Inspiration from ACE Interrupters in Great Britain
Eileen Shannon – the children’s advocate Head teacher, Victoria Drive Primary Pupil Referral Unit, London In most careers there are moments of change, forks in the road or choices to be made. With Eileen Shannon, the turning point came when a friend of her 15-year old son was fatally stabbed on Oxford Street in London. “He was murdered, it made the news,” she says quietly. “My son carried his coffin, it was pretty grim.” In the aftermath of the stabbing, local boys were repeatedly stopped and searched by police. “My son was articulate and when he was stopped and searched, he’d be asking the reasons why.” What worried Eileen was the plight of the boys who couldn’t express themselves appropriately. “My son’s friends were reacting, fighting back and then they would be charged for fighting a police officer. I knew if we didn’t help these children find their voice and be articulate, they would get themselves into more trouble.” This unfortunate series of events prompted Eileen to re-consider her priorities as a teacher. Having taught in mainstream education for over 25 years, she decided to switch her focus to helping children with complex needs. After a few false starts, she joined a pupil referral unit (PRU) because its model was designed to keep the children enrolled at their own primary schools, rather than channelling them into a specialist school. “At a PRU, we can keep them in the mainstream,” she says, “we address their mental health needs.” Eileen started at the Victoria Drive Primary PRU, based in Wandsworth, London, in 2010. She became an acting head in 2015 and was promoted to head teacher a year later. The PRU works with pupils referred from local primary schools, either on-site at Victoria Drive or in their own setting. The children have experienced social, emotional and behavioural difficulties and are sometimes at risk of exclusion from their schools. Many have been affected by domestic violence, gang affiliation or knife crime. “I’m driven because I don’t like what’s happening to young people in London and growing up in London is very tough,” Eileen says. “I grew up in Glasgow – you think Glasgow is tough? London is tougher.” Calm, softly spoken and a little formidable, Eileen has earned plaudits for her tenacious leadership and her work to keep pupils safe. A 2017 letter from the educational inspectorate, Ofsted, judged the Victoria Drive PRU to be “outstanding”. The unit has assimilated an awareness of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) into its general approach to dealing with childhood trauma, augmenting techniques such as cognitive behavioural therapy and early intervention programmes. “My primary concern is the child,” says Eileen. “Every case is complex, but there will be absolutely ACEs involved somewhere as part of the complexity.” As an example, she mentions a child who is with the unit full-time. The boy told a mentor at his school that he had been physically chastised at home, an allegation “… Every case is complex, but that was rejected by his mother. During the summer holidays there will be absolutely ACEs last year, the family flew abroad, before returning to the UK involved somewhere as part of without him. “He is now back,” says Eileen, “but he is more the complexity …” troubled and traumatised than ever.” Over the years, the unit has built up a reputation as a trusted resource in the community, supporting diverse pupils with complex needs, but also coaching mainstream teachers on how to 16
