Books

Aspire to Wellbeing and Learning for All in Early Years and Primary and Aspire to Wellbeing and Learning for All in Secondary Settings by Sue Roffey (2024). These two books are currently in production with a target publication date of 3 June 2024 for the Early Years and Primary version (pre-order on the above link from 13 May), with the Secondary book to follow on 1 August 2024 (pre-order from 11 July). More information here.

 

 

Creating the World We Want to Live In: How Positive Psychology Can Build A Brighter Future, by Bridget Grenville-Cleave, Dóra Guðmundsdóttir, Felicia Huppert, Vanessa King, David Roffey, Sue Roffey and Marten de Vries (2021). This book is about hope and a call to action, to make the world the kind of place we want to live in. It aims to provoke conversation and positive change, and may challenge long-held views and extant ideologies. The book explores the principles that underpin living well, and gives examples of how this can be achieved not just in our own lives, but across communities and the planet we share. Chapters cover the stages of life from childhood to ageing, the foundations of everyday flourishing, including health and relationships, and finally wellbeing in the wider world, addressing issues such as economics, politics and the environment. Based in the scientific evidence of what works and supported by illustrations of good practice, this book is both ambitious and aspirational. The book is designed for a wide audience – anyone seeking to create positive change in the world, their institutions or communities. More information here: creatingtheworldwewanttolivein.org

 

The Educators’ Guide to Whole-school Wellbeing: A Practical Guide to Getting Started, Best-practice Process and Effective Implementation, by Denise Quinlan & Lucy Hone (2020), addresses challenges faced by schools wanting to improve wellbeing. While many schools globally now understand the need to promote and protect student wellbeing, they often find themselves stuck – not knowing where to start, what to prioritise, or how to implement whole-school change. This book fills that gap.

This book provides companionship through rich stories from schools around the world that have created wellbeing practices that work for their schools. It guides educators through processes that help create individualised, contextualised school wellbeing plans. With chapters addressing ‘why wellbeing?’, ‘what is “whole school?”’, change dynamics, measurement, staff wellbeing, coaching, cultural responsiveness, and how to build buy-in, it is the first of its kind. Balancing research and practice for each topic with expert practitioner and researcher insights, this book gives schools access to best-practice guidance from around the world in a user-friendly format, designed for busy educators.

The Third Edition of Circle Solutions for Student Wellbeing, by Sue Roffey (2020). Completely revised, bringing in to line with the ASPIRE principles, and adding many new games and exercises, including some for working on challenging subjects such as gangs and radicalisation.

Schools and others who wish to buy multiple copies (more than 10) can get a discount of up to 40% by emailing Despina McLaren at Sage: despina.maclaren@sagepub.co.uk.

 

 

The Primary Behaviour Cookbook and Secondary Behaviour Cookbook, by Sue Roffey (2019).

Developed in conjunction with practitioners and teachers, The Primary Behaviour Cookbook provides highly effective, practical strategies for responding to and resolving behavioural issues in primary classrooms.

Consisting of over forty ‘recipes’, the book’s unique format enables practitioners to quickly and easily access information and advice on dealing with specific behaviours. Each ‘recipe’ details strategies and interventions for immediate application in the classroom setting, considers possible causes of the given behaviour and offers helpful approaches for responding to the child’s needs in the longer term. From disengagement to impulsivity, attention-seeking, defiance, bullying, anxiety and aggression, the book’s five sections cover a broad spectrum of behaviours falling within five broader categories:

• Getting things done: supporting positive student engagement and achievement
• Dealing with disruption: increasing motivation and skills to facilitate learning
• Social interactions: resolving problematic situations that occur between pupils.
• Emotional distress: understanding distress and developing coping strategies
• Behaviours of special concern: recognising behaviours associated with autism, trauma, or abuse.

Underpinned by positive psychology, and emphasizing the importance of constructive relationships, communication, inclusion and child wellbeing, this is an indispensable resource for primary school teachers and assistants, behaviour support consultants, SENDCOs and educational psychologists.

