There is a perception among some people that behaviour management is innate: that either you can do it or you can’t. That’s not to say they believe that there is one single way of managing behaviour correctly, rather that some people just find the thing that works for them a lot easier than others do.

It’s a damaging myth because it puts the blame for poor behaviour on a teacher or a pupil directly, when actually good training on behaviour can make a huge difference to a teacher’s ability to ensure that learning happens uninterrupted in classrooms.

Teacher Jen Foster feels that this training is shockingly rare at primary level in particular, and in this article she explains the type of support and systems that she thinks should be in place.

Tes: So you don’t think there is enough training for managing behaviour in primary school settings?

Jen Foster: That’s right. Behaviour management is normally something you have to figure out on the job, despite it being something you need at every point of the day. Training is essential because it’s very easy to get behaviour management wrong, and the consequences of that for learning, wellbeing and relationships are hugely negative. It really isn’t something that you can just pick up.

What’s your view of the typical approaches to behaviour management in schools?

I think the problem really stems from the term itself: “behaviour management”. It immediately makes me think of an oppositional relationship, of teacher versus students, and it gives rise to those common tools of “managing” your students, such as the bribes of charts, stickers and prize boxes.

When we are then presented with distressed behaviour, we call it “challenging” behaviour. The child has a consequence and we are pretty miffed that it has interrupted our lesson. Without the training and subject knowledge behind behaviour, more often than not, teachers see behaviour management as a distraction to our “real work”.

So you decided that a different approach was needed?

Yes, I realised the methods that we use in schools weren’t making a long-term difference. Those seemingly “challenging” children were being controlled, not actively engaged. And those children who always received the most stickers? They carried on always receiving the most stickers. Any social and emotional challenges they had were overlooked.

I wanted to create something that was more than a short-term fix. I wanted to establish a positive classroom culture where all children were supported emotionally and socially cared for. I wanted children to set their own goals, draw their own path, measure their own success. We talk about visible learning for our subjects, but why hasn’t that approach filtered down into our pastoral support?

I hoped to create an answer for this. I wanted to use current research to inform my pedagogy. Ultimately, I wanted to foster happy and engaged pupils over compliant ones. Was that too much to ask?

So what did you end up doing?

I built the Positive Pathways Project. It is both an ethos and a practical approach. The ethos focuses on understanding the “why” behind behaviour. All behaviour is like its own little CSI case. There is always a reason for a behaviour and once we find that reason, we can then prevent it happening again by supporting each individual.

The Positive Pathways Project is also about understanding that every child in your class needs to be motivated, and that this motivation is achieved through a personalised and child-driven approach.

We don’t talk about challenging behaviour any more, but “distressed” behaviour. Although the child might be challenging your patience, that is not their goal. They are trying to communicate something to you and they are struggling to do so. Our job is to try to translate.

And the practical approach?

There are seven practical steps to creating this ethos:

1. Emotional literacy

Our children cannot identify whether it is anger, anxiety or jealousy that they are feeling unless we teach it to them. Teaching emotional literacy supports children to identify their emotions and therefore learn to regulate and manage them. Children must learn to do this for themselves. We cannot control how they feel and how they manage their emotions. It is personal. We do this through picture books, modelling and explicitly teaching emotions.

2. Wellbeing check-ins

So they understand their emotions? Result! Now it’s about helping them to express them. A wellbeing check-in is where children have the opportunity to let you know how they are feeling. These are done in various ways across key stages. For example, you might have children’s names on pegs, and posters with different emotions. They can peg how they are feeling. You may even have Google Forms where they can click away and you receive your class data. There are many ways to do it but the idea is that it is private, efficient and allows you to intervene. You can swoop in and any escalation of distressed behaviour is prevented.

3. Calm corners

A calm corner - literally a physical space to be calm in - provides a safe space for pupils that focuses on the “why” behind the behaviour they are presenting and the emotions that they are experiencing. It allows children to have that time to be listened to and supported. It works as a preventative strategy so we don’t have to wait for behaviour to escalate and call it out publicly. Calm corners do not have to be a studio apartment in your classroom. Simple and purposeful goes a long way.

4. Daily mindfulness

That low-level disruptive behaviour you are experiencing might be coming from children not being able to focus any more. A few minutes of doodling, interactive breathing and getting outside can be the difference between focused pupils and a paper aeroplane to the head.

5. Positive Pathways over behaviour charts

We use the analogy of pathways to help children understand the link between behaviour and learning. We tell children that every path is unique, has its own obstacles and anyone can get lost on it, but that you can always get back on the path and everyone needs support sometimes.

We create individual plans for every child - identifying their challenges and providing support to tackle them. There are endless variations as long as you keep the language and ethos the same.

6. Trigger checklists

Trigger checklists go through a variety of questions to help you find that ever-elusive “why”. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs can be very helpful for this. Are pupils hungry, cold? Do they feel unsafe? Are they having conflicts with their peers? Is the work too challenging or too easy? Questioning the root cause behind behaviour helps us to understand it and ultimately reflects how we teach and how we support our pupils.

7. Restorative practices

De-escalation scripts and plans can help us to follow clear steps to avoid overwhelming children. So instead of saying “Stop that” or “Calm down”, which will almost certainly achieve the opposite, we have planned phrases to support that child like “these are your choices” or “I am here to support you, I am not going anywhere”.

Post-incident reflection forms are also important to stop a negative cycle of behaviour. Taking the time to talk about what happened, why it happened and how the child felt allows the child to feel heard and provides an opportunity to discuss how you can support that child and how they can support themselves in the future.

It’s a comprehensive set of changes. What were the key implementation challenges?

The number-one challenge was time. The reason why teachers (myself included) tend to be drawn towards extrinsic rewards is because they are quick and effective. But there is no shortcut to establishing a positive classroom culture - it is an investment into your class and your teaching career.

Once you have adopted this method, your secondary challenge will be motivating your team to take the same stance. Unity will turn this initiative into a long-term process that promotes happy and successful pupils over compliance.

What has the impact been?

Thanks to the groundwork, I’ve been able to immediately identify potentially distressed behaviour and de-escalate this, safeguarding my pupils’ wellbeing. I’ve established a better understanding of my pupils and therefore strong relationships, leading to a positive classroom culture. We have essentially said goodbye to low-level disruptive behaviour and hello to intrinsically motivated pupils.

The language that pupils use now to discuss their social and emotional goals and progress is revolutionary, too.

What do you hope to do next?

I hope to share this ethos far and wide. I would like to get it into as many schools as possible to support teachers. So if you like what you read, get in touch on Twitter.

Jen Foster is a teacher. You can find her on Twitter at @goodmorningmsfoster

This article originally appeared in the 4 December 2020 issue under the headline “How I…transformed behaviour”