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Educators understand the importance of relationships, belonging and student voice, yet under pressure, even the most committed professionals can retreat to patterns of control and compliance. Why does this happen, and what can we do about it?
Join us to celebrate the launch of The Relational School as author Sue Chandler draws on her book to explore the gap between our relational intentions and our relational responses. She introduces the Relational Practice Bridge, a framework for translating relational values into sustainable cultural transformation.
Focusing on the first pillar of the framework: Relational Thinking, Sue explores three powerful stories that shape how educators interpret behaviour and respond in moments of challenge:
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The stories we inherited
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The stories we were taught
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The stories our systems tell us
Through reflection, discussion and practical provocation, this workshop challenges the false choice between control and rescue, inviting educators instead to hold high expectations while building responsibility, problem-solving and capacity in young people.
Key topics and timestamps:
15:39 – The Relational Practice Bridge: organisational readiness, relational mindset, practices of care, student/family voice, policy foundations
22:11 – Story 1: our inherited "biography of discipline" and how it shapes responses to behaviour
28:06 – How biographies show up in schools: beliefs like "adults must be obeyed" and "consequences teach responsibility"
32:05 – Story 2: school philosophy vs policy; procedural fairness vs relational culture; behaviour tiers
41:04 – Discussion: what "consequences" means to you
48:50 – Story 3: living the tension as an educator; self-rating: compliance/control vs capability-building culture
56:56 – Data, evidence and documentation practices
1:03:21 – From certainty to curiosity: Jeff Wetzler's Ask and the Curiosity Curve
1:06:54 – Reflection: "Where would you place your school today?"; how individuals can make a difference within a misaligned system
1:08:38 – Summary and personal reflection: Sue's own family discipline story; what shapes your practice
1:11:06 – Example: using curiosity to address low-level behaviour
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