SF – "Biggest Bang For Your Buck"
A school’s 7-year journey to lift wellbeing, culture, and attendance.
Oct 27, 2025
Introduced by Carola Baxmann
Quick, simple, easy and helpful for achieving goals – that’s how Caiden and Rafferty, two pupils at Beechen Cliff School in Bath, UK, summed up their experience of the school’s wellbeing project. These words perfectly describe the story you’re about to see or hear.
This feature presents a remarkable Solution Focus case study for how to go about supporting the wellbeing and mental health of pupils in schools. It was launched in 2018 by Tara Gretton (school counsellor/consultant) and Susie Ingram, then pastoral manager at Beechen Cliff School.
It stands out for: • Being a long-term case study over seven years, thoughtfully designed and realised through small, organic steps • Involving the whole system: pupils, teachers, parents and leadership • Starting with pupil wellbeing, revealing clear benefits for teachers and leading to a cultural shift • Achieving significant measurable improvements in mental health and pupil attendance
The video brings together the voices of the project’s initiators, teachers, the headteacher and pupils. Interviewer John Brooker, co-editor of InterAction, guides us through the story: • How it all began • Challenges over the years • Outcomes – including surprising ones • Key statistics and conclusions • Best hopes for the future
For anyone working in education, leadership, community projects or other organisations, this is more than a case study – it’s an inspiring example of creating lasting change through the solution-focused approach.
For me, watching this video feels like closing the circle. When I started working with young people in conflict with the law, my colleagues and I searched for a method that was appreciative and focused on what they really wanted, rather than what was wrong – something they heard often enough already. Thus, I discovered the solution-focused approach.
More than 30 years later it’s incredibly encouraging to see that a cultural shift in education, supported by Solution Focus, is truly possible! At the end of the video, Annabel a Year 12 pupil at Beechen Cliff School, was asked for advice for those considering SF for their schools. Her answer: “Just go for it.” I’d like to pass that on to you – just go for it and watch the video. It’s really worth your time.
Listen on Soundcloud
Download a synopsis of the case study here
This is a synopsis, based on the transcript.
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.
Susie Ingram
Susie Ingram served as Pastoral Manager at Beechen Cliff School in Bath from 2014, where she helped pioneer a whole-school approach to wellbeing grounded in the Solution Focus method. Working closely with school counsellor Tara Gretton, she co-led the introduction of Solution Focused counselling and communication across staff, students, and parents. Her leadership, and the leadership of teachers, helped create a more open, positive school culture and supported the delivery of over 1,000 counselling sessions each year. Susie’s commitment to compassionate, practical support has made Beechen Cliff a model for promoting mental health and resilience in schools. In their Boarding inspection in 2019, Ofsted described the Mental Health work at Beechen Cliff as “remarkable”. She subsequently became qualified as an IASTI Accredited Solution Practitioner and now works alongside Tara gretton as one of the school’s solution focused counsellors, as well as having a private practice.
Carola Baxmann
InterAction Contributor
SFiO Contributor
Carola Baxmann is a certified psychologist, coach, therapist, and supervisor with more than 30 years of experience helping people find and follow their own paths. She works with individuals, couples, families, teams, and entrepreneurs to move beyond limiting feelings and circumstances towards clarity and confidence.