Behavioural difficulty

Bourne C et al (2006) Cognitive impairment and behavioural difficulties in patients with Huntington s disease. Nurs Stand 20(35) 41-44... 

Draft Guidance on Pupil Health and Safety on School Visits (1998) School Discipline—Circular 8/94 The Education of Children with Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties—Circular 10/94 Exclusions from School... 

Disruptive students, or those with behavioural difficulties appear to have increased teachers frustration with inclusion and have pushed some beyond their limits. Wamock is clear that it is disruptive youngsters who create the biggest problem for schools ... 

The Wamock SEN framework is struggling to remain fit for purpose and where significant cracks are developing in the system - most starkly demonstrated by the failure of the system to cope with the rising number of children with autism and social, emotional or behavioural difficulties (SEED) - this is causing high levels of frustration to parents, children, teachers and local authorities (p. 12). 

Inclusion becomes a headache that won t go away (Baker, 2002, p. 697) and this seems particularly the case for students with behavioural difficulties. Inclusion for these children appears elusive, a ghostly presence that can never quite be achieved. These inclusion ghosts , fuelled by guilt that inclusion is not yet there, turn nasty ... 

The teacher he had sworn at was mortally offended and initially refused to accept his written apology, but eventually relented, under pressure from the headteacher. Clearly such opportunities for escape would not be available to, or responded to, by every student with a label of behavioural difficulties. It is, nevertheless, a heartening transformation which delighted all with whom Alistair was connected - the headteacher, the teachers, the janitor, Alistair s mother, and us, the researchers. Most impressed of all was Alistair himself who came to know himself as amazing . 

In 2004 OFSTED produced a report. Special Educational Needs and Disability - Towards Inclusive Schools, which looked at the extent to which the vision of inclusion is becoming a reality in schools. One of its main findings was that The admission and retention of pupils with social and behavioural difficulties continue to test the inclusion policies of schools. ... 

The DfES Pupil Support Circular 10/99 gave some very good practical guidance in working with pupils with behaviour difficulties. Recently some parts of this guidance have been updated, and have provide some useful tips and ideas that can be shared with staff and used to challenge thinking in schools. 

The Exclusions Guidance Part 1 Promoting Positive Behaviour and Early Intervention (DfES, 2004) gives a helpful checklist of ideas for working with pupils who have behaviour difficulties. Key points/ideas arising are ... 

Internal seclusion (we now have inclusion, exclusion and seclusion), which is a timeout provision, not an LSU, but a short, time-limited removal from class into a well-ordered environment within the school. Internal seclusion should be seen as part of a continuum of support for pupils with behaviour difficulties and should be used within clear and consistent criteria. Monitoring of pupils and staff who use this facility will give an indication not only of pupil difficulties, but also subject and individual teacher issues. This data can then be passed on to department/subjea co-ordinators. 

A number of schools have adopted a collaborative approach to working with pupils with behaviour difficulties. The key elements of good practice have included ... 

Some secondary schools place pupils in lower sets or bands. The routine placement of pupils in this way can be a barrier to development for some, particularly if these groups become undisciplined, demand attention and make little progress. In many cases these groups can be seen as sin bins, whereas in reality they should be the best example of praaice in school rather than the worst. Too often pupils are placed because of behavioural difficulties rather than their learning capability. 

The school does not use local authority central services except in the area of visual impairment where they do not have the expertise. Otherwise the school is developing the same levels of expertise as people from central services. According to the SENCO, the problem has been tiiat the central services are still categorical (speech and language, social, emotional and behavioural difficulties and so forth) not curriculum-led. 

Although the attitudes of many staff are positive, others feel that those students who have been identified as having complex special needs and/or behaviour difficulties should not be in the school. Fiuther, some teachers have low expectations of the students because of their perceptions of the community and the problems that it faces. In turn these low expectations are associated with low aspirations. 

DW There were talks with the LEA but they were fairly aimless. They weren t going anywhere. I think fiom the LEA s point of view we were not a high priority, that they were having aU sorts of problems with EBD [emotional and behavioural difficulties], and one thing and another, and something that might happen three, four, five years down the hne -... 

Hrekow, P. and Barrow, G. (1993) Developing a system of inclusive education for pupils with behavioural difficulties ,Paxfora/ Care, June, 6-13. 

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