Read a review of The Primary Behaviour Cookbook in The Educational and Developmental Psychologist (published by the Australian Psychology Society):

The author’s skilful use of uncomplicated, jargon-free, and unassuming language makes this text accessible to teachers, teaching assistants, behaviour support consultants, and psychologists. The structure of each intervention can be comfortably assimilated with each ‘recipe’ easy to digest, regardless of the reader’s professional background.

The Secondary Behaviour Cookbook develops and extends the range of recipes for older students, in particular adding a sixth section on:

• Coping with Conflict: addressing conflict in and out of the classroom, including aspects of bullying and discrimination

How to do Restorative Peer Mediation in Your School: A Quick Start Guide including Online Resources, by Bill Hansberry and Christie-Lee Hansberry, Jessica Kingsley Publishing (2018).
This is a how-to guide to implementing a program of restorative peer mediation in schools. Using a proven approach to conflict resolution, this manual trains students to solve conflicts in the schoolyard and classroom by understanding peacefulness and restoration. A must-have resource for schools wishing to foster a culture of restorative justice.
This Quick-Start Manual contains:

• Suggested processes for selecting suitable students to be Restorative Peer Mediators
• Examples of correspondence to caregivers
• Guidance on implementing an RPM program into school policy
• Step by step notes and advice on running initial (phase 1) and ongoing (phase 2) mediator training,
• Reproducible training materials as available free online
• Scripts for Restorative Peer Mediators to use

This is a proven set of resources for making Restorative Peer Mediation part of your school’s wellbeing program.

School Belonging in Adolescents: Theory, Research and Practice by Kelly Allen and Peggy Kern (2017). This book explores the concept of school belonging in adolescents from a socio-ecological perspective, acknowledging that young people are uniquely connected to a broad network of groups and systems within a school system. Using a socio-ecological framework, it positions belonging as an essential aspect of psychological functioning for which schools offer unique opportunities to improve. It also offers insights into the factors that influence school belonging at the student level during adolescence in educational settings. Taking a socio-ecological perspective and drawing from innovative research methods, the book encourages researchers interested in school leadership to foster students’ sense of belonging by developing their qualities and by changing school systems and processes

Practising Positive Education: A Guide to Improve Wellbeing Literacy in Schools by Paula Robinson (2017). The Positive Psychology Institute and Knox Grammar School are proud to announce the launch of their foundational book on Positive Education. More than 300 pages of research, models, resources, evidence-based activities and stories from the front lines of education bring the theory and practice of Positive Education to life. Featuring contributions from international experts in the field, this practical and accessible book is for educators, leaders, parents, policy makers, community groups, schools and universities. Within its pages, summaries of international research findings are accompanied by powerful ideas and practical exercises to help you introduce Positive Education in your educational setting, home or workplace. Practising Positive Education: A Guide to Improve Wellbeing Literacy in Schools is the first in a series of hard and soft copy manuals, workbooks and texts spanning all aspects of Positive Education.

A Practical Introduction to Restorative Practice in Schools: Theory, Skills and Guidance, by Bill Hansberry (2016)
Restorative Practices are not for the faint hearted. They demand that our work in schools be less political and more human. This demands that when things go wrong in schools that we empathise with students (and those who love them) and move into emotional spaces with them that we may not have occupied previously. Restorative practices are not discipline from a distance. They are up close, personal and at times confronting, which is at odds with the direction that many schools are taking their discipline systems. As communities become increasingly disconnected and fearful of one another, responses to conflict, harm and wrongdoing that bring people and their difficult emotions face to face can seem too risky for many, yet schools who have bravely embraced restorative practices have found that this is a risk well worth taking. This book contains an extremely comprehensive and detailed account of the ‘what’ and ‘how’ a school might do its restorative practice that I hope inspires (or re-inspires) teachers and school leaders to take the risk of building a more human and connected school.

