Keeping It Positive

As we all come back to school after the festive break it can be hard to settle back into routines and keep positive in the dark days of January..
So here are our 5 top tips for positive behaviour strategies to keep your classroom positive in the New Year!

1. Challenge yourself to understand the behaviour – is the behaviour being displayed a communication that something is wrong in that child’s environment? Ask yourself is the work is too hard/easy? Has the layout of the room changed? Is the behaviour serving a function for that child? E.g. there is an internal stimulus that is causing them to rock on their chair such as vestibular processing issues or are they interrupting the class as a way to be able to leave the classroom because the lighting is affecting them?

2. Ensure the strategies you use suit the needs of the individual child – what works for one child may not work for another even if the behaviours being displayed seem similar

3. Be persistent - a well chosen strategy may take time to work, don’t give up after just a few tries!

4. Be consistent – ensure you and any other adults working with the child are consistent using the well chosen strategy otherwise the likelihood of success is low e.g. ensure a child using a ‘move and sit’ cushion has it in the lunch hall as well as the classroom.

5. Be flexible – understand that you may need to be flexible with your own agenda and expectations. Challenge yourself to consider what you are doing that may be causing the behaviours you are seeing e.g. did you make it clear to the child what you expected of them? Have you ensured the work you are setting is truly suitable?

And remember that the child is not giving you a hard time, they are having a hard time!!