As a former school-leader with over 10 years experience as a headteacher, Joe Mangan is back with more expert learnings; this time sharing insights into classroom behaviour management.
Behaviour management in UK schools has long been a critical aspect of ensuring a conducive learning environment and is often a topic of conversation amongst educators, headteachers and Trust leaders.
Creating a positive learning environment and an effective behaviour management policy not only reduces misbehaviour in the classroom, but also ensures an environment where students and teaching staff feel safe, respected and motivated. If this isn’t achieved, misbehaviour in the classroom can often lead to pupils not making the progress they should, but also additional stress on educators leading them to possibly leaving the profession altogether.
But how can an effective behaviour management policy be introduced? Here we discuss the opportunities of clear, constructive and research-based policies in schools and MATs.
Responsibility
Ensuring a behaviour management policy is upheld within schools, is not actually just the responsibility of the senior leadership team, but in fact every adult within the organisation. Research cited by the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) stresses that whilst most pupils are well-behaved, there’s a clear need for schools to have consistent policies that promote positive behaviour in lessons.
Whilst ensuring the formulation and consistent implementation of behaviour policies can often fall outside the remit of a SupplyWell educator, it is vital knowledge to understand and draw upon to help you manage your learning environments on a day-to-day basis.
Recommendations
The EEF guidance, compiled of six stages, has developed recommendations for improving behaviour. Their first stage discusses ‘knowing and understanding your pupils and their influences’, and whilst as a short-term supply teacher this may prove more challenging than the full-time permanent teacher, their research suggests using the EMR method (establish, maintain, restore).
Next, the report suggests teaching learning behaviours, alongside managing behaviours. A recent Teacher Tapp Survey suggests that about 43% of teachers said the last lesson they taught was disrupted owing to poor behaviour. Ellis and Tod created a model that shows each pupil has three relationships – with themselves, with others and with the curriculum. So to ensure pupils are learning behaviours, it is important for teachers to encourage pupils to be self-reflective of their own behaviours.
The third and fourth recommendations suggest using classroom management strategies to support good classroom behaviour and simple approaches as part of your regular routine, to reinforce the behaviour policy in a positive way. Our in-house expert, Dylan, has over 33 years teaching experience and here shares his 10 top tips to keep your classroom running smoothly.
Stage five, however, recognises that universal behaviour systems are unlikely to meet the needs of all your students, so tailoring your approach and referring back to the EMR model might be necessary.
Finally, the last recommendation outlines how a consistent and coherent approach across the whole school is paramount. As a supply educator, make sure you speak with your Relationship Manager to help you understand the school-wide behaviour policy before you begin your placement.
Behaviour Management as a Supply Educator
Working in supply, you may have previously moved continuously around schools and not stayed within the same MAT on a regular basis. But working as part of SupplyWell’s Flexible Workforce, you will work across a family of schools within a Multi Academy Trust – meaning you can feel more confident and aware of the behaviour policies implemented.
Alongside this, you will also be able to establish relationships with other staff and pupils. With pupils, you will be able to quickly understand their individual context and implement classroom management techniques, teaching learning behaviours which can be transformational for a young person’s future achievements.
Joe’s Teaching Toolkit
In 2014, Ofsted claimed students lose up to an hour of learning every day (equating to 38 days a year) due to poor behaviour. So using effective classroom management strategies, being a reflective educator and always being open to learning new strategies; should support increased positive behaviour.
“With a wealth of teaching experience under my belt and as a former headteacher of over ten years, I’ve had a lot of experience using a variety of techniques when it comes to classroom behaviour management. But my best advice – keep it simple and remember the basics”
Joe Mangan
- Greet students positively at the door before each class
- Create a classroom routine with clear expectations from the outset
- Communication is imperative – you need to listen and be empathetic
- You will often find yourself problem solving in an instant, being proactive helps here
- Ensure your body language is positive
- Let go of any previous incidents and starting fresh each day
- Verbally acknowledge and praise good behaviour – let your pupils know when you have seen them be considerate or helpful to their peers
- Make sure your pupils are involved with the learning and that it’s not just a passive lesson
One universal system will not meet the needs of all your students, but remember – you have all the experience and tools to implement a successful behaviour management system. We all recall teachers who inspired us to learn and changed the way we viewed a subject or education in general – and for every pupil you encounter, that could be you; inspiring and changing lives.
Learn more about our Flexible Workforce and how you can Get Started with SupplyWell today.