Belonging

Aspirations

The BASIS
Model

Safety

Identity

Success

BELONGING: To feel approved of and respected by

others.
Students with a sense of belonging feel as if they belong to a
group which is of importance to them
Teachers should:
Use a variety of individual, paired and group activity
Use collaborative learning techniques to build team skills
Foster an identity within the class by emphasising collective
achievement

ASPIRATIONS: Learners who are unable to work towards

meaningful goals, often lack self-empowerment and appear
aimless. Unable to see alternatives or constructive solutions
they will often be over-dependent on others, be attention
seeking or manipulative. They may be unwilling to or even
unable to acknowledge the consequences of their own actions.
Teachers should:
Use decision making activities
Refer to and use role models from the students own
experience
Analyse past performance, isolate successes and build on
them
Develop regular one to one reviews and individual action
planning sessions

SAFETY: Evidence of learner insecurity can be seen when

students avoid lessons, situations within lessons or show
disproportionate discomfort with new experiences. Distrust,
challenges to to authority, insecurity around friendships and
over reliance on particular classmates are also indicative of
excessive personal anxiety.
Teachers should:
Use trust building activities
Apply ground rules fairly and consistently
Avoid put-downs

IDENTITY: Evidence of weak identity can be seen

when the learner is unduly sensitive to criticism,
resists participating in any activity in which they risk
failure and is unduly anxious to please. Often they will be
awkward when praised, either refuting it when offered or
becoming embarrassed or being unable to recognise their
achievements.
Teachers should:
Give and seek frequent and fair feedback
Find something unique and positive about every student and
let them know it
Provide opportunities for students to express themselves
Develop regular one to one reviews and individual action
planning sessions

SUCCESS: Students who are convinced they are

unlikely to take risks, contribute ideas or offer opinions.
They will frequently lament their own inadequacies and
preface statements with Ill never or I cant. They are the
students who will often appear frustrated or opt out of
challenging activities.
Teachers should:
Teach active listening skills for giving and receiving feedback
Explain the effects of negative self-talk and how to deal with it
Find an area where the learner is guaranteed to to succeed
and promote it
Discourage student comparisons and focus on performance
improvement by breaking down these steps into small,
realisable chunks