Peer support in Class 7 for pupils with behaviour difficulties

The context and general strategies
Our school has a whole school positive behaviour policy which provides the framework for classroom practice and playground management (see Picture B). A key element of this policy is that we do not accept any form of physical, verbal or emotional abuse, eg biting, name calling, threatening behaviour or swearing. Small collaborative schools like ours can discuss concerns informally as they arise, on a daily basis if need be. The management team offer back-up for class teams and playground staff regularly, with additional support available as necessary from psychologists and a behaviour support specialist from the Education Authority.

Class 7 has ten pupils and the class team consists of a teacher and a classroom auxiliary. Most of the children are beginning to outgrow primary school and are getting ready to transfer to secondary with all the fears and anxieties that this transition brings. There are the additional worries about the physical changes that they see occurring in their own bodies and the fluctuating emotions that accompany hormonal changes. The main behavioural aim by this stage is that pupils experiencing behavioural difficulties should regulate their own behaviour by using strategies which they have been helped to learn. The rest of the class should be able to continue with their work during any behavioural lapses, facilitate the re-entry of their troubled classmate, once calm, and offer support to her of him where possible, again using taught strategies.

Positive reinforcement
The class team gives warm praise for good behaviour and for good work. Positive examples are noted and highlighted within the class group, and are reported, for example, to parents, another class or the head teacher. Each day is divided into four sections, three in the morning and one in the afternoon. At the end of each period, pupils and staff review their behaviour and work. The class team uses a jotter for each child that the children call their 'Stamp Book'. The children help to set their own targets for achieving their stamps. Full stamps at the end of the day result in a small reward and verbal praise. Children who achieve full stamps for a week choose a smiley face sticker for the front cover of their jotter, there for all to see. For those pupils who achieve full stamps from one school assembly, names go onto a certificate that is presented in front of the whole school. Regular circle time, once or twice a week, provides opportunities to explore feelings, share experiences and think of strategies to deal with specific concerns.

Differentiated approaches
When incidents do still occur, the type of behaviour generally falls into one of three categories:

• muttered or low-key threats, swearing or name-calling; chair/table tipping (see Picture C); refusal to co-operate with a group or another child or an adult; books or pencils swept off a table etc.
• aggressive, verbal abuse with shouting, loud swearing, etc; chair or other object thrown at someone or something.
• physical aggression directed towards another child or an adult.

Our first consideration is for the safety of children and staff, the second, to enable the child whose behaviour has lapsed to rejoin the rest of the class as quickly and quietly as possible and to be readily accepted back into the group. The large classroom has been organised so that the children may change seats without much disruption. When incidents that fall into the first category occur in a group that are working independently, the children who feel threatened are able to take their chairs with them and find a different place to work so that everyone has space. We find that, once the offending behaviour stops, the rest of the group are more than ready to accept their classmate back. We often overhear such comments as "Would you like to play with me at playtime?" (See Picture D). If an adult is working with the whole class when such behaviour occurs, we move away from the situation and then carry on normally. The pupils are praised for their ability to help the child who has created the disturbance. The 'lapsed' child is readmitted to the group, on his/her request, once any mess s/he has made is cleared up. Incidents that fall into the second category require rather more action. The class is quickly lined up at the door taking their work with them. One adult takes the class to out central book area or the dining area where again the children are praised for helping their troubled classmate and work is resumed normally. The remaining adult in the classroom ensures the pupil's safety, ignores the behaviour, makes no eye contact and gets on with the thousand and one small jobs that are never finished anyway. The adult responds when the child is able to speak in a normal tone of voice. Little discussion of the behaviour is undertaken at this point. Discussion needs a calm atmosphere. When the pupil has cleared up any mess that he/she has made and is ready to rejoin the rest of the group, this is done without interrupting the activity and everyone carries on as normal.

The third situation that can arise is when behaviour threatens the personal safety of others, or that of the child who is having the difficulty. Many of the staff have been CALM trained (specific strategies to contain and 'defuse' violence) so that an adult, or a child if necessary, can summon help from a CALM-trained member of staff to remove the agitated child safely to a quiet room to calm down in their own time.

Although our pupils do have learning difficulties, we have found that, given consistent positive approaches, they can move beyond given strategies to building their own for coping with problem behaviours and are actually able to provide support for each other. Long live Circle Time!