The Resilience Doughnut: The Secret of Strong Kids, by Lyn Worsley (2015)
Lyn has written this book in everyday useable language, making it an easy read, and a resource that can be used for anyone experiencing the difficulties that life inevitably brings. Children as young as 5 years old have used the Resilience Doughnut and understood what makes them strong!

The Resilience Doughnut: The Secret of Strong Adults, by Lyn Worsley (2015)
This book takes the doughnut to a new level – giving a practical tool for decision making, relationships. After many years of speaking to parents, teachers, youth workers and people involved in helping young people develop resilience, I have responded to the call to bring the Resilience Doughnut into the adult world. It seems that the Resilience Doughnut resonates with many adults, particularly those who have struggled during tough times and have not only survived but have grown as a result of their tough times. As adults, resilience is not set. It is a continual process and we can affect the changes that we need to make.

Circle Solutions for Student Wellbeing, by Sue Roffey, Sage (2014)

NB: Although the new 3rd Edition is now out, the revised edition has many new activities, so the 2014 edition will still be relevant for the games etc included in it that are no longer in the new book.

‘This is a very practical guide to a teaching approach that enables children to become more powerful learners; it is also an opportunity to spend time with a big-hearted person who understands what happens for children in school and how circles can help them grow.’ – James Park, PROGRESS Director, Human Scale Education (www.progress-hse.org)

‘Grounded in contemporary research, Roffey ignites the reader’s conviction that ‘I can do this too!’   Gifting the educator with a treasure chest of fresh, engaging, practical and applicable ideas, this book makes it possible for every teacher to build both the learning and well-being of all young people.’ – Kerry Bird, Project Manager for Personal and Social Development Education in Catholic Education  –  Cairns and Brisbane

First published as Circle Time for Emotional Literacy, this new edition has been updated to reflect how the Circle Solutions philosophy and pedagogy can be used to build relationships and resilience for children and young people. Putting current research on wellbeing into practice, Circle Solutions for Student Wellbeing addresses issues not incidents, solutions rather than problems, and strengths rather than deficits, providing a framework for student engagement and learning. Activities and games included in the book promote positive communication skills, empathy and connectedness, class cohesion and co-operation, friendship skills and ethical behaviour.  The book is suitable for all phases of education.

Better Than OK: Helping Young People to Flourish at School and Beyond, by Helen Street & Neil Porter (Eds.), Fremantle Press (2014)
This is a book of up-to-date strategies for helping children—from their earliest years into adulthood—and is all about helping kids do more than just survive; these are strategies to help kids flourish. These solution-focused and easy-to-read essays are by 27 of the world’s top experts in positive education. Learn to help children develop a lifelong love of learning with this practical and positive guide.

‘This book is full of strategies for parents and teachers wanting to help young people develop a lifelong love of learning.’ Child Magazine

Special Needs in the Early Years (3rd Ed.) by Sue Roffey and John Parry, Sage (2014)
This highly popular and accessible text contains a wealth of information about how early years staff can work effectively with professionals and parents to help identify and meet a range of special educational needs. This book aims to explore the most effective ways of supporting the child and implementing that support across the child’s day to day life. Now in its third edition Special Needs in the Early Years is fully updated to reflect current policy, and topics covered include:

• Early identification
• Effective communication with parents and carers
• An exploration of the legal context
• How to implement joint planning for identified needs
• A consideration of the issues affecting collaboration

With case-studies, checklists, suggestions for good practice and cartoons to illustrate and enrich the text throughout, this book is structured to be easily accessible and invaluable for those who are in training to work in the early years sector. It will also be of interest to students on foundation and undergraduate students on Early Childhood Education and childcare courses as well as more experienced practitioners.

