Written by Paul Dix
Scenario:
There is a rumour in the staff room. You know that you shouldn't get involved but you can't help yourself. There is a new child arriving. A wayward scholar who, after some ‘local difficulties' was removed from a school nearby. He sounds like proper trouble. He looks like it too. In a competition to find the kid who looks most like trouble Henry would be a multiple prize winner. Unfortunately in the classroom Henry is not so successful. Apparently he has a history of violence against animate and inanimate objects, refuses to read and has parents who are flattered to be called feckless. The staffroom atmosphere is friendly and convivial until you find out that Henry is coming to your classroom. Tomorrow. No, no, no. No no no no. No. Your lovely year 4 class who you have moulded and manipulated into a magical learning co operative is being sent a torpedo of trouble. NOOOOooooooooooooooooo.
After spending the requisite 20 minutes talking/arguing/almost shouting/ /pleading/being helped up from your knees/crying with the Head you resign yourself to the fact that Henry is coming. And he is coming your way.
Choose an intervention strategy that best fits how you might respond.
A. Ignore everything and teach - keep your expectations high and refuse to judge him on his previous record. Let Henry find his way in.
B Head Henry off at the pass - don't let him walk straight in. Create an induction programme for him and ease him into your classroom culture
C Prepare the ground - with the children and with the environment - talk to the children about the new arrival. Make sure they are ready and prepared.
Now describe what happens in each case
A: Ignore everything and teach
You have heard the stories, read the report and seen the data but you want to give Henry a chance. A chance to be treated fairly and equally with the other children. Leading him in the classroom he seems calm. He wants to sit with a couple of boys he already knows from outside school and it seems reasonable enough to let him. After all you want him to feel at home. Indeed by breaktime Henry feels completely at home, feet under the table, confident as you like. The disruption starts in earnest after lunch. There has been trouble with football and Henry is at the centre of it. There is an explosion in the lesson, table flying, actual fists being used towards the face and terrified children catapulted in all directions. Henry is removed (almost carried), still kicking out, by the Head and co opted strongmen. The class sit in stunned silence. Looking at you with fear and anxiety in their eyes. You realise that your cavalier attitude has backfired. By not differentiating for Henry you have abdicated responsibility and the consequences are all around you. You can already imagine the tide of emails, texts and impromptu visits from parents that is coming your way. Henry sits on the sofa of shame outside the Head's office and you wonder how you can repair the damage caused and reset the expectations. You wonder if the damage done with the rest of the class will ever be repairable.
Talking behaviour
- Is it ever right to ignore the information that comes from other schools when accepting a new child?
- What do you say to the rest of the class about the incident?
- How could you differentiate your behaviour management to meet Henry's needs?
B: Head Henry off at the pass
You spend the evening in a fit of panic that matches your fitful sleep. The plan is simple. Divert Henry before he gets to the door of the classroom and let him spend the first two lessons with Quennie (LSA) who can set him straight, show him the ropes and give him the best chance of settling in well.
You welcome Henry in reception. He is surprisingly well presented and not quite what you expected. He is thick set, strong and square. But clean, polite and keen for mum to go. You introduce Henry to Queenie who ushers him away to take him through your hastily agreed induction.
You re-jig the seating plan to some protestations from the rest of the class. You excuse it on ‘being able to work productively with anyone is an important skill' and move on. Henry is cunningly positioned between Cassidy, who takes no nonsense from anybody, and Kelvin who manages to balance being cool with working extremely hard.
Henry emerges from his time with Queenie keen to join in with the class. Three simple expectations have been reinforced heavily. As he takes his place in the class you can see that he is going to be a handful. Yet he has started well and you can set about reinforcing his good behaviour. You know the honeymoon period wont last but Henry has made the best possible start. You begin reframing him as a valuable and important member of the group, you send home a positive note to mum at the end of the week and begin to learn when to divert Henry away from potentially difficult situations. You call on his gentler side referring to him as a ‘gentle giant' and begin to introduce the idea that he can be someone different in this new class.
Talking behaviour
- What would an induction programme to your classroom involve?
- What should the other children be told about new children coming in, if you can see there will be difficulties?
- Why shouldn't Henry just be allowed to come in and start work with the other children?
C: Prepare the ground
You read the children a story about a boy called Harry who finds it difficult to fit in. In the story Harry is angry and loses his temper. The children love the story and enjoy thinking about the issues that arise from it. You had considered speaking to them directly about Henry but felt that using a story would be a better way in.
The first difficulty arises when the children start calling Henry, Harry. Some of the girls come to ask you if it is the real child from the story. They are excited that it might be. Henry overhears and gets the idea that everyone has been told about him before he arrived. In a fit of tears and anger he storms out of the room before he has even had a chance to find his seat. He shouts loudly enough so that mum, who has been lingering far too long at reception comes running and makes a bad situation much much worse. As the Head arrives to find out what the commotion is Henry's Mum starts dragging her son out of the school claiming that ‘You are all the same, you promised that things would be different etc etc'. As the last echoes of Henry's mum fade and Henry is pulled out of sight the Head turns to you for an explanation.
As you walk back into the classroom the children want to know how the story really ends.
Talking Behaviour
- How can you prepare the class properly for a new arrival when you know that things might be rough for a while?
- How do you deal with angry parents in reception?
- How can you reintroduce Henry into the class now?
Which approach did you use?
A: Your style
Wing and a prayer
Of course you need to keep your expectations high and give Henry a chance but you also have a professional duty to the other children. There will be information that other teachers have passed over that could be extremely useful, indeed critical. You cannot expect a child who has clearly struggled to stay within the rules in one school to simply transform in another. Transformations take time, hard work and a more intelligent strategy than simply sink or swim.
B: Your style
Easy does it
Giving Henry an induction to the classroom (however hastily arranged) is an important first step. Keeping it simple and short is a must. Henry can deal with being withdrawn for the first session, maybe even the first day but soon he will need to join the general population. Easing Henry into simple routines, reframing his behaviour with positive reinforcement and thinking really hard about where he sits are essential steps for the first week.
C: Your style
Passing the buck
The children do not need to be prepared for Henry's arrival by being told that Henry is trouble. They can make up their own minds about Henry and ought to be allowed to do so without interference. Henry's behaviour is your responsibility and your business only. Involving the children is only going to lower expectations and make them feel anxious. You need to play the cards that you are dealt and play them well. Deferring responsibility to a class of year 4 can never be a great plan. Particularly when you are dealing with a child with more challenges than just changing schools.