Positive Relationships and Behaviour Management

Challenging behaviour

We understand that the term “challenging behaviour” is still used widely across our sector and comes with a shared understanding of what this means and looks like.  It can be described as, any behaviour displayed that is a challenge for others to manage and puts the child or others at risk.

However, in children’s residential homes we are trying to avoid any outdated terms that afford blame or shame, or where the terms imply that the child has the problem to be solved.  “Challenging Behaviour” is one of those terms and should be replaced with ‘behaviour or concern’ or ‘distress behaviour’ as this highlights the ideal response of staff supporting the child rather than the challenge they must overcome. 

The registered person will ensure that staff understand that to thrive, children need to feel secure in loving homes with positive relationships.  Staff and children who establish a ‘secure base’ are less likely to present unwanted behaviour, staff should focus on establishing a ‘secure base’ in whatever way is meaningful for the child.

The PACE model can help staff work positively with a child.

PACE stands for:

(Sometimes 'L' for Love is included, making PLACE). Children in the home are helped to develop skills and will benefit from staff who model positive behaviour themselves working in a PACEful way, with the best interests of the children at the heart of all they do.  Staff who understand children's previous experiences and the impact this can have on their behaviour and their difficult feelings and emotions will be better equipped to deal with unwanted behaviours.  They must always treat each child with dignity, kindness, and respect. 

The registered manager will ensure that:

• Staff are trained and have a good understanding of the children, their needs and the function of their behaviour and can Meet each child's behavioural and emotional needs, as set out in the child's relevant care plans, risk assessment and Behaviour plans;
• Staff will Help each child to develop and practise skills to manage difficult emotions and find positive outlets for these and they will help them to resolve conflicts positively and without harm to anyone;
• Staff must Help each child to develop the understanding and skills to recognise or withdraw from a damaging, exploitative or harmful relationship;
• Staff will show empathy by actively showing the children and young people that their thoughts, feelings and experiences are important and that they are there for them through hard times;
• Staff will Strive to gain each child's respect and trust by forming strong attachments, having fun with them and making them feel valued & ensuring activities are child centred;
• Staff Are provided with reflective, supportive supervision to enable them to understand and manage their own feelings and responses to the behaviour and emotions of children and separating the child’s actions and behaviours from their motivation and feelings;
• Staff can De-escalate confrontations with or between children, or unwanted behaviour by children;
• Everyone understands and communicates to children that bullying is unacceptable; and
• Have the skills to recognise incidents or indications of bullying and how to deal with them.

Each child is encouraged to build and maintain positive relationships with others & enabled to build friendships with other children. They should be able to spend time with their friends in the local community, in their home area, and by having friends visit them at the Home, in line with the child's plans, age and understanding.

Staff understand and help children to understand what makes a healthy, nurturing relationships. Staff should be skilled in understanding the range of influences that friendships can have and should encourage those with a positive impact and discourage those with a negative impact. Staff are skilled to recognise the signs and provide support to children in danger of or involved in exploitative or damaging relationships with others and where possible prevent these types of relationships.

• The capacity and competence of staff to build constructive, warm relationships with children that actively promote positive behaviour, provides the foundations for managing any negative behaviour. Where positive relationships exist between children and staff this should be respected and maintained as far as possible when making any decisions to alter staffing arrangements;
• The registered person should respond to children's views about changes to staff and be aware of the potential impact this may have for the child's stability and emotional well-being;
• Positive behaviour and relationships should be reinforced, praised and encouraged; unwanted behaviour should be challenged and discussed.

In the case of children who have, or are likely to, sexually offend, the Home should establish the extent to which friendships can be supported, in line with the child's relevant plans and subject to the safety of all concerned.

The registered Manager will ensure The Home is committed to a holistic approach that draws on established theoretical bases, research, best practice and guidance in order to promote and develop positive behaviour.

Positive behaviour support should focus on the values that underpin the behaviour management training staff receive for CPI Safety Interventions:

Care Respect, dignity, empathy, person-centred.

Welfare, Maintaining independence, choice, and well-being.

Safety Protecting rights and minimising harm and

 Security Safe, effective, harmonious, and collaborative relationships.

Unwanted or Distress Behaviour:

Understanding that we all communicate through our behaviour is important and understanding this and why a person exhibits distress behaviour will help staff to look beyond the behaviour and at the reason for distress. Objectively analysing the risk level of a behaviour helps alleviate risk and helps to use approaches that are reasonable and proportionate. Staff are trained in CPI Safety Intervention training. This training includes learning about preventing and managing a crisis. A vital part of this being curious in order to understand distress behaviours and to address the cause of the behaviour to de-escalate the situation. It also enables staff to identify and respond to various levels of unwanted behaviours. Understanding the levels and using early intervention strategies as included in PACE can prevent the situation from escalating.  The training also covers managing staffs own emotional responses to distress behaviour.

And includes decision making, this includes how staff should assess Risk Behaviour to use Safety Interventions as a last-resort, reasonable, and proportionate response to maximise safety and minimise harm. 

The Home's approach to behaviour support:

• Person centred and trauma informed approaches which aim to create a safe, caring environment where children are supported to develop understanding and empathy towards each other;
• Ensures that all children have opportunities to become confident and achieve their full potential;
• Encourages the child's consultation and participation in setting rules and understanding consequences;
• Acceptance from staff is at the core of a child’s sense of safety and belonging. Staff will support children and young people to understand expectations in relation to behaviour and are supported to understand what is acceptable, and to develop positive outlets and approaches to challenges within their lives;
• Ensures that all children and young people understand how positive behaviour is recognised and rewarded;
• Ensures that all children and young people are supported to understand the consequences of unwanted behaviour, where possible and if they have the capacity to do so;
• Ensures that all staff understand and share the principles of positive approaches to behaviour.
• Accepts the individuality of children and young people and celebrates the diversity of their backgrounds.

