Targeted Intervention Programmes
At Compass Education, our Behaviour Intervention Leaders deliver a range of targeted intervention programmes designed to support students with specific challenges or areas for development. These small-group, school-based interventions run over six weeks and focus on key topics such as behaviour, emotional regulation, relationships, and decision-making. In line with Recommendation 5 from the EEF’s Improving Behaviour in Schools guidance, these programmes provide a structured, evidence-informed approach for students who need additional support beyond universal strategies. By creating a safe, consistent space to build skills, reflect on choices, and improve self-regulation, our interventions help students to make positive changes that benefit both their learning and their wider wellbeing.
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Anti-social Behaviour
reFRESH
Toxic Masculinity
Anti-Bullying
Raise
Reflect
Self-Regulation
Restart
Aspire
reFRESH
Introduction
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The reFRESH Programme is a six-week, guided early intervention designed for Key Stage 3 pupils who are at risk of being removed from mainstream lessons due to repeated low-level behaviour issues. Delivered in small groups by designated pastoral or inclusion staff, the programme provides a safe, structured space for pupils to reflect, reset, and build new habits for success in school.
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At the heart of the programme is the reFRESH student workbook — a carefully designed resource that supports each session and helps pupils explore who they are, how they respond to challenges, and what they want for their future. Each pupil receives their own copy, which becomes a personal record of growth, filled with creative tasks, scenario-based activities, weekly check-ins, and goal-setting tools.
Used alongside skilled adult guidance, the workbook encourages pupils to take ownership of their behaviour and begin making more positive, informed choices in school.
A Structured Journey of Reflection and Growth
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The reFRESH programme is carefully sequenced over six weeks, guiding pupils from self-awareness to emotional regulation and lasting behaviour change. Each session focuses on a specific theme — such as self-identity, learning triggers, emotional control, and future goals — gradually moving students from reflection to action in a supportive, structured way.
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A Thoughtfully Sequenced Journey
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Sessions blend guided discussion, creative activities, and practical strategies that pupils can apply in real classroom situations. Weekly check-ins and personal targets help students track their progress and take increasing ownership of their behaviour. Delivered in a calm, non-judgemental environment, the programme gives pupils the tools and space to explore challenges and build a more positive path forward. The final session brings everything together, with a creative task that celebrates each pupil’s growth and captures their reFRESH journey.
reFRESH
Understanding Self, Building Confidence
The journey begins with self-awareness. In Week 1, students are guided through a reflective process to explore who they are, how they feel about school, and what they want to change. It’s not about labels or blame — it’s about identifying what’s getting in the way and setting realistic, student-led goals. Through simple but powerful tools, pupils begin to reconnect with their own potential, laying the groundwork for lasting progress.
Each week, students complete a simple self-reflection check-in, helping them track their progress, notice patterns, and set small goals. This regular routine builds self-awareness and encourages honest, meaningful reflection over time.
Navigating Success Together
Students explore their own patterns, build a toolkit for managing anger and frustration, and learn how to stay in the room, even when things feel tough.
Practical activities help pupils think critically about their own responses and plan new ways of coping.
Improving Behaviour, One Lesson at a Time
Much of a student’s school experience hinges on what happens in the classroom. That’s why Weeks 2 and 3 of reFRESH focus on identifying which lessons feel safe or difficult, what triggers negative behaviour, and what support strategies might help.
Tracking Progress and Celebrating Growth
Halfway through the programme and again at the end, students are encouraged to stop, reflect, and take stock of their journey. Using simple tools like self-assessment checklists, goal ladders, and guided questions, they are invited to notice what has changed — however small. By Week 6, they produce a final piece (a letter, a poster, or a creative project) that captures their progress. This is more than a summary — it’s a moment of pride and proof of what’s possible with the right support.
Personalised Lesson Reflection and Target Setting
A key part of the reFRESH programme is helping pupils understand what’s really happening in their lessons. Using a practical, subject-by-subject reflection tool, students explore which lessons feel positive, which are more challenging, and why. They identify specific barriers — whether it’s the environment, the content, or relationships — and begin to spot patterns in their behaviour.
From this, pupils set small, individualised targets they can try the following week, helping them build ownership, improve classroom engagement, and make meaningful progress over time.
More Than Just an Intervention — A Mindset Shift
reFRESH isn’t a one-off fix. It’s a mindset shift that helps young people understand their behaviour, rebuild their confidence, and reimagine what success at school could look like. With integrated podcast content, mentor conversations, and student voice woven throughout, the programme invites learners to be active participants in their own development.
For schools, it provides a consistent, structured, and compassionate approach to intervention — one that works alongside staff rather than around them.
