Difficult behaviour

1. GIVE THEM RESPONSIBILITY Often, children with challenging behaviour are simply seeking attention, so aim to give them your attention in a positive way. One great way to do this is to give a difficult pupil some responsibility. You might ask the child to 'be teacher', delivering part of the lesson for you. Or ask the child to hand out some resources, or put him or her in charge of a small group task.

2. TRAIN THEM EARLY

Low-level misbehaviour often happens when pupils don't know what is expected of them and are unclear about boundaries. Train your children in appropriate classroom behaviour right from the start. This is perhaps most important at the beginning of their primary school years. For instance, train a Reception or Year 1 class in appropriate 'sitting on the carpet' behaviour. This might include sitting with legs crossed, arms folded, and maintaining eye contact with the teacher.

3. USE THEIR IMAGINATION

Make it fun for pupils to do what you want, capitalising on their imaginative powers. If a difficult pupil wanders around the classroom, you might tell him or her to imagine they're stuck to their chair until you release them. If you want a group of noisy pupils to move quietly around the room, tell them that there is a sleeping monster under the floor, and they must not wake him (don't try this if they're very young).

4. ANALYSE THE SITUATION

Establish exactly why a difficult pupil is misbehaving in the first place. Find the root cause and deal with it in the best way that you can. If he's bored, find ways to excite and engage him. If she's struggling to learn, spend time differentiating the work to fit her needs. This analysis will help you become a more reflective teacher.

5. SET SOME TARGETS

Often, trouble comes about because our pupils are not focused on their work. Setting very clear targets and time limits will help you solve this problem. You might set a target of 20 words to be written in three minutes. You could work with parents to set three behaviour targets for a pupil to work on each week.

6. CALM IT DOWN

If a particularly difficult pupil looks like they are about to erupt, use everything in your power to calm the situation. Employ a soft and gentle tone of voice, ensure that your body language is not threatening or authoritarian, get down on the pupil's level and have a quiet chat.

7. BE SENSITIVE

Feel pity, not anger, for your most troublesome pupils. A pupil who refuses to comply with your requirements of behaviour has probably never been taught what is and is not appropriate behaviour. Some of our most troublesome pupils have very difficult home lives. Be sensitive to this, attempt to understand the pupil rather than getting annoyed.

8. KEEP YOUR PERSPECTIVE

Try to keep a perspective when one or more pupils are really making life difficult for you in the classroom. However tempting it is to dwell on what has happened at school, it is best not to take your problems home with you. Focus as much as possible on the pupils who are doing what you want — in my experience, the vast majority in the class.

Sue Cowley

Sue Cowley's latest book on behaviour management, Getting the Buggers to Behave 2, is published by Continuum Books, www.continuumbooks.com

Futher information

www.teachernet.gov.uk/behaviourmanagement

This content was published in March 2004 and may not reflect current policy