Editorial Reflection: Looking Beneath the Surface
As we conclude another week of reflection through the Six Stages Framework (SSF), one theme (Cave of Symptoms) has surfaced repeatedly across schools, workplaces, leadership conversations, SEND assessments, training sessions and public discourse:
Are we responding to symptoms, or are we examining the conditions that produce them?
In complex systems there is often pressure to act quickly. Falling attendance requires a new policy. Behaviour concerns require stronger sanctions. Staff turnover requires recruitment. Complaints require investigation. Performance concerns require closer monitoring.
Action can feel reassuring.
Yet many of the challenges we face are not isolated events. They are signals. They tell us something about the environment in which people are trying to learn, work, belong and thrive.
This week has been a reminder that meaningful change begins when we move beyond asking:
“What is happening?”
and start asking:
“What conditions might be shaping this outcome?”
The distinction may appear subtle, but it fundamentally changes how we understand people, organisations and systems.
The most effective leaders, teachers, practitioners and advocates learn to resist the temptation of quick explanations. They recognise that behaviour, attendance, engagement, performance and even conflict are often symptoms of something deeper.
Curiosity remains one of the most powerful tools for systems change.
Through the SSF Lens: The Journey Towards Belonging
The Six Stages Framework offers a developmental pathway for understanding how individuals, organisations and systems move towards greater inclusion, belonging and transformation.
While the full SSF continuum spans from Stage -6 to Stage +6, the positive developmental journey provides a useful roadmap for leaders seeking to create cultures where people can genuinely thrive.
| Stage | Focus | Key Question |
|---|---|---|
| +1 Emerging Awareness | Recognising difference and inequity | What am I not seeing? |
| +2 Discomfort and Awakening | Challenging assumptions and biases | Could my understanding be incomplete? |
| +3 Developing Understanding | Learning from evidence and lived experience | What can I learn from others? |
| +4 Engaged and Reflective | Applying learning in everyday practice | How do my actions affect belonging? |
| +5 Systems Thinker and Advocate | Examining structures, policies and culture | What in the system needs to change? |
| +6 Transformational Leader | Creating sustainable cultural change | How do we build belonging for everyone? |
The early stages focus largely on personal awareness and understanding.
The later stages require something more challenging.
They ask us to move beyond individual behaviour and examine the architecture of the system itself.
At these stages the questions become:
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Who benefits from the way things currently operate?
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Who struggles to belong?
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What assumptions are embedded within our systems?
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What barriers have become normalised?
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What experiences remain unheard?
The journey towards belonging is not simply about changing minds.
It is about redesigning conditions.
Escaping the Cave of Symptoms
One of the recurring metaphors within the SSF is the Cave of Symptoms.
The cave represents a place where organisations become preoccupied with visible outcomes while overlooking the conditions beneath them.
We see what is happening.
But we fail to understand why.
| What We See | What May Be Happening Beneath the Surface |
|---|---|
| Poor attendance | Anxiety, bullying, unmet needs, disconnection |
| Behaviour incidents | Communication difficulties, overwhelm, lack of safety |
| High staff turnover | Lack of trust, poor leadership relationships |
| Complaints | People feeling unheard or excluded |
| Underachievement | Barriers to access, belonging or opportunity |
| Low engagement | Lack of purpose, voice or connection |
The challenge is that symptoms often demand immediate attention.
They are measurable.
They appear on dashboards, reports and performance reviews.
Conditions are less visible.
They require listening.
They require reflection.
They require relationships.
And they often require us to question assumptions that have gone unchallenged for years.
The Strategic Failure of the Sanction Response
One of the clearest examples can be seen in discussions around attendance.
When attendance falls, systems often respond with increasing pressure.
More letters.
More meetings.
More consequences.
Yet through the SSF lens, attendance is rarely just about attendance.
The attendance figures tell us what is happening.
They do not tell us what it feels like to be the child experiencing the situation.
Imagine a pupil who has stopped attending school.
What does it feel like to walk through those gates each morning?
Do they feel safe?
Do they have friends?
Do they feel understood?
Do they believe they belong?
Do they trust the adults around them?
The symptom is absence.
The condition may be disconnection.
And when we mistake the symptom for the cause, we risk making the problem worse.
This principle applies equally to organisations.
When staff become disengaged, when conflict emerges, when turnover rises or innovation declines, the visible problem is rarely the whole story.
The question remains:
What conditions might be shaping this outcome?
Psychological Safety: The Foundation We Often Miss
Many of this week’s discussions, whether in schools, workplaces or leadership settings, returned to the importance of psychological safety.
