Columnists
Why schools should reward positive behaviour
S
tarting this month, in his regular column, Graham Cooper, head of product strategy at Capita SIMS, offers his experience
of teaching and managing in schools to answer your questions or provide tips for anything related to school management and data. For example, you might want to know how to measure progress now that levels have been removed or monitor the impact of pupil premium funding. So whatever your burning question, or issue, Graham will give you some ideas to help.
I thought I’d kick off my first column
of the new school year by sharing a few handy hints on an area that we are often asked about – tracking behaviour. Here are my top tips:
Tip 1: Keep it simple What I have learnt from visiting countless schools is to think carefully about what you want to record and keep it simple and understandable. A student who talks during a lesson may incur one point, for example. Swearing in class may result in five points and fighting, ten points. But make sure that you limit the definitions to a serviceable minimum otherwise trying to use and analyse the data will become too complicated. Also, providing teachers with too many options when entering the data usually means it takes longer.
Graham Cooper
Tip 2: Focus on the positive I’ve come across some schools that only record positive behaviour in their management information system (MIS) to motivate students. One school I visited started to record positive behaviour and achievements as well as negative incidents and noticed a greater than three to one ratio of ‘good’ to ‘bad’, after a period of time. This gave them the opportunity to understand, celebrate and reflect on all the positive things that were happening in the school. The information can be recorded and monitored through the
school’s MIS allowing staff to monitor the scheme’s progress. It will also enable senior leadership teams to investigate any patterns that arise. Are students struggling to arrive on time to English after PE and do we need to have a word with the PE teacher? Are the same group of students continuously late to double maths?
Tip 3: Share the good news If a student has been particularly helpful during geography, do you have a system in place to share the good news? Jayne Mullane, headteacher at Mersey Vale Primary School, has a behaviour dashboard that enables her to instantly see everything logged by teachers throughout the day. This means that when Jayne is walking around the school, she is able to congratulate a child who successfully completed a reading task, for example.
Tip 4: Let parents in on progress I know there are many schools still recording behaviour incidents on paper – I have visited schools that use carbon paper to ensure multiple copies are held by various members of staff. But the benefits of storing data in a central system and sharing behaviour information with parents via text or a portal have helped many schools intervene more quickly and address small issues before they have an impact. Remember, if you have a question that you’d like answered in my
next column, do email me via the magazine’s editor Jonathan Swift on
jswift@datateam.co.uk.
uwww.capita-sims.co.uk uTwitter: @CapitaSIMSk
12
www.education-today.co.uk New year, new beginnings T
eacher, STEM ambassador and Education Today
columnist Kirsty Bertenshaw this month offers her thoughts on making the best possible start to the new school year. The new academic year is here,
and a new opportunity to make a difference to the lives of our
pupils. This can be quite an intimidating thought after the summer! To remind myself that I can actually do my job, my method of preparation is to remind myself of the basics before I get back in the classroom - this is not new, it is simply a reminder of what I and many professionals already know works from experience.
Kirsty Bertenshaw
Don’t smile until Christmas? The old mantra of not smiling until Christmas is about getting structure, routine and behaviour management right before you able to really succeed with stretching the learning of pupils. However, I find this impossible! Instead I try to maintain a strict routine for the first few months, using different teaching techniques when appropriate - trust your instinct.
Model behaviour Model the behaviour you expect from your pupils. The best way to insist on a respectful attitude is to show one. Techniques such as “What should you be doing?” instead of “stop doing that and do what I told you to” are much nicer in attitude, without being too relaxed. Another behaviour I try and use is to repeat the instruction calmly; “name, you need to ... (rest of the instructions)” with time in between repeats to allow the pupil to think about the instruction before hopefully following.
Make the environment pleasant Where you work is important for you and the pupils. Not all schools are in good repair and there’s not a lot you can do about that, but as for the décor, posters and displays are a good way to cheer up the environment. I tell terrible jokes, as those pupils who I taught last year will testify. But, with new pupils or those I haven’t taught before, I don’t want to start with bad jokes and fun, but rather with routine and structure. That doesn’t mean I don’t have a sense of humour, I just stick funny science pictures up on the display board instead, my favourite of which is “Never trust an atom, they make up everything!”
Prioritise You need a work life balance - it makes you a better teacher as you will be less stressed, you will enjoy it more and the pupils will enjoy it more. Easier to say than to apply in practice, I know! I have to remember not to volunteer for too many things. Saying “no” can be difficult, so discuss alternatives or extending time frames, or say “I can do that, but I can’t do it before Friday”. Prioritise – work out what has to be done, what will really make a difference if you have done it, then what you would like to do. I plan my PPA time with lists to prevent wasting time for example; on displays when actually the pupils could stick up their work when they complete it. The lists are never fully ticked off of course, but as long I can tick something than the time has been used successfully. I also have to remember it is only a job. We spend our time talking about
avoiding labels with our pupils, but often label ourselves! I am Kirsty. I work as a teacher. A job I enjoy, a job I want to do well. And now I just have to remember my own advice!
September 2015
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