Minimising physical restraint Course. MOE 24/10/17

STP4:4
Notes From:

Guidance for NZ Schools on Behaviour Managment to Minimise Physical Restraint  Presented at TMCS 24/10/17

In all circumstances attempt to de escalate rather than restrain any child in your school.

As teachers we are not 'in charge' or loco parentis for the children in our care. The parents are still in charge of their child even when they are at school.

The policy dictates that in no circumstance are we, as teachers, able to restrain children. 

If a child is throwing chairs in a classroom, the rest of the class is removed from the class. The child throwing the chairs is left in the classroom without being restrained but the other children are made safe without any restraint occurring. 

However if a child was going to harm themselves by running on to the road it is ok stop a child from doing this.

There is acceptable physical contact this is along the lines of common sense ie holding hands if children want to, comforting children, helping with transitions up and down stairs etc.

Big questions? How does this new legislation impact on the emotional and physical safety of the rest of the children? What will happen to their self esteem when their work is destroyed by another child? How will they feel when they have witnessed violence in a classroom? How will this impact their learning when their education is disrupted by a fellow classmate on a regular basis?

Try to keep in mind that those children that need the most loving are often the most difficult to love.

With children with challenging behaviour always try to look for the 'Why' behind this behaviour. All behaviour is communication and it has a function and a purpose, we must strive to look for what the message is behind their behaviour. Are they trying to gain something or avoid something, working out which of these this is may help with our management of this behaviour. If the behaviour works then it will be used again and often escalated to make what they want happen even quicker. We need to be consistent and reasonable in our response to behaviour to affect change. If we wobble and are inconsistent then the behaviour is unlikely to change for the better.

Look at the iceberg and what's hidden beneath the tip of the iceberg which is the behaviour that we can see. What's going on beneath the surface at home?

To relate this to Preston.....when he needs attention take five and give him one to one attention if possible so he feels connected and less inclined to attract attention in negative ways.

When we start to understand the 'why' behind their behaviour we can start to adapt or teach a more acceptable, replacement behaviour. Reinforce what we want to see so their needs can be met in a positive way. 

Praise, praise, praise positive behaviour and what you want to see and you'll see more of it.

Make the program interesting to their particular desires and so they can then engage. 

Be aware of what triggers you or pushes your buttons and how you can manage your response to the child that you're working with. These particular areas are where we may fall down in our management of challenging behaviour as they are specially significant for us.

Manage our reactions by: personal calming, not taking it personally, make it about the process not the person.

Respond constructively: Build trust, maintain safety, retain dignity, build relationships, maintain professionalism.

Always work to preserve the mana and dignity of everyone involved.

Encouraging ready to learn behaviour: Our job as teachers is to balance managing safety with teaching. We also need to, as part of our key comps, to teach behaviour as well as curriculum.

For children to model from us we have to be consistent and calm so they can depend on us and base their response on our consistent and calm reactions.

How to build positive relationships with children?

-connect so they feel safe and comfortable. Make connections with their big world not just their school world.

-make students feel valued.

-students need to know we  want the best for them.

-understand that children have a back ground out of school and that what we are teaching them may conflict with the morals and values that they are taught at home.

-students believe that they are understood and their best interests are at the heart of the matter.

-school is predictable, they know the rules.

-help them with your physical posture, side stance, open escape routes, maintain personal space, appropriate eye contact.

-show support for the student with your manner, calm, in control, attentive, interested, empathetic.

-your language should: seperate you from the problem, makes a situation win/win, supportive language that shows you want to help.

Making a behaviour plan for a child that can be challenging.

The plan needs to be very specific, made by people who know the child very well with clear steps that prescribe how specific, stated behaviours should or could be managed.

At this stage of the presentation we were able to formulate a behaviour plan with our colleagues for one of our challenging children.