Raising Beaut Kids: Recipes for Parents on when to say ‘yes’ and how to say ‘no’, by Bill Hansberry and Mark LeMessurier.
If there’s a book that teaches restorative parenting, then this is it. We have captured approaches and strategies that exemplify authoritative parenting, that is parenting that is both firm and fair. The kind of parenting where kids feel in control of their choices because the behavioural boundaries are clearly communicated and lovingly enforced.

It’s cookbook-styled, with each chapter offering a typical problematic scenario that parents often face at home with their children and teens – accompanied with the ingredients that fire things up!

Then we offer a Recipe rescue as a problem solver: a practical way to respond to kids when they serve up tricky behaviours. Our Recipe rescues are designed to help parents steer the behaviour of their kids (and their own behaviour) in more positive directions, within the context of building healthy relationships.

Positive Relationships: Evidence Based Practice across the World by Sue Roffey (Ed.), Springer (2013) is available in both hardback and paperback and as a Kindle edition from Amazon. Relationships are threaded through every aspect of our lives, at home, at school, at work and at play. They are the foundation of our greatest happiness but can also be the cause of our deepest despair. Despite how crucial they are, we may not give much thought to relationships except when they go wrong – whether this is lost intimacy, violence in our communities or toxic working environments.

This highly accessible book takes a positive psychology approach to explore why healthy relationships are important for resilience, mental health and peaceful communities, how people learn relationships and what helps in developing the positive.

There is something here for everyone in both their personal and professional lives – and for students who anticipate working with people in any capacity. Chapters provide a wealth of evidence on promoting optimal interactions between couples, friends, parents and children and community groups. Authors address positive environments at work and at school, mentoring relationships, a new paradigm for relational leadership and how to foster tolerance between people of different faiths. Others explore what is best for children after family breakdown, how to ensure that conflict is more about learning than losing and what might help repair relationships that are damaged. Authors are academics and practitioners from across the world providing both evidence-based practice and practice-based evidence. Examples and case-studies throughout each chapter illustrate what works.

Overarching themes include seeking what we have in common rather than what divides us, fostering positive communication practices, building social capital and what it means to treat each other with respect. The science of positive psychology shows that relationships can offer real meaning and sustainable fulfilment in our lives. Knowing what promotes the positive is the first step to authentic wellbeing.

Changing Behaviour in Schools: Promoting Positive Relationships and Wellbeing, by Sue Roffey, Sage (2011)

Good teachers know that positive relationships with students and school connectedness lead to both improved learning and better behaviour for all students, and this is backed up by research. This book will show you how to promote positive behaviour and wellbeing in your setting. Taking an holistic approach to working with students, Sue provides examples of effective strategies for encouraging pro-social and collaborative behaviour in the classroom, the school and the wider community. Chapters look at the importance of the social and emotional aspects of learning, and ways to facilitate change.

Read the Introduction chapter here. You can also read some reviews of Changing Behaviour here.

The New Teachers Survival Guide to Behaviour  by Sue Roffey, Sage (Second Edition 2011). Foreword by Bill Rogers.

This shows how new teachers might get maximum professional satisfaction by having an authoritative relationship with students. It suggests ways to deal with conflicts and confrontations which do not undermine a sense of self or purpose so that they become just part of the challenge, not the reason to dread Monday mornings. There are also ideas on maximising emotional resources – and looking out for supportive colleagues. See the (2004) chapter on establishing good relationships with your students, You and Your Class. This does not include Nic Watt’s great illustrations but you can see some of his excellent work and contact him here.  You can read the Introduction chapter to the Second Edition here.

