ET Newsletter

EDUCATIONAL THERAPY TEAM “Routines, Responses & Relationships” M1~ Mrs. V. Hollis M2 ~ Mrs. T. Whitter Mrs. J. Wilson & Mr. E. Joell M3 ~ Miss R. Lee

Supporting the Social, Emotional and Behavioral Health of Students and Staff During the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic school closure, we were asked to follow safety requirements that resulted in significant adjustments for children and families. Adults and children faced notable chal- lenges and barriers including, but not limited to: • Changes in daily routines; • Lack of predictability; • Increased fears about their safety and the safety of loved ones; • Extended periods of isolation; • Loss of a loved one; • Limited access to food and safe shelter; and • Ongoing safety and security concerns (abuse, neglect, exposure to violence).

STRATEGIES & ROUTINES 1. Be at the door of your classroom (wherever possi- ble) to meet and greet students. Try to speak or make eye contact with everyone. If this isn’t possi- ble, try and do it with the ‘key-players’ in the class. 2. Have a seating plan that is non-negotiable. Try not to change this too regularly. 3. When students enter the classroom, ask that their planners and equipment are out and ready to use. 4. Have an activity on the board to do. 5. Deal with any latecomers when it least interrupts the lesson. It’s really easy to dismiss how important the above strategies are, but young people need routines. If every colleague in the school did these on repeat, behaviour would improve even further.

DE-ESCALATION STRATEGIES (1) Go cold Much of student behaviour is about desiring an emotional behaviour from the teacher, because if you behave emotionally then you’re not going to be entirely in charge. Sometimes our behaviour as adults indicates a desire to win, and that means a child has to lose. When a child is in ‘flight or fight’ mode de-escalate the situation by en- suring your response is devoid of emotion. (2) Redirection At an early stage of a behaviour incident redirection is generally the best tech- nique, where you just redirect the child away from their emotional landscape, you redirect the child away from the triggers and just put them onto something else. (3) Use of Language The best practitioners select their words, tone and timing carefully and are adept at reducing anxieties and de-escalating behaviours because of how they connect with a child through the use of language. For example: Rephrase “Will you stop talking?” to “I’d like everyone listening thanks” Rephrase “James, stop turning round and distracting John” to “James, I’d like you facing this way and getting on with your work….thanks” The word ‘thanks’ is effective here (much better than using ‘please’). It reaffirms with the child that you fully expect them to follow your instruction! (4) Give a choice (but both options are what you want!) “I would like you to make a choice, either get started with your work or explain to me what the problem is.” The power of choice is a brilliant strategy to use. Students often need to feel in some sort of control when their behaviour escalates and this gives them that wish. (5) Give take-up time This avoids the domineering and screaming teacher – “come here Boy!” Simply, “Joe… (pause to gain attention)… come up here a sec please.” Then delib- erately look away… talk to someone else. Joe will come. He just will. In his own time. It works, try it. It also works in the corridor. “John, come over here for sec please”… then walk away to a private area, away from peers. John will follow and not lose face.

DE-ESCALATION STRATEGIES (6) Partial agreement (aka being the grown-up) Similar to strategy one, it’s not about winning or losing, it’s about creating the right environment for students to thrive. Sometimes, we need to be the grown-up and avoid seeking out confrontations. In both examples below, the student was 100% doing what they shouldn’t have been but the two teacher responses ensure that the primary behaviour isn’t escalated: Student: “I wasn’t talking, I was doing my work.” Teacher: “OK, Maybe you were but now I want you to press on to finish the task. Student: “It wasn’t me… it’s not mine… I didn’t do anything.” Teacher: “Maybe not – but we’re all clear on the rules about that aren’t we and I’d like you to help me out next time. Thanks.” (7) Tactically ignore ‘secondary’ behaviour Mobile phones are not permitted in our school. Occasionally a student will have their mobile and will be caught using it. Teachers will then confiscate the mobile phone until the student’s parent can pick it up. Confiscating an item is never a joy- ous occasion; the student will rarely hand it over with a smile! The student will most likely say something like ‘this rule is pathetic’ but do your very best to tacti- cally ignore this behaviour. Focus on the primary behaviour (mobile phone) be- cause it helps avoid further unnecessary escalation. Behaviour is an emotive issue and often complex issue. The steps above are what we are using for our context at a secondary school in York, and while many may transfer to other settings equally adjustments may be needed based on your knowledge of your school and your pupils. It is therefore hard to articulate more general behaviour rules, however, Tom Bennett, in a recent tweet, hit the nail on the head for me: “The secret of any school with great behaviour *and* challenging demographics remains: A strong emphasis on promoting positive cultural nroms Well-taught routines Consistently applied consequences. That’s it. That’s the secret.” Matt Smith, Deputy Headteacher, Huntington

