Positive approaches to supporting boys
This month we’re meeting Adam Wadeson and Owen Richardson from Bexhill College. Adam teaches Public Services and Personal Training and Owen teaches Sports Massage, Personal Training and ESports. Adam and Owen are part of the college team designing and delivering training for staff and learners focusing on negative gendered behaviour.
Tell us about your roles
We both undertake day to day teaching with Owen heading up the personal training department for Levels 2 and 3 overseeing assessments, facilitating students becoming personal trainers and getting jobs in the field. Adam heads up L2 sports provision with a focus on neurodivergent students with EHCP learners. A large part of the role is also focusing on the health and wellbeing for Esports learners and gaming performance which we’re developing each year. We also deliver misogyny workshops to students and staff and the negative gendered behaviour CPD for staff in schools and colleges.
How did you get involved in developing work around negative gendered behaviour
We run a progression day for L2 learners, and we established there was a rise in negative gendered behaviour with boys which was highlighted by both girls and staff. Katherine Rush, our Assistant Principal, was putting together some training for staff around this and approached us to get support as male role models.
Adam worked with Katherine on training for University of Brighton male students taking part in the Boys and Men mentoring programme run in partnership with the university and the Sussex Learning Network. This has happened with two schools and we’re working with a third this year. We have now been commissioned by the Sussex Learning Network to deliver training for schools and colleges addressing these issues to raise awareness and support staff as they support their learners.
Tell us more about the content on the training
Firstly, it’s not blaming young males, the aim is to raise awareness and open eyes. Originally when we delivered training to our L2 students there was some push back as our male students felt they were being told they were wrong. We need to have the discussions, so they don’t become disenchanted, it’s a conversation.
The training is multi-faceted, we cover where a lot of ideals originate from, predominately online where a lot of us spend time. We address the thinking behind influencers and the technology, for instance algorithm management, modern day misogyny culture, unsolicited photos and addressing cultural trends. We do Q&As with students in our training asking about photos and it is frightening how normalised this has become and we have to address that it shouldn’t be the norm.
We address real life situations and circle back to the students’ own lives. We aim to humanise and raise awareness but with the knowledge that minor behaviours left unchecked can be exploited and escalate rapidly. We talk about how some young men have come to certain views and beliefs and discuss wider connotations of comments and actions. We discuss the real pressure there is to adopt certain behaviours which are known as negative and the impact this can have.
Most importantly, we know that young people are exposed to negative content, so our role is about educating. This can be done through lessons and can include using positive role models in teaching and modelling positive male behaviours.
What have you been doing at Bexhill College to change the culture of the college?
At the start of this academic year, every student in the college was timetabled to attend one of our misogyny workshops. We ran 16 sessions to the entirety of our staff and students in the 1st week of term. The workshops were positive spaces but addressing the real issues there are and highlighting that we are taking it seriously.
Tell us about your CPD for other schools and colleges
We are delivering this with Katherine, and we all bring something slightly different to the session with our varied knowledge and experience. Staff attending with get a better understanding of what their students are seeing and hearing and where the ideas and behaviours come from and their root causes. This isn’t about one isolated thing; it’s a combination of different things that shape the perspectives. Their students might not be aware that some of their behaviours are misogynistic and having knowledge and confidence to address issues as soon as possible is essential.
Our aim is to give staff the confidence to have a conversation without feeling they will alienate their students. To have techniques that won’t initially shoot things down but to listen to what young people are trying to say and where they got the information from; to support and educate. It’s important to recognise that we can often think that these negative behaviours might just belong to our louder, more brash students but we know that our quieter, less obvious students can be just as impacted, all our male students are susceptible.
How can schools or colleges get in touch to find out more about the training you are offering?
They can contact Katherine who can talk through what we’re able to offer and how it may support their staff. You can email Katherine here.