Understands that The quality of relationships between professionals, staff caring for the children, the children and their parents (as appropriate) is crucial.

Understands that The development of safe, stable and secure relationships with staff in the Home is central to the ethos of the Home and supports the development of secure attachments.

Rewards and incentives:

Staff should always  endeavour to:

• Understand factors that affect children's motivation to behave in a socially acceptable way to enable them to respond to each child's  individual behaviour;
• Encourage an enthusiasm for positive behaviour through the use of positive behaviour strategies in line with the child's relevant plans;
• Listen to and empathise with children, respect their thoughts and feelings and take their wishes into consideration;
• Look for things that are going well, or any step in the right direction, and appropriately reward it;
• Use rewards in a creative and diverse way, specific to children's needs, capabilities and interests. This may mean that children are rewarded with activities or rewards that they enjoy. But all 'tangible' rewards should be accompanied by use of 'non tangible' encouragement and support – by staff demonstrating to children that they have done well. Such 'non tangible' rewards include smiling and praising children;
• Make sure that children and young people are aware of the things that they have done well.  This should involve prompt verbal feedback, along with clear recording in the child or young person's  file.  All 'tangible' rewards will be clearly identified.

PACE stands for:

Each home will have its own house rules, setting out the expectations for how things are managed within the Home. For example: kind hands, attending education, no smoking, zero tolerance for bullying, drugs & alcohol, no damaging property.  The homes will have contracts regarding use of internet and expectations regarding keeping their bedroom tidy.  These expectations will be based on ‘good parenting’ principles and reflective of the love, care and support a child needs to understand natural consequences and social norms.  Staff must avoid threats to remove privileges.  Staff are aware that they should be curious if any rules are broken as to the meaning behind the behaviour and expectations may need adjusting depending on the child’s individual needs and capacity to understand them. 

Any rules should be explained clearly to the children, with the reasons for the rules. Any rules in the home should be reasonable, fair and equitable. Children should not feel that they are being treated with less regard than other children in the Home. Ideally children should know these expectations before they are placed.

These house rules should be recorded on the Statement of Purpose, Placement Plan and in the safe caring document.

House rules will often be posted in the staff office, in the Children's' Guide and may be shared on children's notice boards if appropriate. House rules will be revised regularly and in consultation with the children when appropriate and staff team.

Police

The registered manager will ensure that proactive and effective working relationships with the police are maintained to help support and protect children.  Staff work with police to protect children from any unnecessary involvement in the criminal justice system. 

Before a child is admitted to the Home, the placing authority will provide information on the following as part of the placement planning process:

• History – information about what has happened.  Any background information about any significant life events, developmental trauma, health or disability information;
• Any previous unwanted or distress behaviour;
• Any risks to self or others, including any triggers so staff can identify whether there are any patterns of behaviour.

Staff in the Home should also ascertain the following:

• The child’s lived experiences and how likely it impacts on their behavioural responses. What approaches work well?
• intervention strategies have been used to manage the behaviour previously;
• What interventions had positive outcomes?
• What interventions triggered further acts of distress behaviour?
• What additional specialist support (e.g. from CAMHS) has been requested or offered previously. 

Consideration will be given to the matching of other children to the home and the impact that the child's arrival may have on the group living in the Home.

The Home will work closely with health and education professionals to ensure that outcomes identified are recorded and measured.

The Home will maintain existing effective working relationships with local youth justice and police services where children living in the Home have targets to achieve in reducing offending or socially unacceptable behaviour.

 The Home's manager should:

• Understand predictable triggers;
• Undertake individual, child centred, risk assessments and develop support strategies for managing any distress behaviours.

The child's Care Plan should outline strategies for managing and promoting positive behaviour. If necessary, there should be a separate detailed Behaviour Management Plan/Risk Management Plan.

See Risk Assessment and Planning Procedure.

Traditional parenting approaches usually relate to removing or restricting privileges, for children with complex needs this can compound confusion, resentment, shame and guilt, sanctions need to have a very clear benefit to learning around accepting responsibility for actions and if this is not a clear, predictable outcome sanctions should be avoided.

Any sanctions that are used to address unwanted or unacceptable behaviour must be restorative in nature, to help children recognise the impact of their behaviour on themselves, other children, the staff caring for them and the wider community.

Any sanctions given must be reasonable and collaborative where possible and suitable for the child’s level of understanding. 

Children should be supported to repair relationships that have been damaged in a therapeutic way that does not cause shame.  Sometimes that might involve physically repairing something or by helping children acknowledge the consequences. 

Equally, staff should understand the system for rewarding and celebrating positive behaviour and recognising where children have managed situations well.

Any action that constitutes a sanction should be proportionate, measured, not harsh and logical. Sanctions should be the last resort and avoid shaming the child.  Ideally these will be agreed collaboratively with the child.

Staff should always work from a therapeutic or PACE framework to support the child or young person.

Legislation, Statutory Guidance and Government Non-Statutory Guidance

Positive and Proactive Care: Reducing the Need for Restrictive Interventions - Department of Health and Social Care

Guidance: Positive Environments Where Children Can Flourish (Ofsted)