Supporting Children with Behaviour Issues in the Classroom

Hull City Council

• Publisher: David Fulton Publishers
• Year: 2016
• Print ISBN: 9781138673830
• eBook ISBN: 9781317201991
• Edition: 2
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

This completely revised edition is an easy to use resource for teachers, TAs and SENCOs concerned about behavioural issues in the classroom. It will support school staff in their approach to a range of behavioural issues, through a range of tried-and-tested strategies, including:

• How to create an environment of support and acceptance
• Techniques to provide an effective leaning environment
• Ways in which to communicate clearly with children with poor communication skills
• Whole class and whole school approaches for a positive learning environment
• How to maintain appropriate behaviours during unstructured break times

This accessible reference tool will help any teacher to create and maintain a classroom environment conducive to learning. Packed with resources, it also includes templates and example Personal Support Plans, written by practitioners for practitioners.

Section 1
Legislation and guidance

1
Legislation and DfE guidance

The Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice, 2014 states that:

Special educational needs and provision can be considered as falling under four broad areas.

1. Communication and interaction
2. Cognition and learning
3. Social, mental and emotional health
4. Sensory and/or physical

Many children and young people have difficulties that fit clearly into one of these areas; some have needs that span two or more areas.

(DfE 2014)

Social, mental and emotional health

Children and young people may experience a wide range of social, mental and emotional difficulties, which manifest themselves in many different ways:

• becoming withdrawn or isolated;
• displaying challenging, disruptive or disturbing behaviour.

These behaviours may reflect underlying mental health difficulties such as anxiety or depression, self-harming, substance misuse, eating disorders or physical symptoms that are medically unexplained. Other pupils may have disorders such as attention deficit disorder (ADD), attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD) or attachment disorder.

A question of SEN

• Persistent disruptive or withdrawn behaviours do not necessarily mean that a child or young person has SEN.
• Where there are concerns, there should be an assessment to determine whether there are any causal factors such as undiagnosed learning difficulties, difficulties with communication or mental health issues.
• Other events can lead to learning difficulties or wider mental health difficulties, such as bullying or bereavement. Such events will not always lead to children having SEN but can have an impact on wellbeing and sometimes this can be severe. Schools should ensure they make appropriate provision for a child’s short-term needs in order to prevent problems escalating. Where there are long-lasting difficulties schools should consider whether the child might have SEN.

Special educational needs (SEN)

Persistent mental health difficulties may cause pupils to have significantly greater difficulty in learning and it may be necessary to identify the pupil as having a special educational need.

The Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice, 2014 states:

A child or young person has SEN if they have a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made for him or her. A child of compulsory school age or a young person has a learning difficulty or disability if he or she:

• has a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others of the same age, or
• has a disability which prevents or hinders him or her from making use of educational facilities of a kind generally provided for others of the same age in mainstream schools or mainstream post-16 institutions.

In addition:

All children and young people are entitled to an education that enables them to:

• achieve their best;
• become confident individuals living fulfilling lives; and
• make a successful transition into adulthood, whether into employment, further or higher education or training.

The Teachers Standards (Department of Education 2012) further strengthens the Code of Practice, 2014 guidance that states that every teacher must make provision for all children.

A teacher must:

• Set goals that stretch and challenge pupils of all backgrounds, abilities and dispositions
• Adapt teaching to respond to the strengths and needs of all pupils ... and be able to use and evaluate distinctive teaching approaches to engage and support them.

Advice from the Department for Education

All pupils will benefit from learning and developing in a well ordered school environment that fosters and rewards good behaviour and sanctions poor and disruptive behaviour. Our behaviour and discipline in schools advice sets out the powers and duties for school staff and approaches they can adopt to manage behaviour in their schools.

(Mental Health and Behaviour in Schools, 2016)

It also says that schools should consider whether continuing disruptive behaviour might be a result of unmet educational or other needs.

2
Discipline in schools – teachers’ powers and the use of reasonable force

Sections 90 and 91 of the Education and Inspections Act 2006 gives teachers:

• statutory authority to discipline pupils whose behaviour is unacceptable, who break the school rules or who fail to follow a reasonable instruction;
  • – at any time the pupil is in school or elsewhere;
  • – in certain circumstances when a pupil’s misbehaviour occurs outside of school.
• power to impose detention outside school hours;
• power to confiscate pupils’ property.

