SFiO
The InterAction Collection
OF SOLUTION FOCUS PRACTICE IN ORGANISATIONS · Vol 12 - 2020 Edition

"Focus on the 80%"

Case Study - Impact of Solution Focus in a UK school

May 5, 2024

Tara Gretton


Introduced by Anna-Julia Szabo

In this interview, we see how the Solution Focus approach has changed the culture of a school. There is a focus on enabling students and staff to have meaningful conversations, concentrating on possibilities and solutions and what is already working.

Tara Gretton introduced the Solution Focus approach in this school. Staff and students were very welcoming, full of energy with a hunger for new possibilities for useful change. They quickly embraced the new ideas and found their own ways to apply them.

It is impressive to hear how the staff in this school:

  • Rate the well-being and the mental health of their students very highly
  • Believe that every interaction they have with another person can make a difference to that person’s day or even their lives
  • Work actively on the culture of their school, not doubting the positive effects this will have.

James Oldham and Susie Ingram talk about the school, the work they do and the impact of solution focused tools and assumptions in such a passionate way, giving their ideas on what is essential when you implement SF in any organisation.

We also hear from Felix Selwood a year 12 student about his thoughts on enabling students to talk together in a solution focused way and how:

  • This interaction makes change possible
  • You could apply it to any other organisation.

Felix is convinced that it will help people in any situation to do better work and have a more positive outlook on life.

It is refreshing to hear about all the change the staff and students are making possible and the impact it has on everyone in this school. Enjoy!

Listen on Soundcloud


Tara Gretton
Tara Gretton
InterAction Contributor
SFiO Contributor

Tara Gretton is the founder of ‘Solution Revolution’, is an accredited Solution Focus practitioner, consultant, trainer and social worker. Tara has extensive experience of using the Solution Focus approach with children, young people and their families across Bath, Bristol and Wiltshire in schools and in the community supporting them to achieve their best hopes.

Anna-Julia Szabo
Anna-Julia Szabo
InterAction Contributor
SFiO Contributor

Anna-Julia Szabo lives in Basel, Switzerland. She was fortunate enough to grow up in a family where solution focused conversations were normal. She now works as a teacher in primary school, applying SF in school with the children, parents and colleagues.

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