7 June 2026·7 min read·For teacher, principal
The drift
Students in crisis rarely arrive in crisis. They drift there over weeks, and the drift is visible if anyone is watching. The problem is that no one is assigned to watch.
The early signs
A drop in handwriting quality. A new pattern of arriving late. The student who used to sit in the middle now sits at the edge. The previously responsive child who now answers in monosyllables. None of these is alarming on its own. Two together, sustained for a fortnight, is a signal.
A simple system
Assign every form tutor fifteen named students. Every Friday, two minutes per student: anything different this week? Write a single line. Most weeks the answer is no. The week the answer is yes, you have caught the drift early enough to matter.
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