YEAR 1 REACH project inquiry goal: Building positive relationships with my/our parents to support behaviour and learning difficulties

How are we going to ‘make a positive change? We have come up with our 3 expectations that suit the needs of the kinds of behaviours we have in our classes. These are displayed and referred to in our classrooms daily We keep these expectation short and sharp! CONSISTENCY is key!

Our 3 expectations and when-then strategy We need to model these expectations, teach it, just like a reading group Teacher inquiry – What are we going to do as teachers? We need to use more positive statements. √ We are now actively using the when- then strategy with positive statements in mind. Putting a negative spin on it looses its effectiveness- tone is key. I teach specific behaviour expectations I regularly teach/reteach specific behaviour expectations I am using positive opposites to redirect I am praising students for positive behaviour I am regularly reinforcing the positive behaviour I am consistent in my expectations. I maintain positive language and tone when using when – then

Our 3 expectations and when-then strategy Things to keep in mind when using when-then strategy appropriately Limit detail- make it clear and precise once. If you go back and get too wordy, meaning for the child is lost. They heard you the first time. State your expectation and walk away/turn shoulder - Simply say “Thank you” when your request has been done straight away. - Randomly provide a small treat or assign “special time” with you in recognition of making good choices, we are doing with our token. Avoid threatening consequences Assign a consequence that you have found effective in the past and that is ‘fair’ or appropriate for the behaviour/child.

How the team are going with using the 3 expectations and the when-then strategy Ashley with William- “When you complete your 4 math activities then you can have your red box”. William tried to argue, Ashley then turned, and says non-negotiable. Lisa with Daemon- “When you tape your ripped up work then you can do the science activity with Julia”. Lisa and T.A were calm, they gave the expectation, they turned their shoulder and didn’t give into his manipulation. Once Daemon observed the other children doing the science and knew Lisa was calm, not worked up and gave short and consistent expectations he then taped work back together Charlotte with Eli- Eli was struggling to share his reading tumble activity wit Manu. Eli’s hands, feet and words were not gentle and he was was about to have a tantrum. I said, “Do you need to go to the calm down corner?” he said no. I said, “Okay, when you take half of the activity cards for yourself and give the other half to Manu, then you can complete your activity happily, then I can continue with my reading group happily”. I later reflected with Eli, referring back to 3 expectations thanking him for listening and responding quickly, and continuing the lesson with gentle hands. Joanna is finding she refers to our 3 expectations and the when-then strategy naturally, particularly with transitions, and particularly with Rhylee. Carol with Daniel- “When you finish your writing, Daniel, then you can do your task on the computer”. Finding something that makes Daniel tick. Hannah with Beanie- “When you apologise for hurting Grayson, and use gentle hands, then the class can go to the library”.

Reinforces for unwanted behaviour rather than consequences Teacher redirects the child (instead of 'could you please put the ruler away'… say 'where do those rulers needs to be'… instil responsibility)- link to when then strategies If this doesn't work... Prompt child to make a good choice (I love the way these children have made such excellent choices about who they sit next to on the mat) Thinking time in the calm down corner… don't call it a thinking spot, rather a calm down corner to minimize negativity. Link into when-then… for example… WHEN you have calmed down in the calm down corner, and have thought about what positive choices you are going to make THEN you can come and join us on the mat If these behaviours occur more than 3 times over a couple of day communicate with parents FIRST- linking to our 3 expectations (depending on severity too) Then if it is still an issue... THEN communicate with the T.L. We are wanting parents to be our first call, rather than jumping to T.L first Any physical unwanted behaviours will directly go to etap for recording and referred to the DP/Senco straight away. It is great for us to record and reflect in a document any repeated minor to major incidents with your ‘tricky’ child and then record in Etap

Circle time- our next step We are still in the process of getting our circle time underway. We have looked into a range of different resources and received some PD of sorts from Julie. At this stage we are focussing on the 3 expectations, and using the when-then strategy consistently and effectively. We will look further into circle time for term 4. As a team we agree circle time will be a good time to model and continue the flow of our 3 expectations.

Behaviour expectations at home and at school marrying up We plan to create a 1 page leaflet/brochure that communicates all of the above with parents. This will communicate our expectations, it will elaborate on our reinforces(consequences), and possible strategies like the when-then and redirecting. We could add in a few examples so that parents could use them at home. Any strategy with use for behaviour at home can be used at school. We can just suggest. We could also mention “The triangle of success”… parent/child/teacher