50 Top Tips for Managing Behaviour

Dave Stott

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2017
• ISBN:
  9781351707015
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

A practical resource that utilises the SEBS philosophy (Teaching Social, Emotional and Behavioural Skills). With a very 'hands-on' approach to managing behaviour all the scenarios in this resource are taken from real-life situations and can be used during staff training or simply as a reference book. The book reflects situations that confront educational professionals on a day-to-day basis: how to manage the student who always wants the last word; setting boundaries; managing anger, including your own; dealing with difficult parents; successful lunchtimes; creating an emotionally literate environment; behaviour plans; building self-esteem; and, coping with difficult colleagues. It is a brilliant resource to have as part of an induction pack or as an essential companion to continuing professional development. It deals with all key stages.

Introduction

50 Top Tips for Managing Behaviour is a practical resource giving many best practice examples for teachers to incorporate into their everyday life at school. Containing pages of proven and successful strategies to use within the teaching and learning environment, it takes a two-pronged approach: firstly, it offers expert advice on how to manage both individual and groups of students; secondly, it backs this up with key reminders to help teachers manage their own behaviour. Not only does this straightforward guidance address issues within the classroom, but the approach is extended across the whole school environment.

Many of the tips and strategies within this handbook are intrinsically linked and are designed to help both teachers and all adults working with children to build skill upon skill. The book takes a holistic approach to managing behaviour and, in order to gain the maximum benefit from the advice offered, users are encouraged to see it as a whole 'menu', of which the individual tips are just a part.

Teachers will find this practical handbook helpful as a training aid or as a very readable 'toolbox' that can be dipped into as the need arises. It is made up of 50 short, 'bite-sized' chapters (or 'Tips') that show the user how to develop a calm, emotionally literate classroom by successfully managing the specific behavioural challenges that face teachers every working day. The book may be read as a whole resource, giving teachers an opportunity to reflect on, question, confirm and evaluate their own practice, but it has also been designed so that teachers who have identified a specific behavioural difficulty can quickly locate detailed and helpful advice.

50 Top Tips encourages teachers to incorporate a range of techniques into their normal management style and to create an on-task environment in which students can learn and teachers can teach. The approach taken within this resource is to encourage teachers to recognise the thoughts and feelings that drive behaviour, and to become more proactive in their management of both chronic and acute behavioural difficulties.

Without the daily disruption of challenging and off-task behaviour, teachers' stress levels can be reduced. This will lead to more positive interactions and thus raise the achievement of all students. The material offered has been drawn from the author's vast experience of observing and working within happy, motivated classrooms and seeing just what makes the student, teacher, other staff and, indeed, the whole school successful.

Author’s note

Much of this work was inspired by the Department for Children, Schools and Families' Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning (SEAL) materials, which were issued in 2007. These are curriculum resources designed to help develop children's social, emotional and behavioural skills; one is aimed at primary and the other at secondary schools. Further information can be obtained from www.standards.dcsf.gov.uk/nationalstrategies

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank and recognise the expertise of the many colleagues I have worked with over the years, especially from Michael Drayton School. Nuneaton and Robert Bruce School, Bedford. I would also like to acknowledge the skill and expertise of those colleagues from the multi-professional teams with whom I have had the pleasure of working in Northamptonshire. My current role as a trainer and consultant leaves me in the privileged position of observing the many excellent professionals who work in mainstream and special schools all over the UK. You have all been an inspiration.

Tip 1
Behaviour management during cover lessons

There is a 'double edge' to the problems that arise when providing staff cover for absent colleagues. Firstly, there is the possible feeling of some anxiety when teachers realise that they are not well enough to be at work, or any other reason that compels them to be absent. Most teachers are aware that their absence will cause timetabling difficulties and that their place will have to be covered by a colleague or, in some cases, by supply staff. However, any member of staff forced by circumstances to be absent will feel supported if they have confidence in the systems that are in place to cover such eventualities.

