The Behaviour Curriculum

The Meadowfield culture of behaviour support is “Child Informed”.

We seek at all times to support our pupils with understanding and positivity.

We are always curious about what drives the behaviours of our pupils and their specific context (EEF).

We use a range of strategies to teach the skills our pupils need to succeed.

Wellbeing Policy Core Values

1. Behaviour communicates a message
2. Positive relationships support wellbeing
3. We address the wellbeing needs of all pupils
4. Meadowfield is a safe, caring, supportive environment
5. We seek out therapeutic approaches to support wellbeing
6. We support our pupils to self-regulate
7. A commitment to reducing restrictive practices
8. All interactions are respectful and positive

Many of our pupils have been identified, through Boxall profile assessment, as requiring additional support to develop their emotional and personal development.

We also look at the context of the behaviours that occur, and use our knowledge of the child, in collaboration with parents and carers to plan which interventions would be best suited to improving their wellbeing.

The time invested in learning within the behaviour curriculum will improve outcomes for the pupils. To ensure this investment is effective those leading the therapies and interventions regularly evaluate them. The primary assessment tool used is the Boxall Profile. We cannot teach these in isolated 1 off sessions. We need to revisit and develop the concepts, understanding and skills over time, building on what has been learned previously.

Some interventions require the pupil to be withdrawn from curriculum time - This is not taken lightly but we strongly believe that a child needs to have these early developmental needs met in order to be ready to learn.

We have a range of tools that we use to identify the root drivers of low wellbeing or challenging behaviour, these include functional and sensory assessments, Think - Feel - do assessments/ empathy maps and comic strip conversations.

The use of specific strategies is flexible and constantly under review for each pupil but they largely fall into three levels of support.

Strategic Teaching

Strategic teaching is our universal whole school ethos and provision. It is the consistent Meadowfield approach to supporting behaviour that is applicable to the majority of our pupils, for the majority of the time.

The following Meadowfield community expectations should be evident to all visitors: - Quality first teaching, Self-regulation tools, visual supports, communication systems (including AAC), positive interactions, outdoor learning, personalised communication and interaction styles, access to sensory circuits, EHCP target focus, structured teaching approaches, Magic Breakfast Provision, Nurture time.

Targeted Support

This is support that may be outlined in a pupil's EHCP or identified by staff within school. It is generally therapeutic and delivered by specially trained Meadowfield staff.

• MOVE therapy
• Hydrotherapy
• Pets as Therapy (PAT)
• Lego Therapy
• Wellbeing Interventions
• Pupil-Mentors
• TAC-PAC
• Intensive Interaction
• Play Therapy
• Forest School
• Gateways to Proactive Management
• Think, Feel, Do model
• Comic strip conversations

Specialist Support

This support is provided for those pupils that need additional input to develop their development. Generally, these will be delivered by external agencies or Meadowfield school staff who have completed externally recognized accredited courses.

Wildflowers nurture group, music therapy, talk time, Healing Together, PROACT SCIPr UK pupil specific training.

Nurture and Wildflowers

For pupils accessing the Nurture provision (Wildflowers) we compare current and previous Boxall assessment scores on Boxall Online. This allows us to evaluate the progress each pupil has made. This is done every two terms. From there, we can assess whether the student requires the same level of nurture group input or whether we can begin to reduce or end sessions entirely, with the pupil returning to full-time learning in their base class. Wildflowers staff will remain involved and can step up support or guidance for the class team if required.

Each pupil has 3 Boxall targets, which we record progress against in an EHCP diary format. From 2023 EFL (Evidence For Learning) will be used to record this.

We aim to develop confidence, independence and resilience as well as provide the tools to help regulate, but this is mostly down to working within a trauma aware approach. We develop trusting, warm, safe relationships with the pupils that attend Wildflowers through our use of unconditional positive regard, consistency and respect. We do many different activities within the nurture group, but the foundation that we build on are those positive relationships. Research found that Nurture Groups contribute to the whole-school environment through creating calmer classrooms and empowering teachers to meet the needs of children.

Nurture: Attachment and Trauma

Attachment theory is widely accepted as impacting the behaviour of young people. It is noted that the behaviour of Looked after children, around 7% of our pupils, and those who have experienced childhood trauma can be particularly impacted by the attachment they have with their primary caregivers. We are not qualified to identify a pupil's attachment style but our Wellbeing approach is informed by therapeutic and positive approaches that are sensitive to pupil's past experiences. We are mindful that the pupil's past experiences will determine how they respond to interactions with adults and peers. We may gain insights into their past through safeguarding records and discussions with parents, carers or external agencies. We use these insights to inform the strategies we use to support their wellbeing and development.

The Center for Family Development (New York) produced a guide on Reactive Attachment Disorder for Teachers that states as a teacher, you are not the primary caregiver for a child and that teachers change often. We recognise this but also value the positive pupil - staff relationship at Meadowfield and seek to ensure that familiar staff maintain contact with the pupils where possible such as through check ins, greeting in the corridor and assemblies. One of the recommended strategies to use with pupils who may have attachment problems is "time-in" which we use widely with pupils who need additional support.

PROACT SCIPr-UK

All staff are Trained in PROACT-SCIPr-UK approaches which is a relational, positive behaviour support system. This model provides staff with a training curriculum that includes a range of approaches and tools for proactively supporting behaviour. We seek to constantly review our practice to make sure we support our young people using evidence-based practice that is respectful to their individual needs. We work closely with colleaques from across Kent to ensure our training reflects current best practice and meets Restraint Reduction Network training standards.