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By the end of the programme, students will have:
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Explored who they are, how they feel about school, and what influences their behaviour
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Identified which lessons and situations help them thrive, and which ones cause difficulties
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Learned to spot their emotional triggers and use self-regulation strategies when things feel tough
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Reflected on their progress and taken pride in even small steps forward
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Understood how behaviour links to learning, and how learning links to their future
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Created a final piece of work that represents their personal reFRESH journey
Emotional Literacy and Regulation at the Core
Week 5 of the programme tackles one of the most important — and often overlooked — aspects of behaviour: emotional understanding. Students learn to identify the emotions behind their actions and gain insight into how those emotions show up in their bodies. From understanding anxiety to recognising early warning signs of anger, students are taught to name and manage their emotions before they escalate. This leads to more control, more calm, and better decisions in the moment.
Understanding Bullying
Understanding, Empathy & Upstanding​
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This six-week programme helps students explore the importance of respect, kindness, and positive relationships both in and out of school. Through small-group sessions, students reflect on the impact of their actions, develop strategies to manage peer pressure, and build the confidence to stand up for themselves and others. The programme focuses on promoting empathy, understanding difference, and making positive choices — supporting young people to contribute to a safe, respectful school environment where everyone feels they belong.
Looking beneath the surface
We support students to consider what might influence certain behaviours — things like peer pressure, frustration, social dynamics, or challenges with self-esteem. It's a space to reflect without judgement.
Moving from bystander to upstander
We also look at the wider context: what it means to be a bystander, and how choosing to speak up or support someone can make a real difference. Students are encouraged to consider the role they want to play.
Key Themes
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Recognising what bullying is, the forms it takes, and how it differs from conflict or accidental harm.
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Exploring how bullying affects mental health, confidence, and relationships—building emotional awareness and compassion.
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Understanding power imbalances and how students can take responsibility for speaking up and supporting others.
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Encouraging students to move from passive observation to active intervention in safe and appropriate ways.
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Teaching when, how, and who to report bullying to—and reducing the stigma around asking for help.
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Promoting behaviours that prevent bullying and create a positive, inclusive school culture.
Understanding the Impact
This small-group programme supports students to explore the impact of negative peer behaviours, including unkindness, exclusion, and conflict. It helps them see how words and actions can affect others — and themselves.
Encouraging Empathy and Accountability
Through discussion, scenario-based tasks, and reflective activities, students develop empathy, learn to take ownership of their actions, and begin to understand the role they play in creating a safe, respectful school environment.
Interactive Resources, All in One Place
To support learning both during and beyond the sessions, students have access to a central Padlet packed with interactive resources. From videos and reflection prompts to discussion tasks and digital activities, the Padlet helps reinforce key messages and encourages students to keep thinking, learning and growing outside the intervention space.
Understanding cyberbullying
Online spaces can feel distant — but the impact is real. We help students explore how digital behaviour, even when hidden behind a screen, can still cause harm. This includes things like sharing private images, exclusion from group chats, posting comments or jokes at someone’s expense, and misusing social media.
Empathy in a digital world
We encourage students to think about the person on the other side of the screen. How would it feel to receive that message? What does respectful communication look like online? Building empathy is key to helping students rethink how they behave and interact digitally.
As part of the programme, students watch short, real-life scenario clips that bring the realities of bullying to life. These videos help students see the emotional and social impact from different perspectives, encouraging empathy and honest discussion. They provide a powerful platform to explore how situations can escalate, the options available to those involved, and how different choices can lead to different outcomes. It’s a chance to talk openly, challenge assumptions, and learn from the experiences of others.
Checking Understanding with Kahoot
To help reinforce key learning, students take part in fun, interactive quizzes using Kahoot. These quick-fire quizzes are designed to check understanding in a low-pressure, engaging way — helping students recap what they've learned, spot any gaps, and build confidence in their knowledge. The quizzes also spark discussion and reflection, making sure the key messages are understood and remembered.
Building Positive Relationships
The programme supports pupils to establish trust with peers and staff. It offers practical strategies for improving communication, managing social dynamics, and making positive choices in day-to-day school life.
Building a Kinder School Culture
By the end of the intervention, students have a clearer understanding of the different types of bullying and the impact it can have on individuals and school communities. They are encouraged to reflect on their own actions, build empathy, and recognise the power of being an upstander — someone who chooses to speak up or step in rather than stand by. The ultimate goal is to help students grow in confidence, take responsibility, and contribute to a kinder, safer and more respectful school environment for everyone.
Knowing Where to Turn for Support
A key part of the programme is making sure students know they're not alone. We introduce a range of brilliant organisations and support services they can turn to — both in school and beyond. Whether it’s talking to a trusted adult, accessing support online, using helplines, or visiting local services, students learn that help is always available in different forms. We empower them to speak up, seek support, and support others to do the same.
Navigating Success Together
Anti-social Behaviour
Introduction
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​The "Anti-Social Behaviour" (ASB) programme is a structured 6-week intervention designed to empower young people to understand, address, and prevent anti-social behaviours. Our aim is to foster a sense of responsibility and positive community engagement, helping students become constructive members of society.
