Fintan will also be hosting a seminar on dealing with difficult, demanding and defiant learners at the Manchester Early Years & Primary Teaching exhibition (April 27 & 28) register for your free fast-track entry badge and book a seminar place now on www.teachingexhibitions.co.uk or call 01923 690 646 quoting ref TES. 

Female to female bullying
I'm being verbally abused by a Y11 girl whom I no longer teach as a result of her attitude and behaviour towards me. She was removed from my teaching group for non-compliance, aggression and verbal abuse.

I think I know why this is not being taken seriously. It is an example of female on female bullying, which men seem unable to understand. If you were in my position, what would you do?

Fintan suggests 
You need to chat to her one-on-one to establish how your relationship will work in terms of what you the teacher expect from her and what she expects from you.

Establish a system of how she can tell you when she is frustrated or angry so you can allow her some respite and space, but also tell here in no uncertain terms if she challenges you in front of others there will be consequences. 

Getting the class to listen to me
I'm fairly new in my school and took over a relatively challenging Year 8 group from their favourite (and very, very talented) English teacher. I don't seem able to get them to listen to me. The school is supportive and the class does settle to work if another member of staff comes in to observe me teaching, but when I'm alone chaos reigns. (I have 13 years teaching experience, mainly 6th form, Ofsted/peer observations all very positive). What can I do?

Fintan suggests 
First of all you can't be this teacher, you have to be you. You need to establish your own guidelines for learning and behaviour in your class. One suggestion might be to take an early field trip in an attempt to develop a better bonding situation. Remind them of their learning responsibilities and that you will be happy to meet the learning objectives, but at the same time they need to appreciate that you will be different to their last teacher and that they have gone and you are very much here.


Tackling a shouting child
I have a child in my class who constantly shouts out instead of raising his hand and waiting to be acknowledged. I have had words with him and set IEPs but he continues to do this. What suggestions can you give?

Fintan suggests 
We need to establish the reason why the student is calling out - is it because he has an impulsivity issue that he cannot control or is he trying to be deliberately disruptive or overkeen? Having established the reasons why he’s shouting out the following strategies might help the situation.

1 - Teach the child to count to 10 before putting up his hand to indicate that he is ready to answer the question.
2 – Put a post-it note pad on the student's desk so he can write down the answers to the questions. He can then jot down the answer on the post-it note and then place the answer in a tray on your desk.

These two strategies will attempt to teach the child how to learn alternative ways of letting you know what he's thinking. 


Teachers getting ‘terrored’
In the Behaviour forum of the TES website, there is a thread running concerning the problem of students plotting to make a particular teacher's life a misery.  I am sure you are aware of these occurrences. If the students are very clever, they can keep their plot undetected for many weeks. What can a teacher do?

Fintan suggests 
The thread talks about teachers getting 'terrored' - subjected to a continual stream of intimidation and abuse with the intention of causing the maximum amount of stress.

This is a new term on me, but it's not a new strategy that children will use when dealing with individual teachers. Though it may seem that times have changed and that teachers had more respect from students in the past than at the present the issue has always been can you maintain their level of respect during the course of any year.

That said, supporting teachers is paramount to setting the tone of discipline in any school. The senior management team need to make teachers feel that they are the most important element of successful outcomes in the school.

Dealing with disruptive classes is very different from dealing with disruptive individual students because essentially, what you're looking to do is to make a class a team and to make them your team. If certain individuals, and there are always leaders in classes, are dealt with early and left in no doubt of their place in the team the followers will certainly be given a particular message.

Different policies towards low-level disruption can also be effective such as a zero tolerance policy. Its success or failure will depend on consistency of all the staff in the school maintaining the objectives. Finally, remember that each individual teacher is also part of a larger team and is not alone and therefore they should be using their teaching colleagues to combat collectively this disturbing but manageable situation. 


Why does one of my students keep slapping her forehead?
I have a student that keeps slapping her forehead with one hand and then the other. What should I do?

Fintan suggests 
The answer to this question to a certain extent needs more information to try to determine if this student is self-harming or just seeking your attention. Alternatively, this may be one way for this child to indicate they're trying to conduct some kind of thinking process, but it's obviously an unusual action.

Some students who have ASD develop very unusual and sometimes physical ways to communicate with other people. It could well be that this may be one area that may need to be investigated.