Secondly, feelings of anxiety can arise from the practical difficulties that the loss of non-contact time can generate when teachers are absent from school. Some primary school teachers do not yet have non-contact time built into their weekly schedules. Nevertheless, staff absences still cause disruption to the timetable and will, even in primary schools, mean that some staff are obliged to alter their normal (and prepared) workload. Under these circumstances, it is all too easy for the behaviour of both staff and students to be adversely affected when their regular teacher is absent. There are many management issues here that should be addressed before such a situation arises. In this way, the causes of stress related to cover can be anticipated and alleviated for all those involved. Consider these stress points:

• Absent teachers, in addition to the anxiety caused by their illness, may be experiencing feelings of guilt about the problems their absence may be causing.
• Staff members in charge of arranging cover may be experiencing feelings of frustration and trepidation, especially when they are delivering the bad news about the absence.
• Teachers having to provide cover may be feeling angry, picked on or under pressure as their planned timetable is unexpectedly disrupted.
• Students in the class being covered may be missing their regular teacher or worrying about how the rest of the class will respond, and, because of their anxiety, may resort to disruptive behaviour.

To manage these situations, use this three-step approach: plan, prepare and then have a consistent way of presenting the cover lesson.

Step 1: Planning

• Teachers should adhere to an agreed system of contacting the school as soon as they know that they will be absent.
• One staff member should be the nominated person to take charge of cover arrangements (with a deputy available should that person themselves be absent).
• A no-blame environment should be created that promotes a consistent and collective sense of responsibility within the whole staff group.
• A school-wide approach to behaviour management should be established, which allows a consistent response from all staff, but also allows a degree of individuality.

Step 2: Preparation

• The class teacher's behaviour rules, rewards and consequences should be well rehearsed and on display in the classroom.
• A seating plan helps to manage behaviour and is supportive to supply teachers who may otherwise struggle with names.
• Lesson plans, resource lists and procedures should be available in the classroom, and not just in the class teacher's notebook.
• Good practice demands that the teaching environment is kept tidy and well prepared. A well-organised room is of great help for any teacher unexpectedly taking over another's classroom.
• Teachers should spend a moment reflecting on generic approaches to behaviour management before they begin the cover lesson; they should also try to familiarise themselves with the school's expectations and rules.
• A cover lesson is no different from any other lesson and should never be approached empty-handed. Teachers should ensure that they know where spare pens, pencils, paper and other resources are stored. They should carry a collection of additional activities for those students who finish early or have credible excuses for not undertaking the set work. Teachers who 'fumble about' lose respect very quickly.

Step 3: Presentation

The manner in which a cover teacher delivers a lesson should have a positive effect on both the teacher's and the students' behaviour:

• Cover teachers should be clear about their expectations. They need to think. about this before going into the classroom, so that they can then command respect by asserting control immediately in a calm and consistent manner.
• By presenting the lesson in a confident way, they will dissuade those students who like to see how far they can bend the rules or push a new teacher.

A staff enrichment programme will help reduce teacher absences by reducing stress. All schools should also have a period of non-contact time and this can generally be managed within the curriculum by bringing in extra resources for perhaps two hours a week. During this period, some time should be set aside for all staff to discuss absences and cover, and then to establish a positive programme, as outlined above. Teachers will not feel resentful about giving up their daily routine, marking or preparation time in order to provide cover if an agreed school-wide policy is in place. It follows that if teachers are not resentful or stressed, class behaviour will be improved and students easier to manage.

Top Tip 1

Establish simple procedures

Tip 2
Behaviour planning

Few teachers or teaching assistants would take a class, or even a small group of students, without a lesson plan. This is certainly true when a lesson is due to be observed by a senior manager, colleague or schools inspector. Lesson plans will inevitably vary in content and detail, taking into account the subject matter, the needs of the individual students, the resources required and the learning objectives. The curriculum content is generally clearly stated, and the need to have materials at different levels so that all students can access that curriculum is generally understood.

