Teach Primary Issue 18.4

32 | www.teachwire.net Setting the standards We all know how important clear expectations are in managing behaviour: they give clarity of intent and a sense that the teacher is in control of the situation. It’s useful to remember that most children are well used to teachers establishing expectations. Those children who attended an early years setting before school will have had several years of ‘golden rules’ being shared and reinforced. It is not that they do not knowwhat they need to do; if they are struggling, this is because they have not yet fully developed their self- regulation skills. Establishing your expectations is not about listing long series of rules – children are unlikely to retain them– it is about creating a shared sense of purpose. By talking through and narrating the why of the behaviours you need, we can help children understand that rules are there for a reason. In addition, it is vital to come back to expectations repeatedly to reinforce the learning. Praise the children when they are doing the right thing, model the behaviours you ask for, and consider strategies such as having a O ne of the keys to classroom management is forward planning – getting in front of tricky behaviour before it happens, rather than reacting to problems after they occur. Not only does this allow you to avoid the stress caused by poor behaviour, it also helps keep the atmosphere in your classroom calmand focused. Forward planning is about being crystal clear about your expectations, but having plenty of ways tomanage, reinforce and revisit them. It is about making sure the learning is suitably scaffolded, so that all the children feel a sense of success. Forward planning alsomeans thinking about the timings and format of lessons and transitions, to help children stay focused and engaged. The better prepared you are ahead of time, the more your children will feel confident and ready to learn. In addition, you will feel more secure in your ability to manage inappropriate behaviours when they do happen, and you will come across as confident in your ability to handle them. Where the children believe that their teacher can calmly manage the classroom, this feeds into their sense of working together a learning community. In the sixth edition of my book on behaviour, Getting your Class to Behave , I explore lots of ways to plan ahead for more positive outcomes. ‘golden rule of the week’, where you focus on one behaviour at a time. Following through One of the keys to clarity of expectations is to ensure that you follow through on what you say (although this is often easier said than done). Ask any group of teachers what they need from the children, and they will always say that good listening is a priority. We need ‘one voice’, so that everyone can hear what is being said, whether it is the teacher speaking or the learners. However, most of us would admit that sometimes, through sheer frustration or the pressure of time, we have ‘talked over’ a class that was not completely silent. Unfortunately, every time we do this, we send the message that we did not really mean what we said. This is where forward planning comes in handy – think ahead of time about what you will do to get your class’s attention, and to ensure everyone listens silently. Youmight agree a ‘call and respond’ with the class; you could try a sound (we use a handbell in our early years setting); youmight praise those children who are sitting quietly ready to listen. The more options you have in your ‘backpack’ of strategies, the less likely you are to get defensive when issues occur, and the more likely you are to follow through. Imaginative approaches Young children are brilliant at entering the world of the imagination: typically, they love going along with strategies that encourage them to think creatively. Research shows that when children take on a role, this helps themmanage their impulses. Imagining that they have become ‘someone else’ allows them to ‘self-distance’, and in turn supports them to persevere. One of the times when issues often arise with behaviour is when pupils need to leave their desks to make THE PROBLEM Sue Cowley explains how to get ahead of classroommanagement “Establishing your expectations is not about listing long series of rules” Pre-empting