Shiplake College is proud to be a Girls on Board member school, an initiative developed by former headteacher Andrew Hampton. The College is licensed to use the approach and a number of teachers are trained to be Girls on Board Champions, to help girls, their parents and their teachers, to understand the complexities and dynamics of girl friendships.
This evidence-based approach empowers girls to find their own solutions to 'friendship turbulence'. Andrew's book When Girls Fall Out builds on the work of Rosalind Wiseman in Queen Bees and Wannabes.
Central to the model is that all girls need at least one trusted and reliable friendship at school, otherwise they are 'at sea' and this has an impact on all pupils within that year group. The Girls on Board model recognises that the girls themselves are usually the only ones who can solve complex friendship issues.
This reflective approach resonates with our promotion of kindness at the College and challenges the assumption that teachers and parents often have that one party has done something 'wrong' and that there needs to be an 'investigation' and some 'justice'. The girls also explore the different type of behaviours that they can display, and they are unanimous in their assertion that adult intervention can often make matters worse.
The College delivers Girls on Board sessions within school time and aims to assist girls in making wise choices and decisions when dealing with any friendship issues. One thing that is stressed during the sessions is the clear distinction between 'friendship turbulence' and bullying; if they feel it is the latter, they know to talk to a teacher immediately.
Andrew Hampton has also published a companion book, Working with Boys, and we look forward to embedding this work at the College as boys handle issues in different ways than girls.
To learn more about the Girls on Board approach, including the research behind the approach, check out their website and also read the Parent Guide available below.
Girls on Board Parent Guide