Most genuine solutions are 'inschool solutions'

The reason for this is very simple:

• Solutions are about improving success and well-being for all concerned and thus act as attractors for those involved
  
• Inschool because there is nowhere else that solutions can be constructed. Useful ideas and resources may come from elsewhere

In social situations such as schools the relationship between cause and effect is inconsistent: unlike engineering contexts, it is not readily possible to work backwards from the problem to its cause. Even when we can, the cause of the problem is likely to be elsewhere, at another time and too difficult for the school address, eg, parent drug addiction or mental illness.

The alternative is to search for what works in the here and now: a solution. Thus, despite our love of ‘problem solving’ it is usually much more productive to focus on solutions than on problems.