Behaviour

At Hill West, we have the highest expectations for children in terms of their behaviour. This is because their early pre natal and post natal experiences have prepared them well to succeed in school.  For those children whose early life experiences, or indeed diagnosis of additional needs, have not equipped them to manage their strong sensations or emotions, it is incumbent upon us to support them systematically through excellent relationships to learn strategies to reduce their anxieties and manage their feelings and emotions.  Over time, it is our intention to equip all children with the skills they will need for success in later life.

We do this through:

• A relational and Trauma Informed Attachment Aware approach to all that we do
• A carefully planned curriculum to support our children’s understanding of their brain and emotions
• Allocation of a key worker where necessary
• Embedding vital relational functions (VRFs)
• Targeted social and emotional developmental intervention strategies
• Embodying PACE (Playfulness, Acceptance, Curiosity and Empathy)
• Clearly articulated, appropriate and proportionate responses

Children and adults who are able to regulate themselves physiologically have what is called a large ‘window of tolerance’. This means they are able to tolerate both high and low levels of arousal without dysregulating (tripping into a survival ‘flight’, ‘fight’ or ‘freeze’ response).

Our core purpose is to support all children to increase their window of tolerance and thus their capacity to regulate themselves physiologically. This takes time and many repetitions.

PREVENTION

Fostering connection
Eye contact, thumbs up, smile, nod, good morning/welcome, end of day goodbye, sharing humour, assigning jobs, take an interest in their hobbies, use transitional objects, reciprocal touch, keeping close, winking, noticing change – lovely hair etc, mirroring child’s emotions.

Praise
Great work, super effort, I’m impressed with, I love the way you.., stickers on work, smiley faces, thumbs up, high five, great job, star cards, praise points, house points.

Regulating
I wonder if, I can see.., I think you need, let me help, I understand, That must be…, I know how that feels, would you like,…Let’s do this together, I will help you, do you need a hug?

Self care
Acknowledging how you feel, breathing, walking away, taking time out, swapping in, changing track, choosing when to intervene and when not to, celebrating personal successes, reflecting on practice.

REACTION

Validate
Oh dear..I can see you’re feeling very frightened/scared/worried/cross/upset/angry/anxious…. goodness me – I can see you’re very….I remember feeling like that when I…..

Co-regulation
Make the right choice please, I know you can, kind hands thank you, kind words thank you, inside voice thank you, you can do this….or this…which would you prefer? Show me good listening, I know you listen first time of asking, let’s breathe together, how can we regulate together?  

When an incident escalates that puts the child or other children at harm you will need to draw upon….
In a firm, assertive voice: No, stop now, this is not acceptable, come with me, this has to stop, let’s go and see (a member of the Headship Team),

REPAIR

Restorative conversation
In a calm, quiet, low-distraction area where both participants are regulated a conversation will take place in the form of a behaviour intervention to support the child to reflect on their behaviour and the impact it has had on them and others.
1.Talk to me about what happened.
2. What were you thinking at the time?
3. How did that affect those around you?
4. What can we do to put it right?
5. What can you do differently next time?

WHEN NECESSARY

Develop a behaviour support plan with parents and Phase Leader to support the child to recognise feelings and manage them in a socially acceptable manner. 

If a relationship breaks down between the teacher, parent and child which means that the child is disadvantaged through school’s inability to help them make positive change then exclusion will be considered as a last resort.