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Navigating Success Together
Delivered through a blend of structured discussion, scenario-based activities, and individual reflection, the intervention gives students the chance to explore what’s driving their behaviour — whether it’s frustration, unmet needs, or a lack of confidence in handling conflict. Sessions are rooted in compassion and consistency, creating a space where young people feel safe enough to be honest and open.
Navigating Success Together
Causes and Impact of ASB:
We delve into the underlying reasons why young people might engage in ASB. This includes exploring social pressures such as the desire to fit in or show off, emotional and mental health needs like anger, anxiety, or a need for attention, and behaviours learned from their environment. The programme also highlights the "ripple effect" of ASB, demonstrating its far-reaching consequences for victims, witnesses, perpetrators, and the wider community, including local authorities.
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This intervention is particularly effective for students at risk of fixed-term or permanent exclusion, or those whose behaviour is putting themselves or others at risk. It helps to reframe their school journey, rebuild confidence, and offer a new way forward — one rooted in understanding, responsibility, and fresh opportunity.
Rather than focusing on blame or punishment, the programme creates a structured, supportive space where students can be honest about their experiences, feelings, and choices. Delivered in small-group format by experienced pastoral or inclusion staff, sessions combine guided discussion, practical scenario-based tasks, and individual reflection. Pupils are encouraged to explore what’s driving their behaviour — whether that’s anger, fear, frustration, or a breakdown in trust — and begin developing the emotional literacy and communication skills to respond differently in future.
Throughout the intervention, students work on identifying personal triggers, managing impulsive reactions, and practising calm, assertive responses to difficult situations. They are supported to set small, realistic goals that build self-control, restore damaged relationships, and re-establish a sense of belonging at school. There’s a strong emphasis on accountability — but also on hope: the belief that change is possible when young people are given the tools, time, and trust to reflect and grow.
Exploring Masculinity
Challenging the Stereotypes
This small-group intervention supports boys to unpack the pressures and expectations often placed on them around masculinity. From “man up” culture to media-driven ideals, the programme helps students recognise and challenge the unhelpful messages they receive about what it means to “be a man.”
This six-week programme helps boys explore what it means to be a positive role model, both in school and beyond. Through small-group sessions, students are encouraged to reflect on the pressures they face, challenge unhelpful stereotypes, and build confidence in expressing themselves in healthy, respectful ways. The programme focuses on developing emotional awareness, positive relationships, and the confidence to make good choices — supporting boys to grow into respectful, resilient young men who contribute positively to their communities.
Objectives:
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• Raise awareness of what masculinity is — and how toxic versions can cause harm.
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• Challenge stereotypes around how boys 'should' act, feel, or treat others.
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• Develop emotional intelligence — including empathy, self-regulation, and expression.
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• Equip boys to safely challenge toxic behaviour in themselves and others.
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• Empower boys to be role models and lead change in their peer groups.
Working alongside students to better inform them, reflect on the pressures they face and the person they want to be.
Real Conversations, Real Impact
Through guided discussions and creative tasks, students explore the unspoken rules that shape how they express themselves — around strength, emotion, identity, and respect. Sessions encourage open conversation about issues like anger, vulnerability, relationships, and peer pressure.
Written and delivered by our Intervention Leaders
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All session are delivered to a targeted cohort over 6 weeks.
Building Emotional Literacy
A key focus is helping boys identify, express, and regulate their emotions — skills that are often underdeveloped due to stigma around emotional expression. Students learn that confidence doesn’t have to mean dominance, and that asking for help is a strength, not a weakness.
Healthy Masculinity, Healthy Relationships
The programme promotes respectful, healthy relationships — with themselves, with others, and with school. It encourages accountability, empathy, and a deeper understanding of how behaviour affects those around them.
Navigating Success Together
Navigating Success Together
Using Video to Bring Ideas to Life
Video-based content is woven throughout the programme to help illustrate key themes in a relatable, engaging way. These clips support learning by showing real-life examples, spotlighting positive male role models from history and the public eye, and challenging unhelpful stereotypes. Whether it’s exploring courage, empathy, or standing up for others, the videos create a powerful springboard for discussion and reflection — helping students connect ideas to the real world.
Working with
Boys’ Impact brings together educational practitioners from across the UK. Established in 2023, the network takes an evidence-based approach to addressing the gap in GCSE outcomes for young men who are eligible for Free School Meals.
We undertake strategic activity in research, pedagogy, policy and practice to support the outcomes of young men in their local educational, social, and geographic contexts.
Creating Change, One Voice at a Time
This intervention offers boys the chance to rewrite the script — to define masculinity on their own terms and build a more authentic sense of self. It’s not about changing who they are; it’s about giving them permission to be their full selves, without fear of judgement.
