Fill in the form below to arrange our first meeting:
This is a common area of questioning and should be prepared for when interviewing for a primary school principal or teacher role.
A small minority of pupils may not be willing or able to comply with school / class rules to the same extent as other pupils. For these pupils, it may be necessary to devise an Individual Behaviour Support Plan. The concept of it being a support plan is important – we want to support the pupil towards behaving in a more appropriate and acceptable way.
There is no one way to devise or to present this plan, but the following might need to be considered:
1. The purpose of any Behaviour Support Plan should be to help the pupil to take responsibility for his/her own behaviour and to teach him/her how to make appropriate choices.
2. A multi-disciplinary approach is recommended, one that includes the teacher(s), Special Needs Assistant, principal, parent(s) and the pupil in the process. It will be more difficult to succeed with an Individual Behaviour Support Plan if the parent or pupil are not willing participants.
3. As part of the Behaviour Support Plan, a Behaviour Contract may need to be drawn up (like a Class Behaviour Agreement) which is signed by all parties. In drawing up this contract, use language which is clear and appropriate to the age and ability of the pupil.
There are a number of steps to an Individual Behaviour Support Plan. These are generally the steps that one might take:
1. Identify Problem Behaviours: make a record of all the inappropriate / problem behaviours being exhibited by this pupil. Identify one that causes most concern / that you would like to change, or perhaps identify one that you think you have most likelihood of succeeding with.
2. Observe and Record Behaviour: Having selected one behaviour, document each time this behaviour occurs. The purpose of this is to get a baseline record of the behaviour. In this process, you can note exactly what is happening, when it is happening, who is present at the time, and what is the intensity of the behaviour. It is advisable to tell the pupil what you are doing, as this in itself may act as a deterrent. “Seán, I’m concerned about your continued hurtful comments to other people in the class, which is breaking our class rule on respecting others. I’m going to keep a record for this week of how often this happens, but I’d like to record as few comments as possible, preferably none. I’d like you to try hard to keep this record sheet blank / free of X’s.” Recording of behaviours should be carried out over the course of a full week. In classes where a Special Needs Assistant works with a teacher, it may be easier to carry out the process of recording – decide which adult takes on the role of observer / recorder. A number of options for recording behaviours are presented at the end of this factsheet, including an option for pupil self-assessment.
3. Analyse Data Gathered: once the recording phase has passed, an analysis of the data may be able to answer the following two questions:
What does this data tell me?
What can I do about it? Alternatively, a more detailed questionnaire can be used (see point 5 below)
4. Implement Intervention Strategy: this can be the difficult part. We need to identify ways of helping / encouraging the pupil to change his/her behaviour to a more acceptable behaviour. What we might need to consider here includes the following:
• What are the antecedents / triggers that we can identify and how might we minimise / alleviate the impact of these? We can try to:
a. Avoid situations that are likely to lead to the behaviour
b. Distract rather than confront the pupil
c. Match the activity to the pupil’s ability level
d. Get the pupil’s full attention before giving directions
e. Give more positive than negative attention
f. Alert the pupil to a change in lesson/activity
g. Anticipate problem times and plan for them
h. Give clear directions
i. Model the appropriate behaviour you wish to see
j. Choose a few simple clear rules and stick to them
• What are the new behaviours / skills we wish the pupil to display and how do we teach these behaviours / skills to him/her?
• What types of rewards / incentives does this pupil like to receive?
• What type of sanctions / direct consequences may be most effective in preventing the pupil from displaying the inappropriate behaviour?
• How will we measure what we see? Continue with recording to compare to the baseline record
• How will we write this strategy? Draw up a Behaviour Contract with/for the pupil
During the implementation phase, it’s important to use as many of the positive behaviour strategies as possible, including:
• Catch them being good
• Reward appropriate behaviour
• Tactically ignore behaviours if it’s safe to do so
• Praise and encourage
• Give rule reminders
• Make positive contact with parents – note in journal, good news phone call etc.
• Offer choice to the pupil where possible
• Teach the pupil an alternative acceptable behaviour
5. Evaluate the Intervention: assess after one day / week / month whether the plan is working or not. If not, think about whether it is worth persisting with it for more time or to try a different approach. At this stage, communication with all parties is vital – consult with other staff members, parents and with the pupil to get their views on how the support plan is working.
What might be considered in the evaluation phase?
• Are the rewards being used effective and strong enough for the pupil? Do we need to change the type, level or frequency of the reward?
• Does the key staff member have a positive relationship with the pupil? Sometimes there can be a clash of personalities and if this is the case it might be appropriate to look at involving another staff member.
• Are the boundaries included in the Behaviour Contract as clear, precise and firm as possible?
• Have we taken time to show the pupil what type of behaviour we expect, as well as what we don’t want to see?
• Was there consistency in the implementation of the contract agreement or did we let it slide?
• Did parents play their part in ensuring compliance with the contract / supporting and encouraging the pupil?
• Does the pupil need more positive attention than we have been able to give them so far?
Get in touch today and we can arrange a call to see how I can help you with your interview preparation.
Fill in the form below to arrange our first meeting:
