De-escalation techniques

Presented by

Donna Swales

Objectives

• To increase staff confidence when working with pupils with identified Behavioural, Emotional, Social Difficulties (BESD)

• To raise awareness of the crucial role school staff play in de-escalating and escalating confrontations.

• To provide a range of skills and strategies that will be effective in dealing with potentially challenging situations.

All behaviour is communication

All behaviour reflects underlying needs and has a purpose. We need to see the person in their context – family, community.

Behaviour is inextricably linked to emotions and perceptions

Behaviour is learned

Behaviour can change

Maslow’s “Hierarchy of Need”

Physical Needs: - Air, food, water, shelter,

medical care, rest & recreation.

Safety Needs – Safe from threats,

treated fairly, trusted and to trust.

Love & Friendship Needs – to

give & receive love, to belong.

Self – Esteem

The “ Value ” Need.

Self-fulfilment

and Actualisation.

1954 “Motivation and Personality”

Abraham Maslow 1908-1970

Early warning phaseThe child’s behaviour is a form of communication and indicates that

something is wrong.

Signs and triggers might be……

• Person is agitated and fidgets

• Facial colour deepens, then goes pale

• Faster breathing

• Speaking louder and faster, rapid or abrupt speech

• Dilated pupils

• Change in voice pitch

• Change in eye contact

• Tense muscles• Face becomes

contorted, tight lipped

• Easily distractible

• Not ‘focussed’

• Arms across the chest – feeling defensive or awkward

• Falls silent.• Pupil may want to

walk away• May invade

personal space

Escalators

How to make things worse!!

We perhaps escalate situations by

•Ignoring the early warning signs.

•Using put-down statements.

•Missing opportunities to praise.

•Spend little or no quality time with child, being

resentful of interruptions to your ‘free time’.

• Ignoring our emotional health and well being and that of the child.

• Pupil information – how is it shared? If at all.

•Use of unrealistic sanctions.

•Being inconsistent in your approach and responses

to the child.

•By having expectations for behaviour and maturity

that are ‘too high’ and unrealistic.

•Failing to empathise with the pupil.

•Being inflexible

•Invade their personal space

Don’t have more than one person giving instruction

Sit there till I

come back, don’t

move!

Why are you

sitting there?

Go and see Mr

Jones now

Stay??

Go??

What *!*?

Now use your skills to make the situation better!

Low Level Strategies

tactical ignoring

‘The Look’

Humour

Other non-verbal signals

Physical proximity

Redirect to task

Rule reminder

Repeat the instructions and expect compliance

Use the language of choice

Medium Level

Strategies

• Casual questions to re-focus

• Take the blame

• Repeat the request

• Distract /Diffuse

• Humour

• Keep calm, slow down and lower your voice

• Be aware of your body language

• Reframe

• Focus on the primary behaviour, not the secondary behaviour

(Bill Rogers)

• Speak or listen?

• Saving face

High level strategies

must be planned forby writing a behaviour

plan

• Remember calm (lower voice etc.)

• Have a clear plan

• Use your ‘scripts’

• Diversionary activity

• Compliance or deferred consequence

• Remove the child

• Remove the class/group

• Send for additional adult help

• Change face/save face

• Don’t invade personal space

• Fights –encourage the least aggressive to move away (if appropriate)

• Record the incident

• Cooling off (Time?)

• Follow up –repair and rebuild relationship

Repair and

rebuild

Invite feedback

Ask child to consider what they might do instead of this behaviour

Ask them what support, from you or other adults they would welcome to help them succeed

Emphasise personal responsibility

State expectation and confidence in the child

Agree another meeting date, if required

Part amicably

Strategies for supporting complex and challenging children

• Know your child• Work on preferred tasks

with time scales. Work gradually introduced with support and encouragement

• High level of affirmation and praise

• Structured reward system reviewed weekly ‘Small steps’ targets (IEP/IBP)

• Emphasis on reducing stress level

• Home/school contact

• Need for ‘ways out’ before a situation escalates

• Short achievable times in classroom

• Child included in discussions about expectations

• Unconditional positive regard

• Give limited choice

• Change face to save face

Conflicts are more

likely to de-

escalate if…

Have a positive relationship with the pupil

You avoid threatening gestures-body language. Don’t block them in, leave them a physical way out

You remain calm and controlled

Try to create ‘a better for both solution’

The pupil / audience separated

The pupil has room to emotionally ‘manoeuvre’

Humour can be introduced into the situation

That there is a clear detailed plan re: additional adult help, strategies

Take the blame

You are well prepared for your lesson and you know your pupils

Modelling

“Don’t worry that your children don’t listen to you. Worry that they are watching everything you do”

Weatherley cited by Catherine Corrie:

‘Becoming Emotionally Intelligent’

What are you really teaching them?

The only thing we can control for certain is our own behaviour

Establish a positive a relationship with the pupil

What we do determines whether a situation escalates or de-escalates.

It’s okay to ask for help.

The consequences of misbehaviour can be deferred

Be an appropriate role model

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