Review on Behaviour UK: “This book should be handed to each teacher training graduate before they enter the classroom. Ideally it should be a recommended text whilst they are still training to teach.”
Review in Nurturing Potential 15: “The book is clear, easy to read and full of solid guidance about what to do even in the most difficult situations.”
Hear Sue discussing the book on ABC Radio National’s Life Matters with Julie McCrossin (2MB mp3 file): Life Matters ABC RN
and on ABC702 Sydney (1MB mp3 file): Interview with ABC702 Sydney
Hear Sue sort of discussing the book on 2SM Sydney with a talkback host who only wants her to say that teachers are just there to deliver the curriculum like they did in the good old days. (2MB mp3 file). Interview on 2SM

Helping with Behaviour: Establishing the Positive and Addressing the Difficult, by Sue Roffey, published by Routledge Falmer (2005) in an Early Years series co-produced with Nursery World:
This book shows how to establish good practice in early years settings so that all children are supported in developing positive interactions with one another. Sue explains the features of an ’emotionally literate’ environment in order to meet the needs of more vulnerable children and looks at how to respond effectively when children are distressed and hard to manage, providing plenty of ideas and inspiration throughout. Read the chapter Once again with feeling.
For more detail see the Routledge site or Amazon, who also have a Kindle edition.

 

Whole Child is a program for three primary levels with five themes: Emotions, Getting Along, Family and Community, Citizenship and Human Rights, Health and Wellbeing. Each theme for each level has two posters and a story to stimulate discussion and reflection. The teachers’ resource books (written by Sue Roffey) use guided questions and Circle Time activities to explore meanings for students. It goes to the heart of the individual within their class and their community. It addresses issues that are critical for our young people and their future – and the future of their world. 

 

Working Restoratively in Schools: A Guidebook for Developing Safe & Connected Learning Communities, by Bill Hansberry.
“Working Restoratively in Schools” has been written with an understanding of on-the-ground school discipline from a classroom and school administration level. Suitable from Kindy to Secondary, this guidebook addresses many of the questions that schools have about the ongoing and sustainable implementation of Restorative Justice (RJ). Divided into 4 sections, this guidebook covers a wide range of topics from the basics of RJ, through to school-wide processes for embedding RJ in policy and practice. Written by Bill Hansberry – a classroom teacher and consultant, and drawing on the expertise of other well respected educators and consultants, this is a must-have resource for any school or centre that is serious about developing safer and more connected learning communities.

 

 

Plans for Better Behaviour in the Primary School: Management and Intervention, by Sue Roffey & Terry O’Reirdan, David Fulton (now Taylor & Francis) (2003)
This book has been completely updated and rewritten for the new Primary Behaviour Cookbook.

 

School Behaviour and Families: Frameworks for Working Together, by Sue Roffey, David Fulton (2003)
This book focuses on the relationship that school have with parents and carers, especially in the early stages of behavioural difficulty. It includes chapters written by contributors who have a special expertise in working with parents who harm their children, the carers of children in foster families and residential homes, mobile families and families from diverse communities. It aims to promote the best possible partnership with parents in what is often a sensitive and emotional situation.
“An illuminating exploration of the relationships between schools and families…in particular families in which there the child has behavioural difficulties” Times Educational Supplement

Young Children and Classroom Behaviour: Needs, Perspectives and Strategies by Sue Roffey & Terry O’Reirdan, David Fulton (2001), also published in Spanish (2004) as el comportamiento de los más pequeños, Madrid, Narcea
This book shows how teachers can encourage children to learn positive attitudes and engage in appropriate classroom behaviour from the outset. It considers ways to minimise disruptive behaviour and encourages a range of useful perspectives on behaviour and young children in school. These are supported by practical easy to implement strategies. This book has been ‘highly recommended’ by teachers in a survey for the General Teaching Council. UK.
” Here is an essential text for infant and primary colleagues. It is well written, realistic, practical and useful and readable … overall this is an excellent text, indispensable for infant teachers”– Bill Rogers.

 

Young Friends : Schools and Friendship, by Sue Roffey, Tony Tarrant & Karen Majors, Cassell (1994), also published in Danish (2000) as Er Du Min Ven, Copenhagen, Dansk Psykologisk
This book sets out to explore the different social contexts that children find themselves in at school. It aims to link principles and theory with practical application by providing a positive social climate in an educational setting. Now out of print.