Teach Secondary Issue 14.3

interactions in our own behaviour will help to reinforce those behaviour types we want to encourage. A great way of implementing this is to use the start of lessons to highlight specific instances of positive interactions and actions from previous lessons, which will give pupils a focus for their future interactions, and their reserves of perseverance and self- control. Trauma-informed practice will additionally involve giving pupils choices where possible, since a lack of control can trigger frustration or disengagement. Managing incidents Yet even with clearly defined preventative strategies in place, incidents will occasionally still happen. The key is howwe respond. It’s of paramount important that issues are addressed quickly, with even minor disruptions needing to be handled before they escalate. A firm but calm word, and an explanation of expectations and consequences can often prevent a situation from rapidly worsening. Safety-related incidents – such as reckless tackling, misuse of equipment or contravention of safety rules – demand an immediate response. It’s critical to clearly reinforce boundaries, reasons behind their behaviour. Are they struggling with their confidence? Do they feel excluded? Are they frustrated with their performance? Providing alternative roles or activities; increasing or decreasing activity challenges; structured feedback; one-to-one encouragement – these can all help to re-engage pupils and keep them engaged. Recognising their efforts, rather than just acknowledging their ability will further help to encourage positive participation in lessons. It’s essential to use neutral and constructive language in emotionally charged situations, such as when a student expresses anger after a call they perceive as being unfair. Rather than saying, ‘ Stop complaining ,’ try instead saying, ‘ Let’s focus on what’s next and howwe respond .’ Encouraging pupils to take responsibility for their reactions helps to foster the development of emotional regulation within individual pupils. A trauma-informed approach would entail avoiding public reprimands, as these can heighten stress responses and, in some cultural situations, be seen as embarrassing and give rise to yet more issues. Instead, use private, calm discussions to support your pupils in managing their emotions. work and then reflecting on our own practice. Self-reflecting on certain situations immediately post-lesson, or discussing incidents with colleagues can help to highlight any patterns, and be useful for identifying both areas of strength and those where there’s still scope for improvement. Peer mentoring is another helpful strategy, especially during the early years of our teaching careers. Observing another colleague’s approach to managing behaviour can be highly insightful, and provide new techniques that you can subsequently implement in your own practice. Keeping a reflective journal of behaviour challenges, and noting those strategies that worked (or didn’t), is a great way to refine your approach over time and ensure continuous improvement. A trauma-informed approach will also involve considering how our own responses to conflict can shape the emotional climate of our lessons – because it’s through keeping our lessons calm and predictable that we can ultimately ensure that our pupils feel safe. Our classroom colleagues will look to set clear expectations at the start of their lessons, and it’s crucial that we do the same. Proactive and effective behaviour strategies will help to prevent unsafe behaviours and disengagement from arising in the first instance. Quick, calm interventions can stop relatively minor issues from escalating. Reflective practice and ongoing learning remains essential for strengthening your behaviour management skills over time. By embedding these approaches into our practice, we can create environments in which pupils can engage fully in PE – learning the physical concepts of sport, while also acquiring forms of self-regulation and resilience that will serve themwell far beyond our lessons. Most importantly, by committing to a trauma- informed approach, and ensuring that no instances of physical or emotional harm occur in our lessons, we can foster environments in which every pupil feels safe, valued and able to thrive. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Phil Mathe is a PE teacher, researcher, speaker and author of the book Happiness Factories: A Success-driven Approach to Holistic Physical Education (John Catt, £17); follow him at @PhilMathe79_PE (X) DISCUSSION POINTS Engaging in discussion with colleagues around behaviour management strategies can help to refine departmental approaches and ensure a helpful consistency across lessons. Some key discussion points might include: How do we integrate behavioural expectations into our lesson structures? What strategies have worked well for ensuring safe and controlled play? How can we support pupils who struggle with the emotional aspects of competition? How can we ensure that our behaviour management approach does no physical or emotional harm? What strategies can we use to make PE a more trauma-informed space? Further development Behaviour management in PE is a skill that can and should be continually refined and developed. One of the most effective ways of doing this is by simply observing our professional peers at and see to it that pupils understand that their unsafe behaviour has consequences in line with your wider school behaviour policies. When pupils become disengaged or resistant during lessons, it’s essential to recognise the underlying 59 teachwire.net/secondary P H Y S I C A L E D U C AT I O N