Generic rules and boundaries governing behaviour and applicable throughout the school will be in place, together with some specifically related to a particular teacher or classroom, but these will not necessarily be sufficient to cope with the individual needs of some students. Therefore, in order to successfully manage the behaviour of students within the classroom, which in turn will also be variable, a comprehensively planned approach is necessary. It is vital to include a 'behaviour plan' within the overall plan before commencing a lesson. This level of preparation, together with the ability to employ a range of strategies, is the key to the successful management of behaviour.

Consider how much preparation is usually put into other everyday life situations. For example, anyone who has ever returned an item to a retailer because it was the wrong size, wrong colour or purchased in error will identify with the amount of forethought needed to ensure a positive result:

1. Find the receipt.
2. Replace the item in the original wrapping.
3. Rehearse the reasons for returning the item.
4. Find the right person to speak to.
5. Think about how to be assertive but polite.
6. Identify the required result (a refund, replacement or credit).
7. Prepare a range of responses according to the attitude of the retailer.
8. Be persistent and consistent.

Teachers who are faced with the prospect of working with class groups where behaviour is a significant problem should consider this level of preparation.

Plan for groups and individuals

Assuming there is a lesson plan in place, try adding a behaviour plan. Become familiar and comfortable with the school's behaviour policy. Prepare a transparent set of rules and expectations of behaviour when students are working in the classroom. It is vital that these expectations have been taught and are regularly referred to and reinforced. It is of little use for teachers to have a rule that states 'Follow instructions first time given' when they are prepared to give the same instruction over and over again to students who simply ignore them. This not only causes a dramatic increase in the teacher's stress levels, but also teaches students that rules need not be followed. No teacher wants to feel that the student believes that what is said is not meant.

Every planned approach should include a firm adherence to agreed rules, backed up by a graded, hierarchical system of rewards and consequences. It makes each step clear to the teacher, and students will quickly understand the choices available to them. This planned approach should also include a thorough knowledge of the individual needs of each student in the group. For those identified as having difficulty in managing their own behaviour, an Individual Education Plan (IEP) should always be in place.

Identify each student with an IEP and adhere to the arrangements and targets within it. All adults teaching the student should be familiar with the IEP. It is not sufficient simply to be aware of the IEP; this approach will be effective only if the plan is studied, understood and followed. This familiarity will also enable the teacher to make an informed contribution to the review process for the student's IEP by having clear evidence of the progress made towards achieving the targets set within it. Failure to follow the guidance and arrangements suggested will make it very difficult to measure progress.

Remain in control

Although targets are an important section of the IEP, it is the arrangements and strategic guidance that contribute to the planned approach. Bearing in mind the 'returning items to the retailer' scenario above, teachers should consider the following when planning to manage difficult behaviour:

The 'planned approach' style will improve consistency and allow teachers to think clearly when confronted with difficult situations. Above all, every teacher's intention should be to remain in control, prevent any escalation of adverse situations, and allow both teacher and student to retain self-esteem.

Top Tip 2

Be prepared!

Tip 3
Body language

Most teachers have studied the practical ideas given in print or in seminars on behaviour management. which are usually centred on specific strategies and techniques. These sources rarely refer to the teacher's body language. However, by understanding the importance of body language, the 'bigger picture' of the relationship between student and teacher can be completed, and this will be of great help to both.

Thoughts, emotions and feelings drive not only verbal language but also body language, which in turn becomes the visible behaviour that students can see. Non-verbal language is as tremendously powerful as a means of communication as verbal language. This is equally true of students as well as teachers – and indeed of everyone involved in the teaching/learning process. It is quite possible to say one thing when the body language is saying something entirely different. In the case of teachers, for example, rather than conveying the intended message, their body language might lead students (or colleagues) to think that:

• the per...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Introduction
• References