SENCO Help Sheet 3

Positive behaviour management strategies

Good behaviour management should be part of every teachers 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 wasnt very kind/thoughtful, rather than,
Youre 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

Dont 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 defuse.

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