Looking for behaviour strategies? Ideas for how to support children and young people with SEMH barriers to learning?
One of the most difficult areas of the teaching role is understanding behaviour that is concerning and, often, challenging to the adults working with them. It is an area that often requires “on the job” learning with little that is available to prepare early career teachers for what to expect. Behaviour strategies are often developed over time through trail and error and focus on the management of the class as a whole. This is to say, routines, rules, rewards, punishments etc. But what about when they do not work?
Students who demonstrate SEMH needs require more than this. They often require individualised approaches, adjustments that help to overcome learning barriers they may face. They can still achieve in the same way as other students – they simply require the tools to make that journey.
Most behaviour can be categorised as having one of 4 functions – escape, attention, sensory or control. Some children need the attention of peers or adults, some are seeking to escape from a stressful situation. Some may seek to control the environment to enable them to feel safe and others may have sensory needs that require appropriate support.
If you are looking for behaviour strategies, SEMH.co.uk has designed a range of tools to support parents and educators to meet the needs of young people in their care. Behaviour.semh.co.uk is one such tool that provides a detailed questionnaire and breakdown of behaviour strategies against specific functions. With links to additional resources and detailed guidance, this tool has proven very popular with teachers and parents alike. By working through this questionnaire and downloading the results into Excel, you can review a range of behaviour strategies linked to the individual you are working with and get ideas on what could be implement next.
