moment to ask yourself, “What is a learning focused classroom/environment worth to me? What would I gain in my practice if I could create this consistently? How much extra time would I have if I didn’t need to worry (and how much more sleep could I get?!) What could I do with that extra time?

What you’re getting with my training and coaching is what I call a series of, sometimes very personal, revelations that will spring your learning focus in your classroom, school or college forwards!

Learning how to zip line with pupils in Costa Rica

Adele, based on everything I’ve read and heard about you, I know you’re the one I want to learn from. What are my options for getting started with you?

Congratulations for making a decision – and thank you! I’m happy to work with you to find the most effective ways for you to support your students’ success!

These are the services I offer:

Online/Remote Behaviour Support and Resources: 

The Behaviour Lead Mastermind – The community for Behaviour Leads to re-connect to impactful, successful leadership in Behaviour and Education.

Pick my Behaviour Brain! – Jump on a 30min call with me to get ideas, strategies, quick tips for one specific area of behaviour challenge for you.

Online Behaviour CPD Training – Instantly available Masterclasses and training that can be used for individual teaching staff or as schoolwide training.

“Miss, I don’t give a sh*t” Engaging with Challenging Behaviour in Schools – read my book! For a 20% discount on bulk orders, fill in this short form.

In person/bespoke support:

I offer keynotes, workshops (in person and virtual) and full training packages for schools that provide the most impact. For full details see my Behaviour Training Menu of sessions and packages.

To make an enquiry please fill out the short form here.

I want to work with you but still have questions, can I call you?

Great! For online/remote services please email my team@adelebateseducation.co.uk

For school bookings and packages please fill in this short form, that will go to my bookings agent Claire who will be able to answer your questions.

Thank you,

I look forward to connecting soon…

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