Behaviour for Learning: SEND and behaviour
The Education Endowment Foundation published a report, drawing on the best available research, to bust some common SEND misconceptions. One of them is the idea that: “All children with SEND display disruptive behaviour.” At GHS, teachers understand this and know that some pupils with SEND may display misbehaviours but not all. These challenging behaviours may or may not be related to their SEND needs. SEND can affect: how child behaves; how they may socialise and communicate; and their concentration levels.
Challenging behaviour can feel personal but if we remember that behaviour is a form of communication, especially when a pupil doesn’t have the vocabulary to express what they need verbally, it can be helpful.
It can be useful to consider some of the following questions if you teach any SEND pupils who display misbehaviours:
- Are literacy needs a barrier for learning and reduced engagement?
- Has explicit instruction* been used?
- Have outcomes been made explicit and modelling has taken place to show the pupil how to achieve the outcome?
- Has learning been supported and scaffolded so the pupil can succeed?
- Does the student need a learning check-list to help focus them?
- Have you tried flexible grouping**?
This isn’t exhaustive but it can be helpful to start reflecting on what we can do to support our SEND learners so that they don’t communicate the difficulties they can face through misbehaviour. Remember that there are detailed strategies for these students on MINT and SIMS on each pupil’s SEND passport.
Have a great week!
Mark and Jo
* Explicit instruction: Explicit instruction refers to a range of “teacher-led” approaches, focused on teacher demonstration followed by guided practice. Explicit instruction is not just “teaching by telling” or “transmission teaching”. It usually begins with detailed teacher explanations, followed by extensive practise, later moving on to independent work.
** Flexible grouping: Flexible grouping describes an in-class approach that sees groups formed with an explicit purpose. They focus on a specific learning need and are purposely disbanded when the purpose is met. Allocating temporary groups can allow teachers to set up opportunity for collaborative learning, for example to read and analyse source texts or complete graphic organisers.
From the Head
Rav Dhindsa promoting discussion with a visual image on the board with his year 7s by having his table layout in groups as opposed to rows. He scaffolded their discussions with a variety of questions to build their understanding and knowledge. 
Hassnain Mahay focusing on literacy in a BTEC Science lesson. He used his “Do Now” activity to get students to unpick the language on an upcoming homework question. After the class was settled, Hasnain added their thoughts and annotations as comments on the homework document, which he later published in their Google Classroom for students to complete at home (see right and below):
Inclusion Heroes!
