Promote Children and Young People’s Positive Behaviour

Learning Outcomes Level 2 Level 3 Know the policies and procedures of the setting for promoting children and young people’s positive behaviour Be able to support positive behaviour Be able to respond to inappropriate behaviour Level 3 Understand policies and procedures for promoting children and young people’s positive behaviour Be able to support positive behaviour Be able to manage inappropriate behaviour Be able to respond to challenging behaviour Be able to contribute to reviews of behaviour and behaviour policies

What policies and procedures have an impact on behaviour? Behaviour policy Health and safety policy Child protection policy Attendance policy Anti-bullying policy Code of conduct Class rules Who writes the rules?

Why do we need guidelines? Understand how to behave Be aware of boundaries What is expected of them Manage their own behaviour Build self esteem Consistency Take responsibility

How do we reinforce positive behaviour?

In small groups discuss the strategies and sanctions used for inappropriate/challenging behaviour in your school and feedback to the rest of the class

Using your school’s behaviour policy, write a reflective account to explain both your responsibilities and the school’s procedures Any school rules or code of conduct Rewards and sanctions used within the school Your responsibilities under the policy

How do children in your school address teaching assistants and other support staff? Do they use first names or surnames? Do you think this makes any difference to the way in which children in the school perceive the responsibilities of support staff?

Research shows that we need to be given six positives for every negative in order to balance this out. B. F. Skinner (1940s) suggested that children will respond to praise and so will repeat behaviour that gives them recognition or praise. This may take the simple form of verbal praise, which is very powerful, or stamps, stickers or merit marks. Children who receive praise or attention for positive behaviour, such as kindness towards others, are more likely to repeat this behaviour.

How do we become a positive role model?

behaving well or trying hard Ensure pupils know why Notice when pupils are behaving well or trying hard Ensure pupils know why they are being rewarded Promoting positive behaviour Ensure directions are unambiguous Use positive recognition such as merit marks Build trust with all pupils to maintain positive relationships Follow up on important issues Model expected behaviour

Managing inappropriate behaviour Intervene early so that the problem does not escalate Repeat directions calmly rather than reacting to what the child is saying or doing Send for additional help if needed, especially if there are health and safety issues Make eye contact with the child who is misbehaving, so that they see an adult is aware of what they are doing Relate any negative comments to the behaviour, rather than the child – ‘not a sensible choice’ not ‘you are not a sensible boy’ Remove items that are being used inappropriately Use proximity; move closer to a child who is misbehaving so that they are aware of an adult presence. Use time out if older children are consistently misbehaving and need to be given some time to calm down before returning to a situation Use an agreed scale of sanctions of which all in the school community are aware

Apply rules and boundaries consistently and fairly, according to age, needs and abilities Age and ability of children (behaviour will be affected by their intellectual development and maturity) Needs - physical stage (puberty) - social and emotional stage (relate to others)

The sorts of behaviour or discipline problems that should be referred to others There are some situations in which support staff should always refer to others. These are if: Pupils are a danger to themselves or others You are dealing with a difficult situation on your own You are not comfortable when dealing with a pupil Pupils are not carrying out your instructions and you are not in control of the situation

Supporting children and young people to review their behaviour It is likely you will be asked to support them in reviewing their behaviour and consider why they have acted inappropriately. In many schools, the programme of restorative justice is used to ask pupils to sit down with the person with whom they have had the conflict in order to help them to learn to understand how the impact of what they do affects others. Restorative justice – programme in which pupils are encouraged to consider the impact of their actions or words on others.

Supporting children and young people to identify and agree behaviour targets You may be asked to work alongside the teacher or SENCO as well as the child concerned to devise targets for behaviour support plans or IEPs If an older child does not have a specific behaviour support plan, it might be helpful to draw up a contract for behaviour so they can recognise and proactively take responsibility for their behaviour

Provide feedback on the effectiveness of behaviour management strategies to inform policy review and development Evaluation of behaviour strategies should be an ongoing process Should be involved with the teacher and children to review class rules You should also be involved in the review of behaviour management, which the school should undertake with all staff when reviewing the behaviour policy

Learning Outcomes Level 3 Understand policies and procedures for promoting children and young people’s positive behaviour Be able to support positive behaviour Be able to manage inappropriate behaviour Be able to respond to challenging behaviour Be able to contribute to reviews of behaviour and behaviour policies