Phrases to avoid for a better school culture
28 August 2026
If you work in an educational setting, you might find yourself saying things like “these children are feral!”
While it may seem innocent enough and often be said with a smile Jarlath O’Brien,
Director of school improvement for a multi-academy trust of special schools in the South of England and the author of books on school leadership, behaviour and SEND, recently explained why using words like ‘feral’ to describe children can be harmful to school culture.
He explained that developing a positive culture within a school requires ‘careful planning’ and ‘deliberate, persistent implementation’, without which poor culture can ‘grow by itself like mould in a damp corner’.
O’Brien shared five examples of expressions his teaching team will be disregarding from their shared language as they prepare to open a new 125-place school for children with social, emotional and mental health needs.
‘He’s a feral child’ – O’Brien explains that this phrase ignores the possibility that a child may have more complex difficulties with self-regulation or gaps in social development which need to be addressed.
‘She’s low-ability’ – The author says this limits expectations of what a child might achieve and that it is important to benchmark against the child’s own progress rather than comparing them to other children.
‘They’re just doing it for attention’ – The SEND specialist explains that William Powers’ perceptual control theory perspective provides insight into why children are disruptive. The theory suggests that “instead of assuming that brains control behaviour based on sensory stimuli, it makes more sense to assume that brains adapt behaviour to control what stimuli it gets from the world”.
‘He kicked off’ - The director of school improvement says this can characterise what is a complex emotional response as a child making a fuss or choosing to misbehave.
‘They’re pushy parents’ – O’Brien believes the label “pushy parent” attributes a negative characteristic to parents who are simply advocating strongly for their child. He adds “If we understand that is where they are coming from then we have a better chance of working with them in partnership to resolve issues”
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