The class that just won’t shut up
I'm going to be taking on a demanding class with respect to behaviour management. I've been observing them so far and their behaviour is 'interesting'. Essentially, they won't shut up/listen or get on with tasks. Just wondering if you have some good strategies other than shouting at them.

Fintan suggests 
I think you have answered your own question as shouting at them, unless you want to loose your voice and your mind is not really a good long-term strategy.

There are a number of things you can do. Here are my 10 key rules:

• Focus on the incident not the student
• Refer to rights and responsibilities and “regret the sanction” if non compliance occurs
• Attempt to divert the students attention using distracting techniques
• Try to let this student save face in front of peers by providing a choice of option
• Be calm and assertive when facing confrontation do not appear too passive match the mood.
• Be consistent with rewards and sanctions
• Use When Then commands i.e. when you have put the chair under the desk then you can go and be polite use Please and Thank you
• Provide options for Time Out or Exit situations for frustration by use of goal cards
• Don’t discipline when you are angry you say things you don’t always mean and can’t back up
• Try and be firm fair flexible and have fun with the students

Basically you need to be firm, flexible and fair in your overall management style. Know the children and let them know that some things 6 or 7 rules will be structure of the class, be consistent and seek advice perhaps from colleagues. Oh yes there is a fourth, F have fun


Inappropriate comments from pupils
I'm a teaching assistant and several of the pupils make inappropriate comments. One in particular, has begun to make sexual comments about me and a teacher in the school. All of it is untrue but he doesn't stop these comments. I've been keeping record of some of the comments but I know I haven't got them all. I'm going to send this to the pupil's HOY. Is there anything else I can be doing?

Fintan suggests 
You’re doing exactly the right thing by recording these comments. However the information you’ve collected will only be effective if the Head of Year supports your current situation. My recommendation would be that the information should be shared with the parents of the child concerned.

The second and more important point is that a senior teacher should in no uncertain terms make very clear to the students that you, as a TA, are to be treated in exactly the same way as all members of staff.

It is unfortunate that some students do tend to treat TAs in a less reverent way than regular teaching staff. The school's administration should make it clear that all adults in the school, no matter what their role, are to be treated with respect at all times. If continued sexual comments occur then further serious action should be taken. No staff member should be subjected to this nasty piece of bullying. 


Problem with young children hitting others
I am a nursery teacher with a child in my class who often hits other children when he is unhappy. I have spoken with the parents who are also concerned about this misbehaviour. I’m not sure what to do. I have had calm words, set IEPs, included the SENCO, used stickers but the behaviour persists! What is the way forward?

Fintan suggests 
Often with very young children and hitting positive reinforcers do not seem to work very effectively, although I applaud your efforts to date. Children hit for a number of reasons and it will be useful to observe if there were any particular patterns to this action or antecedents that you can identify. Hitting can also be viewed as some form of communication that the child is sending both to their peers and to you.

Having said this, the child needs to be told that you have a no-hitting rule in this class. If they continue to hit you should focus all your attention on the child being hit and the hitter should receive a stern reprimand.

If this behaviour continues the student should be placed in isolation for a period in minutes equitable to his age (so if he's three then three minutes) before he's returned to the group. A very effective time out management system for younger children called 123 Magic by Thomas Phelan has been used in many schools and it could be an solution for this situation.


The Steer report – did it have any effect?
What effect, if any, do you feel Sir Alan Steer’s Committee of practitioners have had on behaviour in schools when they produced their report, “Learning Behaviour”?

Fintan suggests 
To be quite honest when the document first came out I thought it was rather good, although it did seem to pose more questions than answers due to the amount of recommendations for further action that were made. I have no idea, however, whether or not these recommendations are being followed up, so as a result it’s difficult to argue whether it will have any effect apart from another document on the shelf.


How do I break up three disruptive boys?
I joined a new school in September and have a group of three boys who constantly bicker and disrupt in class. If they’re given warnings at least one of them will switch off completely or become abusive towards me.

Any further warnings then exacerbate the situation further - inevitably, one of the boys has to leave the session. I am being asked to come up with a strategy that rewards their good behaviour and I’m under pressure to reduce the amount of times they’re excluded from a lesson.

Do I need to be even harder in keeping these boys in at break/lunch if they disrupt or should I be using other approaches? My last school used assertive discipline, and though it was a tough school, the children knew where the line was.

