PROMOTING POSITIVE BEHAVIOUR

Author: Prince Foday

   

The Identification of Policies and Procedures in my School Setting and Benefits of these in Promoting Positive Behaviour

 

The policies in my school setting are comprised of behaviour policy, code of conduct, reward and sanctions. My school setting has established procedures or guidelines for promoting the identified policies.

 

There are accepted values and beliefs in the school and a contravention of that will go against the behaviour policy. Codes of conduct are sets of rules designed to enable children and young people to be aware of boundaries and a way of managing behaviour. Rewards can be used when a student displays positive behaviour. There are scales of sanctions for students when behaviour becomes inappropriate.

 

The behaviour policy in the school is meant to promote appropriate behaviour and discourage inappropriate behaviour. The policy prepares staff to understand that students in the school need to build positive traits like social skills (being receptive to others), empathy, self-respect and self-esteem. In promoting or achieving positive behaviour from students, the following procedures are required by the school:

o   Staff do not undermine the self-esteem of children or students through verbal disgrace

o   Staff  do not use corporal punishment or hit the child, as that goes against the law

o   Staff are meant to explain disciplinary boundaries in the simplest terms to make it understandable to those who may find it difficult

o   Staff should help students to understand what behaviour is acceptable and what is not acceptable

o   Staff should calmly intervene to prevent students from behaving in an unsafe way

o   Staff should build the scenario for students to exercise patience and take turns

o   Staff should praise students  for displaying positive behaviour

o   Staff should be respectful to children, young people and other adults

o   Staff should be  role models by showing positive behaviour

 

There are codes of conduct in place as guidance when dealing with inappropriate behaviour and they are:

o   We avoid making negative comments in front of students

o   We maintain consistency when addressing inappropriate behaviour

o   We resolve conflict by listening to both parties

o   We maintain calmness when dealing with inappropriate behaviour

Students are rewarded for showing positive behaviour and we provide visible rewards (by using stickers), allowing choosing time, revealing success to parents and other teachers, giving attention or smiles of endorsement, providing oral praise, and giving certificates or points or stars.

We apply a scale of sanctions when behaviour is inappropriate. Some of the scales of sanctions are:

o   Removal of privileges

o   Restricted access to certain activities

o   Suspension

o   Detention

o   Removal from social time (breaks/lunch times)

o   Send the culprit to the deputy head or head teacher

o   Speak to the parent

 

 

Explaining the Importance of Consistency and Failures when Applying Boundaries and Rules for Behaviour

 

Consistency enables the child and young people to fully comprehend limits and work within expected behaviour. Consistency in behaviour within a classroom is about establishing stable policies, procedures and consequences. Consistency has the features of being respectable, fair, safe and stable.

 

Building an achievable and realistic limit will make it possible for the child to communicate appropriately. In the absence of consistency, the child is left in limbo and feeling confused. Practitioners are expected to maintain the same rules and avoid leading the child in a confused state.  Practitioners must be consistent in the application of boundaries and rules as failure to do so will result in the child being baffled. The failure of practitioners to apply limits and rules will lead the child not to be certain about what is right or wrong.

 

Consistency in applying boundaries and rules can promote effective classroom management, lead to fewer behaviour problems, support a positive classroom community and build an engaging learning scenario. It is significant to be consistent with policies, procedures and consequences and such stability will be effective classroom management. Consistency in practitioner behaviour in enforcing boundaries and rules can build student trust and that can make them behave within limits, and mitigate behavioural problems. Promoting a fair classroom community will make students have a positive view about their colleagues, and the practitioner and that can further lead to effective class control. Being consistent with boundaries and rules in the classroom setting can provide the outcome of students feeling safe and increase their focus on learning. Skinner advanced education as the establishment of behaviour that will be of benefit to the person and others in the future.

 

 

Describing the Benefits of Promoting Positive Values, Attitudes and Behaviour Guidance 

 

Positive values, attitudes and behaviour guidance are important in tackling challenging behaviour in the classroom. Its application can assist in increasing student engagement in learning, reduce stress and entirely enhance student behaviour and performance.

 

Positive behaviour can be supported by ensuring the full attention of students before learning begins, praising students for the showcase of positive behaviour, allowing them to express their feelings and opinions, building their emotional intelligence or coping skills, encouraging them to practice behaviour expectations until a full understanding is achieved, establish clear boundaries and rules, encourage learning to be fun and build steady routines.

 

Children and young people can benefit from the promotion of positive values, attitudes and behaviour guidance in the following ways:

 

o   The acknowledgement of positive behaviour

o   Establishing clear expectations

o   Building  strong social skills based on respect

o   Enhancing Social and Emotional Well-being

o   Developing the environment for students to concentrate on learning

o   Professional  action on minimising negative behaviour

   

The acknowledgement of positive behaviour can be done through praise and praise for good behaviour is an approach meant to attract the attention of students in the class, and it is likely that the student will repeat positive behaviour by making it a routine. Establishing an expectation that is clear and achievable is a way to develop a caring and safe classroom, and it is significant to be consistent and eradicate confusion with boundaries for everyone in the classroom, including practitioners.  Students who struggle to control their emotions should be supported. It is difficult to focus on learning when tired, distracted and upset, and teaching learners the desired coping or calming skills will be beneficial in gaining the attention of the child and young people. It is important to provide an engaging classroom environment that requires seeking the attention of students before learning starts and that can be helpful to behaviour management coupled with having the attention of all students to grasp all areas of your teaching. Reducing negative behaviour through professional action can be necessary in promoting positive values, attitudes and behaviour.

