David Game College: Elevating Conflict Management and Risk Preparedness
David Game College undertook CPI's Breaking Up Fights™ training to develop staff skills in conflict management. This initiative was driven by the need to effectively manage potential conflict and ensure a safe environment for their diverse group of students.
Impact of CPI Training
- Enriched staff confidence and preparedness: CPI's training equipped staff with the confidence and skills to effectively manage conflicts.
- Improved risk assessment and conflict prevention: The practical techniques made the risk assessment process more accessible and developed the college’s ability to conduct proactive lesson-learned reviews, preventing future conflicts
- Strengthened partnerships: The college has strengthened its partnerships with other institutions through sharing best practices
Situation
David Game College, a private and independent institution located in the heart of London, offers a broad range of further education programmes. As a highly trusted sponsor of the Home Office, the college also includes the Kensington Academy of English, which provides English language and cultural immersion programmes. The college operates a boarding house for students under 18, offering accommodation and welfare support for both international and local students.
Despite being a well-regarded institution, David Game College faced challenges related to the potential for conflicts among students, particularly within the boarding environment where students spend extended periods in close proximity. This concern was brought to the forefront following an incident at a local sports centre involving two students, which underscored the need for staff to be equipped to manage and de-escalate such situations effectively.
While physical altercations are rare, the college recognised the critical importance of preparing staff to identify early signs of conflict, manage risks strategically and intervene when necessary. CPI training, recommended by a partner institution, was seen as essential for enhancing the college's preparedness for various potential conflicts, including those influenced by global sociopolitical issues.
As part of this initiative, Remi Ferguson, Head of Welfare and Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead, along with a house parent who is closely involved in the boarding house, undertook CPI's Breaking Up Fights™ Training.
‘It really is about preparedness for us, but having a plan so that inspectorates can also see that we have thought about how these issues could impact the student body and what planning is done to mitigate the issues’
Remi Ferguson - Head of Welfare and Deputy Designed Safeguarding Lead
Outcomes
CPI's Breaking UP Fight™: Intervention Skills Training equipped staff with the confidence and skills needed to intervene in high-pressure situations, improving overall preparedness for potential conflicts.
The practical, experience-based approach of the training, particularly the effective and non-threatening intervention techniques, was highly valued, making the risk assessment process more accessible and relevant. The training also enhanced the college’s ability to conduct thorough lesson-learned reviews after incidents, fostering a proactive approach to preventing future conflicts.
Additionally, the college has strengthened its partnerships with other institutions through sharing best practice. The college is committed to maintaining consistency in their training programmes to ensure a safe environment for students.
Implementation
Now Remi and his colleague have attended CPI's Breaking UP Fights™ Training the focus will be on the safeguarding team, prioritising training for those staff members most likely to encounter high-risk situations, such as heads of school, heads of services and house parents. These individuals are present more frequently than teaching staff and play a key role in managing and de-escalating conflicts.
The college aims to ensure consistency across all levels of management by eventually expanding the training to include teaching staff and other personnel involved in disciplinary processes. This approach will help standardise responses to incidents, ensuring that everyone follows the same procedures for physical intervention, which is crucial for both staff and student safety.
Additionally, the training has highlighted the need to develop a formal physical intervention policy, moving beyond just reasonable force to include guidelines on how that force should be applied.
The college also plans to adapt the CPI strategies for managing emotions and anxious behaviour into resources that can be shared with students, enabling them to support each other and reinforcing a consistent approach to conflict management throughout the school.
Future Perspectives
Inspired by the CPI's Breaking Up Fights™ training, David Game College plans to develop internal resources to better prepare the wider college community for handling physical altercations. These plans include creating prompt sheets with de-escalation scripts and effective command words for staff to use during incidents.
The CPI Decision-Making Matrix from the training will be integrated into the college's standard risk assessments, both dynamically and as part of routine procedures such as debriefs after incidents. Additionally, there will be efforts to raise student awareness about staff responses in high-pressure situations, fostering better understanding and support within the school community. These strategies will be implemented across both frontline and executive levels.
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