SENCO Help Sheet 3

Positive behaviour management strategies

Good behaviour management should be part of every teacher’s repertoire of professional skills and include knowing how to:

- use voice, positioning and body language - establish well defined routines for gaining attention/quiet- share attention between all members of a class- model good manners and consideration for others- choose and use appropriate methods of reward and sanction.

The list below is your ‘starter kit ’…

• ‘Condemn the action, never the child’: ‘That wasn’t very kind/thoughtful’, rather than, ‘You’re a very thoughtless and nasty boy’. Attaching ‘bad behaviour’ labels to children tends to result in a self-fulfilling situation; you give them a reputation to live down to rather than positive expectations to live up to.

• Catch them being good. Look for opportunities to praise pupils for behaving well. This reinforces good behaviour and is much more powerful than berating them for poor behaviour. Moderate the way in which you do this, to suit the age and temperament of the individual (older pupils may not welcome public acclaim, but a word in private – and/or to parents – can be well received). Have a suitable, (and regularly changing) class reward system

• Don’t bear a grudge. Be prepared to wipe the slate clean after an incident and help the pupil to start afresh.

• Be clear about what constitutes unacceptable behaviour; referring regularly to the classroom code of conduct.

• Use pupil-friendly systems such as ‘traffic lights’ and noise gauges: teach them how to use different voices – for discussion groups, pair work, etc, to prevent too much escalation of noise.

• Build in appropriate support-and-stretch in every lesson; every child needs to achieve and succeed, every day (including those with learning difficulties, and those who are the brightest).

• Consider groupings: a child with behaviour difficulties needs to have good role models.

• Introduce regular breaks into lessons –change of pace/activity; introduce movement, brain gym exercises.

• Explain clearly the effects of pupils’ behaviour ‘You did this, so now…’

• Use distraction techniques (e.g. humour) to deflect anger and avoid confrontation.

• Set up a ‘time out’ facility e.g. a pupil holds up a red card when he needs time to ‘de-fuse’.

• Use controls, restrictions and sanctions that are fair, and consistently applied.