Fintan suggests 
It's very true that each school has a culture of its own and, if I'm reading your question correctly, your present school seems to have a rather fluffy policy regarding behaviour management.

Follow your instincts and the training and experience of your last school. Assertive discipline appeared to work for you then and it will work for you now. Keep them back for five minutes at break or lunch as rather than giving them five minutes extra time for not being disruptive.

There may be some mileage in looking at ways of breaking up these three boys within the schedule, which may mean changing classes for at least one of them. Although this may be difficult in the short term, it may well pay greater dividends in the long run.


A teenage girl that hates female teachers
I’m a PGCE trainee and I have a Year eight girl in my class who dislikes me purely because she hates all female teachers except the one I took over from. She literally doesn't care if I ask her to stop talking, she is very dominating and others admire her stubborn nature. If you threaten her with talking to her mum, action with her HOY, she doesn't care because her mum doesn't care either. I’ve tried positive public praise and rewards but I just can’t get her on side.

Fintan suggests 
Unfortunately it is a fact of life that you're never going to click with all students, especially an angry teenage girl. The key things to remember are not to take anything personally. Despite the fact that this may be upsetting and unfulfilling, you need to accept that you and her may never have a good relationship.

The essential thing is to be firm, fair and professional and not to let this girl get under your skin or overshadow the successful work you’re doing with the rest of the students.

A longer-term strategy is to find an adult within the school that she does click with; this may be a learning mentor or better still a school counsellor who can try to deal with some of her angst while sending your message that she has a job to do and so do you. It is unfortunately true that certain students won't listen to comments from you directly but they will listen to the same comments from someone else they trust. 


Has the age of the sarcastic teacher passed?
Do you feel the day of the sarcastic, withering teacher has passed or do you feel that there is still work to be done there when many on the TES pages seem to view that period as a "golden age."

Fintan suggests 
No, I think many still exist and some, despite the fact that this appears to be an old-fashioned teaching style, appear to bond very well with students. Although you shouldn't really use sarcasm with students as a management strategy, sometimes it feels so good. Having said this, we are in a world of 'I know my rights' students and as a result methods that some people may call bullying by sarcasm or fear may not be so effective now. Teachers need to be more flexible in both our management and teaching style.


Spoilt teenager or ADHD sufferer?
My question is - when is his bad behaviour down to ADHD and when is it him just being a spoilt/bloody-minded teenager?

Fintan suggests 
It’s always difficult to assess when children are using a condition such as ADHD for inappropriate behaviour or if their behaviour is as a result of the condition. The simple fact to establish with both child and parent is that ADHD is not an excuse for inappropriate behaviour and you need to be firm on this. Establish that the child has choices regarding his behaviour and though you need to be somewhat empathetic that children with ADHD are impulsive and therefore do not always make good choices.

I have a list of key strategies for general management (see the list below) but ownership of the behaviour and actions of the children must be established first.

10 Things to think about for teachers of children with ADHD
• Decide to do whatever it takes to engage the child in learning
• Determine what are the realistic expectations
• Look at the options to offset the issues of boredom threshold in the child’s schedule
• Identify those members of staff who both click and who do not click with the child
• Identify other students who both click and who do not click with child
• Outline to the child those issues which are not-negotiable in order to stay in the class/unit/group/club
• Do the same as 6 to the parents/carers
• Identify what is the motivation for the child to learn
• Understand what the child is fearful about
• Keep a perspective about your role in the child’s life


Teaching the 'unteachables'
I'm a fairly competent teacher who doesn't have any behavioural problems, apart from one class. This class is regarded as "the unteachables" by most members of staff and I teach them for Drama one period a fortnight, last thing on a Friday afternoon! They fight, swear, never listen. It’s really only five of them that are really bad (out of a class of 15) so usually I just "red card" them (send them out to the inclusion room).

I hate doing this every lesson and no one seems to be listening to me when I say that they are getting nothing from the lessons. What the hell do I do with them to a) make some of them listen and participate without fighting each other all the time and b) make sure the well behaved students in the group don't have lessons spoiled by the behaviour of others?

Fintan suggests 
A couple of points from what you say; the class is probably aware of its reputation as ‘unteachables’ and they will be doing their best to maintain it. Therefore the staff in the school have a responsibility to be more positive about the supposed 'unteachables'.

