Relationships First: Rethinking Behaviour Policies in Schools (With Stephen Steinhaus)

After a difficult behaviour incident, how do you rebuild your relationship with a pupil who's sworn at you, become aggressive or stormed out of your classroom? And whose responsibility is it to make the first move? In this episode of School Behaviour Secrets, you'll discover why repairing adult-pupil relationships isn't just important for the child - it's also in your own professional interests. You'll learn why pupils who've experienced trauma, or who have certain SEND needs, may find it pa...

What do the latest behaviour, SEND and attendance statistics actually tell us about what’s happening in schools? In this episode, you’ll explore five recent figures that raise important questions about suspensions, SEND support, attendance and the pressures facing school staff. You’ll hear why headline data can hide what’s really happening underneath, why pupils on SEN Support may need closer attention and why behaviour data is most useful when it leads us to better questions rather than quic...

Does your class work well independently, but the moment you put them into groups, the noise goes up, chairs start scraping and everything begins to unravel? Group work places more demands on pupils than we sometimes realise - from moving around the room and managing resources to remembering instructions, negotiating with other pupils and switching attention. In this episode of School Behaviour Secrets, you’ll learn five simple ways to make those transitions smoother and help pupils settle mor...

Ever used your calmest voice with an upset pupil, only to find it winds them up even more? You’re trying to help, but somehow your calming strategy is making things worse. In this episode of School Behaviour Secrets, you’ll explore the difference between sounding calm and helping a pupil feel understood. Through a familiar classroom scenario, you’ll hear how well-intentioned responses can add pressure, and why showing some emotion can sometimes communicate more empathy than a perfectly soothi...

If pupils are marked present, but still spend large parts of the school day hiding in the toilets, wandering corridors or visiting the medical room – have you solved your internal truancy problem, or just moved it somewhere else? In this episode, you’ll learn about emotionally based internal truancy, or EBIT - an informal way of thinking about pupils who make it into school but struggle to access the classroom. You’ll discover how to balance safe toilet access with clear expectations around l...