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Keeping your cool is often easier said than done but arming yourself with knowledge and tactics to help you manage challenging behaviour is essential. We’ve compiled a set of tips to call upon, should you need to.

1. Remember: you are not alone

With 82% of teachers recently surveyed admitting that pupil behaviour was a problem in their school, this is a subject where you’ll find, if nothing else, understanding amongst your peers. Talk about what is happening and encourage others to do the same. Practical help is often at a premium due to workload but emotional support is still a vital part of managing the situation.

2. Set boundaries and have an escalation plan

Understanding the boundaries and lines at which your responsibility begins and ends can be difficult with young people involved but it’s important to understand that violence or the threat of violence is unacceptable and should not be tolerated.

Understand where the escalation points are so that if you do find yourself subjected to unacceptable behaviour, you know where to go. Discuss this with your senior leadership team and at which point you liaise with the police or other uniformed services. You must also ignore any negative attitudes involving third parties as the protection of yourself supersedes the protection of wider reputation.

3. Keep a record

Writing things down is not only cathartic, but also essential to understand if there are patterns that might help you identify whether certain environments, situations, people or even days trigger certain behaviours. This might lead you to understand a bit more about where the behaviour is coming from. It is also useful should there ever be a need for evidence for Education Care and Health Plan.

4. Consider the rest of the class

It’s easy to get entrenched in one pupil’s behaviour but this can often be at the expense of the rest of the classroom. A study by Professor Tamsin Ford of the University of Exeter has suggested that curtailing a ‘tug of war’ with a pupil who is acting up, could mean that the thrill of inciting a reaction is now lost and the behaviour might dissipate.

5. Prioritise your own understanding of challenging behaviour

Finally, remember there is often a root from which difficult behaviour stems and your grasp of knowledge will ensure you have the confidence to discern when behaviour is ‘challenging’ or is there is something else going on such as undetected SEND needs or a safeguarding issue that needs to be addressed. Our CPD qualifications can ensure you have the knowledge and skills to deal with these issues, including the CACHE qualification in understanding behaviour that challenges.

You can find out more about these funded qualifications by submitting an enquiry.