The power also applies to all paid staff (unless the head teacher says otherwise) with responsibility for pupils, such as Teaching Assistants under the charge of a teacher, including on school visits.

The use of reasonable force

On rare occasions school staff may find it is necessary to use ‘reasonable force’ to restrain a pupil.

The DfE gives guidance for school leaders, staff and governing bodies regarding the use of reasonable force.

What is reasonable force?

The term ‘reasonable force’ covers the broad range of actions used by most teachers at some point in their career that involve a degree of physical contact with pupils.

Force is usually used either to control or restrain. This can range from guiding a pupil to safety by holding his or her arm, through to more extreme circumstances such as breaking up a fight or where a student needs to be restrained to prevent violence or injury.

‘Reasonable in the circumstances’ means using no more force than is needed.

Schools generally use force to control pupils and to restrain them. Control means either passive physical contact, such as standing between pupils or blocking a pupil’s path, or active physical contact such as leading a pupil by the arm out of a classroom.

Restraint means to hold back physically or to bring a pupil under control. It is typically used in more extreme circumstances, for example when two pupils are fighting and refuse to separate without physical intervention.

School staff should always try to avoid acting in a way that might cause injury.

Who can use reasonable force?

All members of school staff have a legal power to use reasonable force.

Schools can use reasonable force to:

• remove disruptive children from the classroom where they have refused to follow an instruction to do so;
• prevent a pupil behaving in a way that disrupts a school event or a school trip or visit;
• prevent a pupil leaving the classroom where allowing the pupil to leave would risk their safety or lead to behaviour that disrupts the behaviour of others; and
• prevent a pupil from attacking a member of staff or another pupil, or to stop a fight in the playground.

Schools cannot:

• use force as a punishment – it is always unlawful to use force as a punishment.

Schools should not have a ‘no contact’ policy. There is a real risk that such a policy might place a member of staff in breach of their duty of care towards a pupil, or prevent them taking action needed to prevent a pupil causing harm (www.gov.uk/government/uk/useofreasonableforceinschool).

Physical intervention or restraint is not a substitute for good discipline. Its use should only be as a last resort: it should be rare and it should never become habitual or routine.

• Schools should have a policy on physical intervention, cross-referenced to other relevant policies (SEN, Health and Safety, Behaviour, Child Protection).
• The school policy should help staff to develop their understanding of the appropriate use of physical restraint, update restraint training, apply alternative defusing techniques and record an incident of physical intervention appropriately.
• All physical intervention training should be set within the context of skilled behaviour management, defusing techniques and conflict resolution.
• If a school assesses that there is likelihood that physical restraint will take place, training is imperative, at least for key staff members.
• Training should not be a one-off; it should involve regular refresher courses.
• Interventions of any kind, physical or not, always require that staff take into account the age, developmental level, understanding and cultural background of the child concerned.
• Planned physical intervention is not an act of aggression or anger. Any force, beyond what is needed to prevent harm or injury to the child or others, is unreasonable.
• Restraint must be of minimum force to prevent further danger to the pupil, peers and adults.
• The subject should be reminded that the restraint is only temporary and clear instructions should be given as to what needs to be done in order to stop the intervention.
• Another member of staff should be present, not only to assist, but also to witness the incident and report on it afterwards. To this end staff should not be in situations that leave them alone in difficult circumstances.
• The use of seclusion is not appropriate. It is an offence to lock a child in a room without a court order.
• In educational settings, double or high door handles can be used, or outside doors can be locked, for safety or security reasons when an adult is supervising.

Section 2
Whole-school approaches

3
Whole-school thinking

A whole-school focus on promoting positive behaviour is the most effective way of reducing barriers to learning.

• School is a complex social commu...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Foreword
• Introduction
• SECTION 1 Legislation and guidance
• SECTION 2 Whole-school approaches
• SECTION 3 Putting policies into practice to create a positive learning environment
• SECTION 4 Support staff
• SECTION 5 Pupils and parents
• SECTION 6 Approaches and Interventions for pupils who require an individual response
• SECTION 7 Underlying factors
• SECTION 8 Continuing Professional Development
• References
• Appendices