 

 

Identifying, and Summarising, the Patterns and Triggers that can Lead to Challenging Behaviours and Explaining What Actions can be  taken to Pre-empt Divert or Diffuse Potential Flash Points

 

Challenging behaviour is a form of behaviour that hinders the safety or learning of students and those around them.  People with challenging behaviour find it difficult to communicate their desires and emotional and physical pain. Challenging behaviour is a situation that we have to deal with in my school setting. It is frequent with people having neurological problems or neurodevelopment differences like learning disability, dementia, attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder and autism.

 

The types of challenging behaviour in my school setting are verbal, non-verbal and physical. Verbal challenging behaviour is oral communication meant to express desires or pain and the action is not meant to hurt the people around them but to communicate agony, examples are using inappropriate language, threatening, arguing, screaming, shouting, and so forth.  No-verbal challenging behaviour can be noticeable in different ways and it is meant to deal with physical and emotional suffering, examples are swinging arms, pacing, eating inedible objects, social withdrawal and destructiveness.  Physical challenging behaviour occurs when a person feels stimulant or devastated, and examples are throwing things, biting, kicking, hair pulling, and hitting people and themselves.  

The causes of challenging behaviour observed in my school setting are cognitive challenges, emotional distress, physical discomfort, sensory sensitivity, unmet needs and communication difficulties. Children and young people with cognitive challenges find it difficult to process or understand situations which can lead to frustrations. Emotional distress like anxiety, anger, fear and frustration can result in challenging behaviour as the person may not have the requisite skills to communicate their emotions amicably. Physical discomfort like pain can lead to challenging behaviour. Some children and young people may have a high degree of sensitivity to smell, touch, sound and light, and that can trigger discomfort. Unmet needs like sleep, hunger, and thirst coupled with more intricate emotional or social desires like autonomy, sensory input and attention can lead to challenging behaviour.

 

There is an observed cycle of challenging behaviour in my school setting and they are trigger, escalation, crisis and recovery. A trigger is the antecedent or starting point of challenging behaviour and that is the distressing situation for the child. Escalation is the heightened or progressive situation for the child and young person, and that is when the person displays problematic actions. A crisis situation is where the person reaches a dangerous level and that will involve self-injury, severe aggression and other behaviours that show an instant risk to the person and those around them. A recovery state is a circumstance where the person becomes calm or in equilibrium after the escalation and crisis points and that involves supporting the person to control their emotion.

 

The standard ways of preventing and managing challenging behaviour in my school setting involve the use of de-escalation techniques (staying calm, taking away anything responsible for the distress, providing the person what he or she wants, providing the person space, entertain the person with what they enjoy), providing a more accustom way of communicating needs and emotions, ensuring the safety of student and staff and providing an alternative. We use positive behaviour support (PBS) to defuse potential flash points and that involves amending their routines to avoid common triggers, building coping strategies for stress like a deep breath and looking for safer ways of expressing themselves or finding acceptable communication methods.  We use a Multisensory Environment (MSE) as a de-escalating approach that is provided to assist the child and young person to utilise their remaining senses to be involved in and understand the world. Providing an environment where the child engages with people, objects and events in a multisensory environment can support them understand ideas about the world, and that helps in understanding in building trust and mutual respect.

 

References

 

Parenta (2021) How to…Support Children’s positive behaviour. Available at: https://www.parenta.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/How-to%E2%80%A6-Support-childrens-positive-behaviour.pdf (Accessed 20 October 2023)

National College for School Leadership (2011) Promoting the conditions for positive behaviour to help every child success. Available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a7d534140f0b60a7f1a9d3a/promoting-the-conditions-for-positive-behaviour-to-help-every-child-succeed.pdf (Accessed 02 November 2023)

Burnham, L. and Baker, B. (2010) Supporting Teaching & Learning in Schools (Primary). Essex: Pearson Education Limited

Fulton, J. (2019) How important is consistency in behaviour management. Available at: https://www.classcraft.com/blog/consistency-in-behavior-management/ (Accessed 25 November 2023)

Curson, L.B. (1985) Teaching in Further Education: An outline of Principles and Practices. 3^rd Edition. Great Britain: Biddles Ltd, Guildford

Ref: Suban, P., Sharma, U., Leif, E. and Patnaik, S. ( 2023) Five ways to use positive behaviour support strategies in your classroom. Available at: https://www.monash.edu/education/teachspace/articles/five-ways-to-use-positive-behaviour-support-strategies-in-your-classroom (Accessed 03 January 2024)

Rogers, G. (2022) Promote Positive Behaviour. Available at: https://www.twinkl.co.uk/blog/promote-positive-behaviour (Accessed 06 January 2024)

Nurseline Community Services (2023) Defining Challenging Behaviours: Causes, Triggers and Examples: Available at: https://nurselinecs.co.uk/challenging-behaviour/defining-challenging-behaviour-causes-triggers-and-examples/ (Accessed 14 January 2024)

https://www2.education.vic.gov.au/pal/behaviour-students/guidance/3-challenging-behaviour-influences-and-triggers (Accessed 25 January 2024)

Sense (2023) Challenging behaviour. Available at: https://www.sense.org.uk/information-and-advice/conditions/challenging-behaviour/ (Accessed 09 February 2024)

Pagliano, P. (2001) Using a Multisensory Environment: A Practical Guide for Teachers. Great Britain: David Fulton Publishers

 

Author:

PRINCE FODAY

Professional Freelance Journalist, Educationist, Humanitarian Politician and Independent Global Peace Ambassador