The second point is that drama, which I imagine would to some extent be a very good vehicle for some of these students, is scheduled at the wrong time of the week for this class. Although you may not have any choice in your teaching schedule you do have some choice in what you teach them. As a result I would try and make the lesson as structured and as fun as possible but at the same time look to make certain important strides with particular students who I can't believe are not causing problems during the rest of the week.

Inappropriate behaviour needs to be matched with consequences which could include Friday afternoon detentions, Saturday morning breakfast clubs and other quite punitive but message-sending options.


Which comes first - learning objectives or tackling behaviour?
When attending an interview and you are being observed with a class of unruly children, do you try to teach the learning objectives or do you deal only with the discipline?

Fintan suggests 
Obviously I am going to say if you get the behaviour right you'll get the learning right. But be in no doubt every new class will be testing your intent, your style, and your discipline and therefore it's essential to get that right before worrying about teaching and learning targets. If the students are enjoying and getting something out of the learning that will also take care of behaviour.


Tackling Friday madness
Why do the kids seem to go crazy on a Friday? And how do I cope with their behaviour?

Fintan suggests 
Fridays, Windy Days, the Photograph Day, End of terms and the Xmas week are all said to be difficult days, the key is how you prepare and react to these situations.

It is true that come the last day of the week, especially near the end of term, the some students do like to ease off. I think the key is to recognise that everybody has one eye on the weekend but still Friday is a school day and as such the routine needs to be followed. Having said that it is always a good idea to recognise the fact that perhaps a regular 60 minute lesson could have 40 minutes then a quiz as an end of week treat or a video slot. You might also make Friday a more project-based day as opposed to regular classes.


Behaviour and supply teaching
I am a supply teacher and am struggling with the challenging behaviour of a few pupils. One in particular is very violent and refuses to listen, often shouting in your face. Today for example, he punched a member of staff in the face (he is year two). Other children in the class have started to copy his behaviour as they think if he can do it then why can't I?. Is there anything I can do to avoid this copycat behaviour and also to get through to this one particular child? 

Fintan suggests 
Students who are violent, especially at Year 2, are worrying. Essentially the reasons for these outbursts and violence need to be investigated at a level which is outside of the traditional classroom. It's difficult to comment on the reasons for this violence and whether it's a learned behaviour from a home situation or whether it's something innate within the child himself.

Two terms I think need to be investigated: ADHD and Conduct Disorder (CD), to discriminate whether this is a premeditated or a non-premeditated response to stressful situations.

Moving on to the other children in the class copying this behaviour, I think this is a temporary situation which can be solved by dealing with this one individual. For further information on ADHD and CD contact www.ADDISS.co.uk.


Handling low-level disruption
I'm on my final year placement as a BEd and am finding behaviour management in my class a real problem, which I have never struggled with before. My problem lies in a handful of boys who cause constant low-level disruption. The boys are constantly challenging and set everyone off, especially another boy in the class who has ADHD. I get frustrated as I am forgetting the simplest things. Can you help?

Fintan suggests 
You’re not alone, everybody has good and bad days. Some are more challenging than others. The basic principles to establish are to be Firm Flexible and Fair. Identify who is the leader and his followers and make an example of them. The boy with ADHD will respond to provocation.

You also need a teacher mentor – bad days are a fact of life and you need someone to unload to and blow off steam.

A couple of Pocketbooks are good on behaviour management. Behaviour Management by Andy Hook and Peter Vass and my book called Challenging Behaviours.


Leading by example
I have recently taken up a primary headship and am currently observing all classes teach. I also teach three of the 7 classes on a regular basis and have taught them all at some point this term. It is clear that, apart from one class, the children's behaviour is generally good but they persistently talk across each other and fidget and shout out/interrupt etc.

Teachers waste a heck of a lot of time doing little 'brain-gym' exercises to get them to focus and listen again. These work, but are very time consuming. The children don't seem to realise that their behaviour is rude and unacceptable. Do you have any suggestions as to how the staff can appreciate that they need to show more control of the children, and how to get the children to see that they need to listen to each other more attentively?

Fintan suggests 
Congratulations on your new appointment and indeed being a head is an interesting and full-time job. It sounds as if the teachers in the school are in need of some strong behaviour management leadership. Although they can't be like you, they can follow the rules and responsibilities that you set out.

Clear and consistent rules and regulations need to be established and all the staff and the pupils need to be made aware of the consequences of not following these procedures. Parents also need to be involved in the creation of any new discipline policies.