Julie Jones became headteacher of Onslow St. Audrey’s in Hertfordshire in 2022. The school had seen significant instability, Julie wasthe 14th head in 17 years, with a legacy of poor Ofsted outcomes, low pupil performance, and high staff turnover. Julie had previous experience using TEP and adopted it early in her headship to better understand how staff were feeling and how new initiatives were landing.

“I needed to know about everything. I needed a streamlined approach to understand everything.”

The school is part of Danes Educational Trust, which works with school leaders on actioning TEP responses. The trust values both its staff voice and TEP as a tool and has seen tangible change to any new initiatives much more quickly than an annual survey.

Since 2022, the school has launched a range of behaviourand curriculum strategies, many influenced by its involvement in the DfE’s Behaviour Hub. These include daily and lesson-by-lesson lineups, a revisedon-call system (Team SOS), and an in-house alternative provision for studentsat risk of exclusion. These measures, alongside high staff visibility and consistent leadership follow-through, have had a marked impact on staff perceptions of behaviour and their ability to teach effectively. The impact of TeamSOS has been particularly measurable. Since the on-call system launched in September 2023, behaviour incidents have fallen by 35–40%.

The school's suspension and exclusion data also tells a compelling story of transformation. Comparing 2022/23 with 2025/26, external suspensions have fallen by approximately 50%, while the number of students with three or more suspensions has dropped by 67%. Permanent exclusions have reduced by 86% over the same period. Importantly, the school now has capacity to investigate and address issues it previously couldn't, including online behaviour occurring outside school, which is reflected in the data.

TEP data in Spring ‘25 shows staff enjoyment of role is notably above benchmark (7.7 out of 10, +0.6 above benchmark), with particularly strong scores on the statement “I look forward to teaching my classes on Monday morning.” (+0.8 above benchmark at 7.1) Julie attributes this to a sense of staff empowerment and visible improvements in behaviour and pupiloutcomes.

Staff voice is taken seriously, with two summer staff meetings dedicated to feedback: one for critique, and another to report changes. “They can see tangible changes in response,” Julie says. This clear feedback loop is supported by a small, closely connected team where staff feel listened to.

One Teacher of History, Geography and RE, who joined in 2016, has said: "During my time at OSA, I have experienced several leaders, but none have made me feel as content, valued, and respected on a simple human as well as a professional level as our current leadership team, with Julie at the helm. I can finally say that I truly belong here." She also reflects on the wider cultural shift: "As behaviour has significantly improved, we as educators have been able to focus more on refining our teaching practice and expertise." Despite living around 30 miles away, she has no plans to leave:

‍"As long as Onslow continues to be such a strong and supportive community where Ifeel I belong, the benefits far outweigh the challenges of the journey."

Clear behaviour policies have also been central to this shift. As one teacher says: Clear behaviour policies have helped place teaching and learning at the centre, where they belong. While incidents do occur, as is natural in any school environment,challenging behaviours and difficulties are addressed effectively. Students understand the consequences of their actions and recognise that no one should prevent others from learning." She also reflects on the wider cultural shift:

‍"As behaviour has significantly improved, we as educators have been able to focus more on refining our teaching practice and expertise."This has opened space for wider professional development too: "We have been able to dedicate more time to adaptive teaching, curriculum development, resource creation, and strengthening teamwork within faculties."

Another key change was the introduction of a phone-free policy using Yondr pouches. Students lock their phones in secure pouches each morning and keep them on their person throughout the day, unopened until the end of school. Staff have reported a calmer atmosphere, better focus, and stronger peer interaction. The data behind this shift is striking. Detentions for mobile phone use fell from 40 in 2022/23 to just 1 in 2025/26. Even more telling, detentions for defiance or rudeness to staff, behaviours often linked to phone-related confrontations, dropped from 2,255 in 2022/23 to just 19 in 2025/26. Detentions for refusal to hand over a prohibited item, the vast majority of which related to phones, fell from 490 to zero over the same period.

It is worth noting that while phone-related suspensions on school grounds have fallen by 90% (from 10 in 2021/22 to just 1 in 2025/26), incidents of inappropriate social media use originating outside school have risen, from 2 in 2022/23 to 10 currently. The school sees this as reflective of a broader societal trend in online behaviour and AI use among young people, much of it happening without parental awareness, and reported to the pastoral team via Tootoot.

Leadership at the school is active and cohesive. SLT meet three times a week, and individual line management is protected time. CPD is practical, hands-on, and designed to mirror good classroom teaching .Initiatives are modelled in full; staff experience strategies first-hand before rollout.

Julie reflects on the power of a unified SLT: “We’re in a really fortunate position of being united in philosophy and work ethic—and staff can feel that.”