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SEND advice and guidance

Supporting children with challenging difficulties


Supporting children and young people who display challenging behavioural, emotional and mental health difficulties.

Supporting the emotional and mental health needs of children and young people has become an increasing concern for teachers and educational professionals. It is important to remember that a multi-professional approach is ideal in many situations and schools should work closely with health professionals including staff from the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) where appropriate.

School staff should also draw on support from the Educational Psychology Service and Behaviour Support Service as well as consider how external professionals such as play therapists and counsellors could offer support.

However, there is also an expectation that all school staff should be aware of and able to support students who display difficulties with emotional mental health and wellbeing.

Many children and young people in education benefit from additional support at school to develop their social and emotional skills and to promote positive behaviour.

Challenging behaviours can arise for many different reasons and this section aims to provide a range of resources and information across different areas.

Many students who display challenging behaviours benefit from a clear and personalised plan that takes into account their views, reasons behind the behaviour and also incorporates the views of parents/carers as well as school staff.

For those at risk of exclusion, consider using a Pastoral Support Plan Framework to generate a comprehensive plan of support for the pupil.
In other circumstances, it may be useful to consider whether a circle of adults or a solution circle approach would be beneficial to problem-solve concerns and develop a personalised plan.

If you are concerned about the safety or wellbeing of a child, ensure safeguarding procedures are followed, more information can be found on our Safeguarding pages.

Teaching social and emotional skills

Many challenging behaviours arise from a student’s difficulties in understanding and managing their feelings. Some young people find it really hard to identify what their body is telling them and often become confused and overwhelmed with feelings they do not understand.

If a child or young person struggles to understand or recognise their emotions, they are less likely to be able to manage and control these, which often results in problematic behaviours.

Challenges are often more frequent for children and young people who find it difficult to empathise and consider an event from multiple perspectives. If a child or young person is struggling in one of these areas, it is important that part of their plan involves regular support that teaches the skills needed.

Supporting emotional self-awareness and regulation

  • Blob tree activities
  • Use of scaling approaches such as the ‘Incredible 5-Point Scale’ (Kari Dunn Buron and Mitzi Curtis).
  • Some schools successfully use nurture groups to provide structured and appropriate provision for vulnerable children.

There are also a range of resources that will support children to become more self-aware, whilst also encouraging them to develop more positive and balanced thinking patterns.

These approaches can have a significant and positive impact on anxiety, low mood and reduce negative thought patterns. For example, see the ‘Think Good Feel Good’ materials (Paul Stallard), or to prioritise this as an area of development for staff, contact us to discuss training opportunities.

Anxiety

All children and young people will experience a degree of anxiety and that is normal and usually not a concern. However, for some students, anxiety can become serious and linked to a range of problematic behaviours, physical symptoms, feelings of low mood and negative thoughts and beliefs. When this happens, early identification and support are important.

Check out these tips about what to do (and what not to do) when supporting a child or young person with anxiety.

Work closely with parents and carers as well as school staff. Anxiety can be complex and it is important that everyone involved has a shared understanding of where the anxiety is coming from and what types of things help.

Consider what direct support for that young person would be helpful in teaching them to understand and manage their anxiety. In some cases, linking with the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) will be appropriate.

In other instances, consider whether school staff can use evidence-based approaches, for example, those that draw on cognitive-behavioural techniques or mindfulness strategies. Many schools also make use of counsellors and therapists who can offer support in this area.

Consider the training needs of staff, at all levels from support staff to senior management.

Consider how mindfulness activities could be built into the routine of the day, ideally to be used for all children but perhaps more intensely with others.

Useful documents

The importance of supervision for staff is often underestimated and supervision can be provided in a number of ways. A school’s ability to meet the needs of children and young people who display challenging behaviours is also linked to regular CPD opportunities for staff.

Social, emotional and mental health (SEMH) toolkit

Poor emotional and mental health affects a significant number of children and young people

  • 1 in 10 children has a diagnosable mental health disorder; around 3 children in every classroom (i).
  • 1 in 5 young adults has a diagnosable mental health disorder (ii).
  • Half of all mental health problems manifest by the age of 14, with 75% by age 24 (iii).
  • Almost 1 in 4 children and young people show some evidence of mental ill-health (including anxiety and depression).

There is a substantial body of research evidence to suggest that young people’s SEMH needs have a significant impact on all aspects of their life including their learning and progress through the curriculum, behaviour in school and attendance, further training and employment and general life chances.

Social media and new technology is also linked to increased risks of poor SEMH.

In Devon, the number of exclusions has risen and SEMH is now the main category of need in SEN support. Children with identified special educational needs accounted for around half of all permanent exclusions and fixed-term exclusions in Devon in 2016/17. It is therefore crucial that schools play a key role in understanding and supporting children’s social, emotional and mental health needs.

In order to promote inclusion and reduce exclusions, schools should employ a graduated response to meeting children and young people’s SEMH needs.

This starts with a whole school approach and ethos in understanding and supporting social, emotional and mental health and engagement with parents and the community.

It includes quality first teaching for all students ranging to targeted interventions for groups of pupils or individuals and lastly specialist interventions for those with the most complex needs.

The interventions in this toolkit have been grouped into universal, targeted and specialist to support schools to follow a graduated approach to SEMH and to identify the correct level of intervention based on need.

  • Universal interventions are for all students.
  • Targeted interventions are for some students.
  • Specialist interventions are for a few students.

Useful links


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