T - rack the speaker or board R - eady to focus A - rms folded, elbows on the desk C - hairs tucked in K - eep a straight back Students are in TRACK at the end of a countdown from 5. They are never in TRACK for longer than 5 minutes and usually a lot less.

1. Foreground - we trialled it in SLT lessons, we visited other schools, we asked some teachers to experiment with it to find issues, we spoke to teachers about it. It's vital that any big new initiative isn't dropped from the sky on INSET day.

2. Videos - we took lots of videos before the launch so that we could demonstrate exactly what it looked like with real classes. I took teacher POV videos to test if teachers could spot students not in TRACK who would need a reminder.

3. Planning - it's vital to go through the technique step by step. Really consider the details. Why arms folded? Why on the desk? What happens if we lose that bit? Tracking what? Do teachers say TRACK? Is there a countdown?

4. INSET - present with videos, pictures and total clarity. Consider all the questions that there could be. What about practical subjects? Canteen? Main hall? Line ups? Beginning of lessons? Sanctions? Rewards? Get ahead of as many issues as you can.

5. Year 7 - when year 7 come in, it's the first opportunity to get all staff on board. We asked all tutors to use it in their sessions. Year 7 will do what they are asked with no pushback or habits to change.

6. We deliver 'student training' to whole year groups in the sports hall on our teaching techniques. All staff watched us train the new Year 7 in TRACK. They saw the language and the expectations. A vital step in modelling the standard.

7. We then trained all other year groups on their first day back in the hall. The message is: 'SLT mean this - they are walking this walk.' The students see TRACK being used by all their peers and they immediately learn that it is a norm.

8. When teachers then use TRACK it is linked to the whole year group training in the hall. There is no 'Ah miss do we have to? Sir doesn't make us.'

9. Learning walks - I did 15k steps a day this week. Whenever I was free I toured the school, observing lessons, providing prompts where needed, speaking to students who were being resistant, but mostly just being in awe of my amazing colleagues.

10. And it wasn't just me - everyone was supporting each other in getting this behavioural routine off the ground. Our head was touring regularly and communicating on the wrinkles and issues. Staff received a briefing on Wednesday and further written guidance on Friday.

As a footnote - I know the arguments that @PhilBeadle et al put forward against this routine. When you actually use it and see it in action, it fades into the background. The cogs of the lesson suddenly turn that bit faster and more smoothly.

Students inherently understand that paying attention is a pretty good idea and this helps make that happen, although it is still a proxy. It helps leaders take a quick temperature of the school by simply looking into classes. It helps teachers know who isn't following.

When you see it genuinely embedded and happening it becomes a non-event, an obvious improvement to the efficiency of teaching a group of kids. When you add it to ruler reading (which we also launched) the effect is astonishing.

Final footnote - you also need a great head with a positive staff culture. None of this works if you're a bell end who is nasty to your staff, focuses on irrelevant bs or can't walk the walk. I've worked for heads who couldn't launch a dinghy, let alone a technique like this.

@ianwhite21 I teach in a school where structure, expectations & consistency have led to rapid improvements, but do we really want to send our kids to schools where we’re even dictating *precisely* how they sit? Is that what people want for their kids? Feels like a massive over-reach to me.

@RJP_Writes Some ppl feel that way. But on seeing it, it feels like a simple routine. We already control their bodies (sit up straight, don't fiddle with that, line up here). Not sure why folding arms is a massive over-reach?

@ianwhite21 There are plenty of things I'm uncomfortable with here but I'm very impressed with all the preparation you put in to this. Nice comment about not dropping this on an INSET day with a 'right, this is what we are going to do from now on.'

@ianwhite21 Thanks for sharing. There’s a lot to learn from your thorough implementation of this! It’s far easier to announce a new thing via a one-time PowerPoint but it’s not going to last that way.

@ianwhite21 @af_english123 Are there reasonable adjustments made for autistic students who struggle with eye contact? The preparation sounds superb - I imagine much easier for staff to adopt if SLT have spent time refining it.

@ianwhite21 @Mr_Raichura Absolutely brilliant!