Nqt c deescalation

Why do students seek to escalate? In pairs think of some reasons from your

experience why students escalate situations.

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Why do students seek to escalate?

• To escape.• To use anger as a

substitute emotion.• To deflect.• To entertain.• To save face.• Boredom.• Fun• Entertain friends.• Family modelling• Heighten status kudos

• School staff modelling.

• Friends modelling.• Lack of other

strategies.• Lack of emotional

self-management.• Hostile attribution

bias.• Entrapment.

2

Why do adults escalate? Assuming that adults have a more developed

social emotional skill set than students ... how/why do adults seem to trigger escalation situations?

3

Why do adults escalate? Assuming that adults have a more developed

social emotional skill set....

• Control• To establish position.• To maintain position.• To exert power.• To gain kudos.• Fear.• Revenge.• To save face.

• Lack of strategies• Colleague modelling.• Lack of emotional self-management.

• Hostile attribution bias.• Entrapment.• To get rid of a student.• Lack of time

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Recognising signs of agitation/aggression.

Decreases in behaviour• Stares into space• Subdued language• Contains hands• Lacks involvement• Withdraws from

groups• Lacks responding• Avoids eye contact.• Darting eyes

Increases in behaviour• Non-conversational

language/rising voice.• Busy hands• Moves in and out of

groups.• Starts and stopping.• Moves around room• Fidgety/tensing of

muscles.• Rapid breathing.

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Defusion Strategies

Staff should seek to:-• Appear confident.• Display calmness.• Create some space.• Speak slowly, gently

& clearly.• Lower your voice• Avoid staring

• Avoid arguing & confrontation.

• Show you are listening.

• Calm the student before trying to solve problem.

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Defusion Strategies.

• Give a clear statement of what you want: “ I want you to....”

• Stick to your statement. Repeating as necessary. (Stuck needle technique)

• Deflect the student’s responses, the ones that undermine your statement: e.g. irrelevances, arguing etc.

• Preface re-statements with recognition of their view, “I’ve heard your reason for.......I want you to.....”

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Defusion Strategies.

Choice

Gives pupils some control over the situation; is less likely to initiate point-blank refusal.

Take up time

Allows pupils not to lose face. Watching and waiting is, in a way, issuing a challenge. We need to be clear about expectations.

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Defusion Strategies

Partial agreement

‘Maybe you were talking about your work but now I would like you to...'

‘When...then’ direction

This is trying to avoid the negative - 'No you cannot go out because you have not finished your work' becomes 'When you have finished your work, then you can go out'.

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Defusion Strategies

Privately understood signals

For drawing the class together or to monitor the noise level.

Tactical ignoring

Appropriate for attention-seeking behaviour or 2nd, focus on 1st behaviour. Praise the nearby pupil..

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Defusion Strategies

Redirect behaviour

By reminding students what they should be doing.

Avoid getting bogged down in discussions about what is wrong.

Consequences & sanctions

In line with school policy.

Implemented clearly and consistently.•detention or ‘catch-up’ ??

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Defusion Strategies.

Deferred consequences

Deal with issue later - it removes the 'audience’.

Avoids confrontation.

A quiet 1:1 is more likely to have a positive outcome.

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Defusion Strategies.

• “Flip the script”.• “Stuck needle” technique.• “Breakaways”• “Four Step” strategy.

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