OVERCOMING STRESSORS Social Skills Activities • Allow students to talk about and share their feelings connected to what hap- pened at the end of last school year and what is happening with the new school year. Younger students may need help labeling feelings and may express their feel- ings through activities such as play, art and music. • Coping skills: Teach, model and practice coping skills to support self- regulation (deep breathing, progressive relaxation, physical activity, drawing or writing). • Reframe and empower: Assist students with reframing negative thoughts into empowering statements. First, validate the child’s feelings, then offer a different perspective. For example, a student may say, “I can’t play football with my friends at recess. This is the worst. I hate school.” Staff validate the feeling and reframe. “It sounds like you miss playing football with your friends. That’s frustrating. This is a great opportunity to learn a new game or hobby. I wonder what else you would re- ally like?” Keep in mind, some children will express negative feelings through be- havior and may not be able to verbally express their feelings. • Show gratitude: Create gratitude journals, jars or collages where students identify the positive things in their lives. This can be done as a classwide project or as individual projects. • Relationship building: Build relationships and connections with students. • Reflection on past experiences: Have students identify a previous challenge and how they overcame it. Point out the skills they used to persevere. • Teachable moments: For young children, identify challenges in the moment as “teachable moments.” For example, a child exhibits frustration and the teacher acknowledges and validates the child’s feeling in the moment and supports the child in problem-solving. • Book reflection: Use book character(s) to discuss challenges and how the character(s) overcame the challenges. Examples in history: Facilitate class activities that research historical times of challenge and crisis. Discuss how people during that time may have felt and how they overcame the situation. Facilitate comparisons with the current situation.

5 STRATEGIES FOR TEACHER SELF-CARE Michelle Obama affirmed, \"We need to do a better job of putting ourselves at the top our own 'to do' lists.\" Her words may sound counterintuitive to people who spend their lives serving others. But we can't serve our students well if our own energy is being critically drained by stress and fatigue. Here are five strategies that teachers can start using right away that will lead to better self-care. Trim Your List The job of an educator is more complex than ever before. When you are busy—which is pretty much all the time—it's easy to think that everything matters equally. The problem with this approach is that there is simp- ly not enough time in the day to do everything. Therefore, it is critical that you decide what matters most and spend the majority of your time doing that. The list of obligations and responsibilities assigned to you might be out of your control, but where you decide to focus is not. Start by making a list of your top 10 priorities. Next, rank them in order of importance. Finally, circle your top three and cross out the bottom seven. What you circled is what you will focus on. Extremists say that you should ignore anything that is not in your top three. That is probably impossible, but you can give 95 percent of your focus to the top three and leave the remaining 5 percent of your energy to check in on the other seven items. I guarantee you will get more accomplished, have more time for yourself, and worry less about getting everything done. Allow Yourself to Stop As you go about your day, look for times when you can stop and relax your brain, even if it's only for a few minutes. I promise it will be a good use of your time. And, if you don't make the habit of pausing once in a while, your body and mind might just do it on their own—whether you choose to or not. Embrace Vulnerability Vulnerability is one of those things that sounds easier than it actually is. It can be particularly difficult for stressed teachers, already with their guards up against physical and emotional harm, to be vulnerable. Yet, embracing vulnerability may be just the thing to help teachers feel better. As Brene' Brown wrote in The Gifts of Imperfection, \"We have to own our story and share it with someone who has earned the right to hear it, someone whom we can count on to respond with compassion\" (p. 9). Educator’s stories are powerful, reaf- firming and sometimes flawed. We can learn from each others highs and lows (and give ourselves a little grace). Reach Out to Experts As the classroom teacher, yes you re in charge, but may not have all of the answers. was the one in charge. Our colleagues possess certain skills and knowledge that some of us don't. As a classroom teacher, you can: pretend and fail or ask for help. Your colleague offer a wealth of knowledge, become help-seekers. You will be less stressed and recoup the time you would have spent fumbling in search of a solution. Pass Your Umbrella As teachers, you hold the umbrella day in and day out, protecting your students from everything that could possibly harm them. You are their shield. The problem is, there comes a time when our arms get tired and our hands begin to shake. Continuing to hold the umbrella is almost impossible and can send us over the edge, physically and mentally. Remember that it is okay to pass your umbrella so that you can rest and recover and, ultimately, take better care of those that you serve. If one of your colleagues reached out to you and asked if you could hold their umbrella, you wouldn't hesitate because that's what you do. You take care of each other and you take care of your students. It's time you start taking care of you.

EDUCATIONAL THERAPY TEAM “Routines, Responses & Relationships”