Psychological safety is not simply about comfort.
It is about creating environments where people feel safe enough to:
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Ask questions.
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Admit mistakes.
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Challenge assumptions.
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Raise concerns.
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Offer different perspectives.
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Bring their authentic selves into the room.
Without psychological safety, people begin protecting themselves.
When that happens:
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Feedback becomes limited.
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Learning slows.
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Innovation declines.
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Problems remain hidden.
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Trust deteriorates.
Psychological safety is therefore not a “soft” issue.
It is a foundational condition for learning, wellbeing, inclusion and organisational effectiveness.
In many ways, psychological safety is the bridge between awareness and belonging.
Without it, people comply.
With it, people contribute.
Compliance and Belonging: Not the Same Thing
One of the most important distinctions this week has been the difference between compliance and belonging.
Compliance asks:
“Are people following the rules?”
Belonging asks:
“Do people feel seen, valued and able to contribute?”
An organisation may have:
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Policies.
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Equality statements.
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Training programmes.
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Diversity awards.
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Inclusion charters.
and still struggle to create genuine belonging.
This is because compliance is largely about structures.
Belonging is about lived experience.
People know when they belong.
They know when their voice matters.
They know when they can contribute without fear.
They know when their identity is respected.
This is why the SSF often encourages a different question:
If I spent a day in your organisation, what would I see, hear and feel?
The answer tells us far more than any policy document.
Quote of the Week
“An organisation can be perfectly compliant and still fail the belonging test.”
Building Bridges of Empathy
One of the privileges of psychological practice is the opportunity to hear stories that are often hidden beneath the surface.
This week I found myself reflecting on how easily systems can misunderstand people.
A child who appears disengaged may be carrying anxiety.
A parent who appears angry may be carrying years of frustration and disappointment.
A member of staff who remains silent during meetings may not lack ideas. They may lack confidence that their voice will be heard.
A leader who appears defensive may be struggling with uncertainty or fear of getting things wrong.
The more we listen, the more we discover that human behaviour often makes sense once we understand the context.
Empathy does not mean lowering expectations.
It means improving understanding.
And understanding is often the first step towards meaningful change.
Field Notes from Practice
Several themes emerged across Educational Psychology, SEND, leadership consultation and quality assurance work this week.
Strengthening Voice
Whether working with children, families or staff teams, meaningful change begins when people feel heard.
The most effective systems create opportunities for participation rather than assuming they already understand people’s experiences.
Moving Beyond Description
Good assessment is not simply about describing difficulties.
It is about understanding why those difficulties may be occurring and identifying the conditions that support growth and success.
Linking Outcomes to Conditions
The strongest recommendations are those that connect aspirations, outcomes and provision to a clear understanding of the individual’s environment.
Inclusion becomes more effective when we stop asking:
“What’s wrong with this person?”
and begin asking:
“What does this person need in order to thrive?”
SSF Developments This Week
This week also saw continued development of the SSF Knowledge Hub.
The aim is to create a growing archive of reflections, podcasts, articles and practical resources that support schools, organisations and leaders on their journey towards greater inclusion and belonging.
Recent developments have included:
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New reflections exploring school attendance through the SSF lens.
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Resources focused on psychological safety and workplace culture.
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Podcasts examining empathy, bias and belonging.
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Continued development of training materials linked to the Six Stages Framework.
As the collection grows, so too does our opportunity to learn from one another and share examples of meaningful change.
Looking Ahead
The challenge for leaders is not simply becoming more inclusive.
It is developing the capacity to:
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Hold complexity.
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Remain curious.
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Examine assumptions.
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Build psychological safety.
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Listen deeply.
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Design environments where people can genuinely belong.
Systems change begins when we stop asking how to fix people and start asking how to improve the conditions around them.
The symptoms tell us what is happening.
The conditions help us understand why.
Reflection Question
When you encounter a challenge, concern or conflict, how often do you focus on the visible outcome rather than the conditions that may have produced it?
And what evidence would convince you that people genuinely belong in your organisation—not simply that inclusion policies exist?
Part of the SSF Weekly Reflections Series – exploring inclusion, belonging, leadership, psychological safety and systems change through the Six Stages Framework.
Date: Friday 19 June 2026
Theme: The Cave of Symptoms – Moving Beyond Surface Explanations Towards Systems Change
Check out more weekly reflections
Through The SSF Lens Linkedin Newsletter 1
Dr Shungu Hilda M’gadzah
Creator of the Six Stages Framework
Building Bridges of Empathy
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