Support Staff Training:Building Positive Relationships

Day 1

WELCOME

Introductions• Introduce yourself to your partner and ask them which

school/establishment they are from.• Ask them: “If you could be anywhere else in the world

right now, where would that be, and why?”• Individuals will feed back this information to the whole

group.

Course Aims• Reflect upon the skills & qualities required to

support young people effectively;• Identify your own strengths and development needs;• Increase confidence in carrying out our support

roles;• Explore the different roles and contributions that

individuals make within a team;• Examine the roles for support staff with Curriculum

for Excellence; and• Identify effective strategies to promote positive

behaviour and interpersonal skills in young people.

Success Escalator:where are you?

1

10

Why are you here?

• What do you need to move up the success escalator?– Wider knowledge– Increase in confidence– Effective strategies– Share good practice with colleagues– Time to reflect– Other…

Life experiences and influences

• We (support staff, teachers, head teachers, depute head teachers and pupils), all bring a range of experiences and influences to school.

• These influences can impact upon how we react to situations.

The Human Condition

Thoughts Feelings/Needs

Behaviours

What has happened to Jamie?• What influences and experiences is he bringing to

school?– There are experiences, events and relationships which

impact on children’s lives. Psychological/physiological factors may also be a feature. Any and all of these factors can influence their behaviour. Staff have little or no control over these factors. Children can display these behaviours as:

• Loss of personal power• Need to maintain self-esteem• Fear• Failure• Attention seeking• Displaced anger

What can we do if Jamie’s behaviour is challenging, possibly because of

difficult circumstances outwith school?

• React rationally by staying in control of our own behaviour and not taking acting-out behaviour personally:– Be in control– Be professional– Look for positive diversions

Stop and Think!

• Do the behaviours and attitudes of staff impact in behaviours and attitudes of those young people in their care, and vice versa?

BEHAVIOURBEHAVIOUR

Behaviour provokes reactions from others

THOUGHTS THOUGHTS

Thoughts process the experience and drive feelings

REACTIONSREACTIONSReactions can in turn become experiences that further drive thoughts and feelings

FEELINGS FEELINGS Emotions drive

behaviour

EXPERIENCESEXPERIENCES

Result from incidents/events and perception

Think about the person who has most positively influenced or motivated or inspired you…

Try to identify the skills and qualities that this person has.

Good support staff are:

• Open• Fair• Caring• Enabling• Assertive• Enthusiastic• Supportive• Resilient• Persistent• Respectful

• Resourceful• Engaging• Have high

expectations• Flexible• Humorous• Creative• Brave• Patient

• Persistent• Committed• Trusting• Encouraging• Reliable• Challenging• Prepared• Sensitive• Listening• Consistent

Support Team acronym:

Supportive

Understanding

Patient

Practical

Organised

Reliable

Thoughtful

Trusting

Enthusiastic

Accepting

Motivated

Standards in Scotland’s Schools Act 2000

• Education is to be directed to the development of the personality, talents, mental and physical abilities of the child or young person to their fullest potential.

• Learning abilities and life skills are both important and complementary.

Standards in Scotland’s Schools Act 2000

• Opportunities should exist for the development of abilities and experiences within multiple contexts.

• Experience gained must provide necessary life skills for safe, positive and purposeful participation.

• Schools must nurture core skills.

Curriculum for Excellence – Successful Learners

• With:– enthusiasm and motivation for learning– determination to reach high standards of achievement– openness to new thinking and ideas

• And able to:– use literacy, communication and numeracy skills– use technology for learning– think creatively and independently– learn independently and as part of a group– make reasoned evaluations– link and apply different kinds of learning in new situations

Curriculum for Excellence – Confident Individuals

• With:– self-respect– a sense of physical, mental and emotional well-being– secure values and beliefs– ambition

• And able to:– relate to others and manage themselves– pursue a healthy and active lifestyle– be self-aware– develop and communicate their own beliefs and view of the

world– live as independently as they can– assess risk and take informed decisions– achieve success in different areas of activity

Curriculum for Excellence – Responsible Citizens

• With:– respect for others– commitment to participate responsibly in political,

economic, social and cultural life

• And able to:– develop knowledge and understanding of the world

and Scotland’s place in it– understand different beliefs and cultures– make informed choices and decisions– evaluate environmental, scientific and technological

issues– develop informed, ethical views of complex issues

Curriculum for Excellence – Effective Contributors

• With:– an enterprising attitude– resilience– self-reliance

• And able to:– communicate in different ways and in different

settings– work in partnerships and in teams– take the initiative and lead– apply critical thinking in new contexts– create and develop– solve problems

Vision for Children

Successful

learners

Successful

learners

Confident individual

s

Confident individual

s

Responsible citizens

Responsible citizens

Effective contributor

s

Effective contributor

s

To enable all young people

to be…

Achievement

and

Attainment

Framework

for

Learning

Inclusion

and

Equality

Values

and

Citizenship

Learning

for

Life

Team Work 1Different types of teams:

Team Work 2What are you?

• Are you a PLUNGER?

• Are you a WADER?

• Are you a TESTER?

Plungers think they are:

• Enthusiastic

• Dynamic

• Positive

Other people think plungers may be:

• Impulsive

• Cut corners

• Over-confident

Waders think they are:

• Balanced

• Purposeful

• Dependable

Other people think waders may be:

• Middle of the road

• Boring

• Bland

Testers think they are:

• Investigative

• Reflective

• Highly organised

Other people think testers may be:

• Over-ponderous

• Timid

• Controlling

Teamwork• An understanding of individual approaches can

support team creation and team working by:– Improving communication– Identifying individual and team strengths and

challenges– Helping people to value the strengths of others– Clarifying team behaviour– Helping to match tasks to people– Predicting potential problem areas– Helping deal with conflict– Improving the way the team solves problems

Team Work

Together we can achieve so much more…

FOR GOODNESS SAKE STOP !!!!!!!Rocking on

chairsMaking silly

noises

Getting out ofseat

Shouting out

Prodding other

pupils

Notbringingcorrect

equipment

Fussing withcoats & bags

Talking when

the teacher is

Coming into

the classroom

noisily

Preparatory task for Day 2

• John is running along the top of the school wall again although you have told him several times to stop.

or• Amy is crying again saying that no-one will play with her,

despite the fact that you gave organised a ‘playground pal’ for her.

Think of a situation from your own experience. Note it down and bring it with you tomorrow (think of the

‘button pusher’ activity).

Thank you for your consideration, thought and contribution today.

It is appreciated.