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Keen to start conversations with those in #education about all things '#school' but mainly #behaviour and how we can support children. Will always follow back!
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The Behaviour Headteacher
1.2K posts
The Behaviour Headteacher
@BehaviourHead
#Headteacher at a #school that specialises in #behaviour management whilst continuing to provide a high standard #education & thought I'd share some thoughts!
England, United Kingdom Beigetreten Ekim 2020
6K Folgt6.8K Follower
Trying to teach on a windy day is like herding caffeinated squirrels
Learning goals: survive
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Back to work in education after a break is tough, new routines, full inboxes. It’s tough for students too. Many need extra patience, structure, and support as they settle back in. We’ve got this.
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The end is in sight! 🎄✨ Hanging on for that final push before a well-earned break — coffee, teamwork, and sheer willpower doing the heavy lifting now!
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Christmas can be overwhelming for some children, changes in routine, sensory overload, and big emotions all at once
My advice is simple-slow down, stay curious, and offer choice wherever possible. Small adjustments and connection can make the season feel safer and more manageable
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Teaching math and reading is one thing… but somehow teachers are now responsible for teaching ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ too. The job keeps expanding, but the appreciation doesn’t.
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@ProudlyPastoral Sadly this has become the norm. These overloaded roles will keep piling up as long as staff continue agreeing to go way above and beyond just to keep things running. Something’s got to change.
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Job advertised on TES. This is at a secondary school...dsl, sendco, behaviour lead.
I hope nobody applies. It's an impossible position to put someone in.
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Working in education hits hardest when you’re tired and run down - somehow the next break is always a couple weeks too far away.
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@educationgovuk Imagine doing a ‘mock apology’ only to pat yourselves on the back. The tone-deafness is unreal. If anything proves how out of touch the DfE is with the reality on the ground, it’s… well, that. Read the room.
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@tombennett71 Agree! We’ve gone from describing behavior to diagnosing it, and often by people who aren’t trained to do so. A shy kid isn’t necessarily “anxious,” and a restless one isn’t automatically “disordered.” Well-meaning parents and agencies risk turning temporary traits into labels.
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I think this is true, and important. We rush, as non clinicians, to diagnose the complexity of a human’s personality as a pathology of mental health that few of us are trained to recognise. Because we burn to understand the causes of such behaviours. But inventing reasons doesn’t help us understand them. We are no wiser.
Descriptors like ‘kind’ ‘brave’ ‘shy’ are perfectly serviceable indicators of patterns of behaviour we recognise, without assuming omniscience.
Rob Henderson@robkhenderson
A generation ago, adults tended to rely on plain descriptors. A kid was shy. A kid was disruptive. Now we reach more quickly for clinical language. The shy child becomes a case of anxiety. The disruptive child becomes someone with ODD. The behavior hasn’t necessarily changed, but the frame around it has. The bigger issue is why we have moved so decisively toward medicalizing these traits. Traditional labels were imperfect, but they left room for growth. Calling a child shy suggests something malleable. Calling that same child “anxious” in the clinical sense suggests a condition that might shadow them for years. A diagnosis carries the weight of permanence. It can imply that a child has been marked by an authority in a way that is difficult to escape. That shift, I think, risks disempowering the very kids we’re trying to help.
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@SchoolsWeek Calling phone bans ‘nostalgic’ misses the point. It’s not about escaping progress, it’s about protecting focus, mental health, and real learning. Education with boundaries works best. Banning phones in schools isn’t avoidance; it’s accountability
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'Ultimately, the anti-smartphone crusade feels like a nostalgic yearning for a simpler time that never truly existed. The solution isn't a ban that relieves us of our educational duty'
schoolsweek.co.uk/banning-phones…
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Encouraging children (and homes) to take ownership of their behaviour and consider what they could do differently is as vital as making reasonable adjustments to support them. True inclusion balances accountability with support.
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@garethkthomas Those factors can absolutely play a part. But I’d also add that sometimes what’s missing from the conversation is poor or inconsistent parenting. When boundaries, supervision, or follow-up are lacking, these behaviours can take hold much more easily.
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@dolleyolley @261MH Under Education and Inspections Act 2006 (specifically section 91) a teacher in a school has the power to confiscate, retain or dispose of a pupil’s property as a disciplinary penalty where it is reasonable to do so.
Just make sure your policy is tight 👍
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@dolleyolley @261MH Even if a parent technically owns the vape, the school can legally confiscate and dispose of it if:
It was brought onto school grounds in violation of policy.
It’s illegal for a minor to possess.
Returning it would violate safety, tobacco, or controlled-substance regulations.
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Confiscated several vapes this week. What surprises me most isn’t the number of students caught - it’s the number of parents angry that I won’t return them. We really do have work to do together.
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@garethkthomas Maybe there are layers to why kids vape. But sometimes it’s less about “oral motor input” and more about “testing limits.” And when parents defend it, the lesson learned isn’t the one we’d hope for. (Plus it’s illegal)
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@BehaviourHead I once had an issue with marijuana vapes being sold at my school. A grandma was buying them in bulk for her grandson to sell at 150% profit.
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This and even worse how many buy them for them. Blows my mind.
The Behaviour Headteacher@BehaviourHead
Confiscated several vapes this week. What surprises me most isn’t the number of students caught - it’s the number of parents angry that I won’t return them. We really do have work to do together.
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@tombennett71 Agree—removal rooms are essential for when students’ behavior goes beyond what the classroom can handle (and should have to handle) While there’s debate about what happens in those rooms, there’s no doubt they’re needed.
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This article neatly demonstrates, ironically, why removal rooms are necessary. Because no matter how you slice it, sometimes students behaving chaotically need to be taken somewhere. That’s the removal room. You can call it an isolation room if you have a taste for Kafkaesque literalism. You can call it the Triage Zone. The Crisis Intervention Hub. But it’s still ‘the place they go when their behaviour exceeds the classroom’s capacity to absorb it’.
It is the Room of Requirement.
Schools need one, and if you look for it, it’s there.
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@MBDscience Absolutely this. True inclusion isn’t about ignoring harmful behaviour - it’s about protecting all students’ right to feel safe and learn. Supporting students with needs doesn’t mean accepting behaviour that puts others at risk.
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In the past week, I've sent three students to internal exclusion. One was for repeatedly calling another student "schizo", one was for repeatedly taking off their goggles during a practical, and one was for fly-kicking another student in the stomach.
I do wonder what I am expected to do in the moment with behaviour like that, if not remove the student.
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