Demonstrate realistic, consistent and supportive responses tochildren and young people’s behaviourRealism, consistency, and support are the mainstays of managing children's

behaviour. Being able to identify areas of your practice at school where you

demonstrate your understanding of these things will help to cement it in place in your

mind.

Realistic responses

When thinking about whether or not your responses to children are realistic, it may

be helpful to think of it in terms of 'reasonable', rather than realistic. For example, if

you know that some of the children in your class tire towards the end of the day, it

may be unrealistic to expect them to complete more complex tasks at that time. It

may therefore be unrealistic and unreasonable to be cross when they don't complete

them.

It is worth noting that in most cases of behaviour management, becoming cross is

neither realistic nor reasonable; as adults, support staff and teachers are in a strong

position to demonstrate best behaviour practice, and to reinforce good behaviours.

Becoming cross is a sign that you are not in control of the situation, and as an

empowered adult, if you find this emotional response takes place more than rarely,

you may wish to look into new strategies to help.

1

Responses to behaviour.

Consistent responses

Policies are there for a reason. Lots of reasons. One of them is that they provide a

streamlined and consistent plan to approach behaviour management for all staff in a

school. Always stay in line with the policies, always follow the guidelines, and

observe how the teacher responds - and do so in a similar way.

2

Children feel safer and more secure when they know what is happening, and what is

going to happen. This is one reason why policies often state the order in which

sanctions and rewards will be delivered. They act as a kind of 'language' that the

children understand. For example, if they get a question right in an end of week pop

quiz, they may get a smiley face. If, however, they complete a folder of work on a

project, they may get a certificate of approval or similar, or their work may be

displayed on the wall in assembly.

The work done elicits a pattern or framework of responses that are designed to fit the

achievement or difficulty that the child has experienced. In the same way, negative

behaviour should be proportionately dealt with.

One thing worth noting is that it is not helpful to reprimand a child for doing

something and then the next time you see them do it, allow it to continue. Even if it is

inconvenient, you must be consistent or they will become confused and unsure as

they continue to push at boundaries.

Supportive responses

There is always a reason why children behave the way they do. If they consistently

exhibit negative or anti-social behaviour, there may be something going on in the

child's life that causes them to do this. This can especially apply if a child who used

to behave well suddenly displays challenging or difficult behaviour.

Difficult home lives, medical conditions, tiredness, and transitions are among many

things that cause children behave in unwanted and negative ways. If you regard

children's behaviour as ways in which they do in fact communicate, you may find that

the process of behaviour management becomes more easily understandable. It is far

more useful to look at the long-term patterns of behaviour rather than isolated

incidents, because as communication, these reveal much more information.

One area that can be highly controversial is in the anti-bullying work that many

schools do. In investigating claims of bullying, support staff and teachers should

ensure that they are as supportive to the bully as they are to the victim. This is

because bullies are often children who have some abiding problems, either due to

their own health conditions, family set ups, or other factors. This type of support may

not be valued by the families of bullying victims, but nonetheless, it is important to

treat everyone fairly, consistently, and supportively.

3