Schools that put character and virtues-led education at the heart of their community ensure that pupils will ‘do the right thing, even when no-one is looking’, says Tom Haigh


Good character education isn’t just about enabling pupils to thrive in life. Character education, properly embedded, is the key to unlocking meaningful and sustainable school improvement.

Low staff turnover, high levels of attainment, a reduction in exclusions, improved attendance and increases in admissions are all, in my experience, features of schools that have a successful character programme.

It is impossible not to have exceptional behaviour in a school whose culture is values-driven and where character is woven into the fabric of school life.

Positive behaviours and attitudes in a “school of character” are virtues-led, and not sanctions-driven. Pupils act respectfully and “do the right thing”. This is not because they want to avoid a punitive sanction, but because their words, actions and conduct are guided by an inner desire to act with honesty, kindness and integrity.

Schools that have earned the Association for Character Education’s Schools of Character Award continually report significant drops in behaviour incidents and exclusions.

Explicitly linking behaviour (both good and bad) back to specific character virtues is key. Building a rewards system based on character allows pupils to be praised in relation to the virtue they have demonstrated.

In schools of character, pupils aren’t just recognised for “trying hard in maths” or given a merit for “improving their test scores”, students are rewarded for demonstrating resilience and perseverance in their studies or empathy and compassion when supporting fellow students.

Students who stand up and speak in assembly might be rewarded for demonstrating courage. Pupils are rewarded not just for the action but the virtue that guided the behaviour.

This positive reinforcement, when done consistently, provides the school with a shared and common language around character. Similarly, when there are transgressions in behaviour the pupil isn’t reprimanded for “disrupting the lesson”, instead there is a conversation about the need to develop greater levels of respect and consideration for others.

Of course all schools need sanctions, but they shouldn’t be the primary mechanism to enforce good behaviour. We need to develop children of good character so they “do the right thing even when no-one is looking”.

Schools with a set of values which permeate everything including curriculum, assemblies, recruitment and CPD have, in my experience, high levels of staff retention. Relationships within schools of character are intentionally cultivated and underpinned by respect and kindness. In short, they are schools with happy and motivated staff, who want to play their part in driving the school forward.

This can only occur if the school has staff who are not just outstanding at teaching their subject, but also demonstrate the very virtues they are aspiring to develop in their pupils.

Schools of character will always have a recruitment process which not only assesses the candidates’ ability to perform in the role but will also provide insights into their character. Moral dilemmas and ethical-based scenarios are often an effective way to achieve this. How the candidate explains the decision they would come to is often more revealing than the actual decision itself.

Using the school’s appraisal system to enable a formalised process for staff to reflect on their own character is highly effective in enabling staff to become good role models for the pupils. Facilitating 360-degree feedback so colleagues can provide insights on the extent to which staff demonstrate the school’s values can be extremely valuable when done well.

A number of schools have even introduced the same character reward process for staff that they have for students. Positive recognition of when the school’s values are “lived” by staff can be both fun and very effective.

In a recent visit to a school of character I heard a pupil ask: “Sir, why have you got a badge for showing courage?” The conversation that followed, whereby the teacher had the humility to share that he found leading a recent whole-school assembly extremely challenging, and so was required to demonstrate courage, was a perfect example of why this approach is so effective.

Children and young people will often “do as you do, not always do as you say”, which is why role modelling good character is so important.

Intellectual virtues are critical to improving attitudes to learning and overall attainment. Growing in virtues such as curiosity, reflection, autonomy, grit and perseverance lead to pupils developing the right habits for learning. The drive and determination to learn then comes from the pupils themselves.

Schools such as Steyning Grammar in West Sussex now only measure characteristics that relate to learning, instead of assessing attainment, for certain year groups. Their approach has shown that this is a more effective way to predict GCSE outcomes than mock exams.

School improvements experienced through the embedding of a deliverable and explicit character programme soon infuses a school’s reputation. Schools of character consistently refer to significant increases in their admissions. Parents want to send their children to schools where the focus goes beyond academic attainment and enables the flourishing of their child. Incorporating character into school reports, inviting parents to student character award events, and writing parent newsletters through the lens of character, are all good first steps in collaborating with parents on the school’s character programme.

School improvement through character is a concept that will be explored by a panel of experts at the annual conference of the Association for Character Education later this month. I hope to see you there.

  • Tom Haigh is chief executive officer at the Association for Character Education.


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