Behaviour Scenarios

Behaviour Scenarios Resources to support Charlie Taylor’s Improving Teacher Training for Behaviour Scenario 7: Exploring restorative approaches This Scenario has been developed for Initial Teacher Training (ITT) to enable trainees to demonstrate knowledge, skills and understanding of behaviour management

Introduction Behaviour2Learn has developed 17 Scenarios focusing on the 8 areas highlighted in the Teaching Agency's document Improving teacher training for behaviour. These are: • Personal Style • Self-management • Reflection • School Systems • Relationships • Classroom Management • More Challenging Behaviour • Theoretical Knowledge Improving teacher training for behaviour has been developed by Charlie Taylor, the Government’s expert adviser on behaviour, to complement the new Teachers’ Standards that all teachers have to demonstrate from September 2012.

Scenario 7 Exploring restorative approaches A class is working well and you are pleased with their progress but one pupil is causing you concern. She disturbs the work of others and, when you spoke to her about this in your last lesson, was very rude to you. You feel you dealt with this at the time but you want to ensure a permanent improvement. You enlist the help of a senior colleague to try using restorative approaches. What should he/she do to help you?

Key Learning Outcomes • Reflection on the way you manage behaviour • Increased understanding of restorative approaches. • Increased willingness to change what isn’t working well. • Encouragement to learn more about generic behaviour management systems and try alternatives when one approach is insufficiently effective. • Increased knowledge of research and developments, and how these can be applied to understanding, managing and changing children’s behaviour.

What should the senior member of staff do? Consider these responses and choose the best one(s): • Tell the pupil that staff are fed up with her constant misbehaviour. • Talk to you and the pupil separately first to hear your accounts and what your thoughts and feelings were at the time. • Repeat 1 with both of you together, having established some ground-rules for the discussion. • Tell the pupil that she will be excluded if it happens again. • Ask you both who else has been affected by the situation. • Advise you on what to do next. • Ask you both what needs to happen to repair the harm and put the situation right.

What may be the best choices? A facilitator using restorative approaches (in this case the senior member of staff) will usually: 2.Talk to you and the pupil separately first to hear your accounts and what your thoughts and feelings were at the time. 3. Repeat 1 with both of you together, having established the ground rules for the discussion. 5. Ask you both who else has been affected by the situation. • Ask you both what needs to happen to repair the harm and put the situation right. You will then agree what is to be done and how you will recognise an improvement.

How might you prevent a recurrence? Having agreed what will be done to remedy the situation, both you and the senior colleague will have to follow this up. Use praise and reward to reinforce the behaviour that you want to see from the pupil. If there is no improvement, discuss further action. Other restorative approaches that might be helpful are: • Making pupils aware of the approach so that they know that they will be given a chance to have a say (though not always immediately). This can reduce feelings of resentment and the likelihood of situations escalating. • Using the language of choice. This helps pupils to take responsibility for their actions and understand the consequences.

Underlying Principles When using restorative approaches: • The key principles are of fairness and justice, ensuring that conflicts are resolved and that positive relationships are built and maintained. • All parties have an opportunity to explain what happened from their perspective and be listened to. • The person who has caused harm is, within a restorative context, expected to accept responsibility and, with the support of the others present, work out how to put the situation right. • The person who has been harmed has the opportunity to say what he/she needs to resolve the situation. • There may be a shared responsibility for the events. If so, everyone has a chance to contribute to a solution. • The facilitator does not take sides or tell people what to do – the process itself should enable a solution to be found.

Rights and Responsibilities • Restorative approaches are based on the same principles as those that underpin the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and enshrine equality of esteem. • All parties have a right to be heard. • Agreed ground rules ensure rights and responsibilities are respected (e.g. everyone taking part in a restorative meeting is expected to listen, not to interrupt, to treat others with respect and to be honest). • Facilitators ensure that rules are kept so that everyone feels safe. If rules are broken, a meeting might need to be stopped until order is restored. • Confidentiality is a right for all and everyone has a responsibility to abide by any agreement about who, outside the meeting, is to be told about the outcome.

Activities to try • Find out more about restorative approaches. • Think of an occasion where you had a disagreement that was not easily resolved. How could restorative approaches have helped you? What outcome would you have wanted and how could you have achieved it? • If you are in a school that uses restorative approaches, ask whether you can sit in on a restorative meeting. Note any facilitation techniques that you could employ in your classroom. • Practise using restorative approaches to resolve arguments between pupils.

Conclusions • Find out more about restorative approaches. • Think of an occasion where you had a disagreement that was not easily resolved. How could restorative approaches have helped you? What outcome would you have wanted and how could you have achieved it? • If you are in a school that uses restorative approaches, ask whether you can sit in on a restorative meeting. Note any facilitation techniques that you could employ in your classroom. • Practise using restorative approaches to resolve arguments between pupils.

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Behaviour Scenarios