Sutton
Foundation Stage
Physical outbursts to adults and peers caused by anxiety, anger and school refusal
Three teachers made an action plan with the parents of the children. Actions included: what happens now and what happens next, social stories, visuals, timers, a ‘tidy up time’ box, a box available with fidget toys, a reward chart specifically for the particular child and giving choices. The children were helped with their independence, with instructions like asking them to sit on a red spot or a blue stool. They had a sensory room available.
It seemed important to give the children time to have their outburst if it was safe. Although regular staff communication and consistent adults was seen as key, after the outburst, it was helpful to have a different adult available as a ‘new face’ and a distraction. This also gave the class teacher and child a break from each other and helped to calm the situation.
The impact on the children was that they were less angry, they displayed the sadness behind their angry behaviour and were able to talk about home issues. They were a lot calmer, easier to manage and began to regulate their own behaviour. The impact on the class was that anxiety began to reduce for everyone.
The teachers all felt calm on the outside but frustrated on the inside.
Three teachers arranged a meeting with the parents and the children who were school refusers. They gave parents support and ideas to help them to encourage their children into school and to give them a sense of everyone working together. Ideas included an adult meeting and greeting the child at the school gate. An Emotionally based school avoidance (EBSA) programme was used by the teachers to support the children and families.
We have run an EBSA programme for six weeks at our school. This has been run by our family support worker and our pastoral lead. It involved a family member coming in with the child and working on strategies and ideas to help. These same adults are also on the gates in the morning to greet the children but also to support the families.
We send home weekly contact sheets during the summer holidays to keep that contact and to let them know we are thinking of them. We also share information with them about the new year and remind them of the memories from the previous year.
Laura Keefe, Muschamp Primary School
Year 1/2
Physical outbursts to adults and peers caused by anxiety, anger and school refusal
Children who displayed anxiety and/or anger fidgeted, became worried that they were being seen as different by peers, screamed, threw themselves on the floor and went into fight or flight response. Some of them were not school ready and school refused. Other children in the class became worried and often needed reassurance.
The children with extreme behaviour needed calming time with an adult. Four teachers used emotional literacy support assistants (ELSA) to remove anxious/angry children if necessary and to speak with them about how they felt, giving them space to express their frustrations. They used books, sensory input, helped the children to recognise and verbalise which zone they were in from the zones of regulation and focused on building a relationship with them.
Teachers used guidance from outside agencies, parent/school communication, lots of praise and regular movement in class.
The teachers and ELSAs felt scared of getting hurt or of hurting others. They felt insecure about how to remove a child from a class and were aware of a lack of training in this area. They all felt worried about extreme behaviours and were emotionally drained.
A child in my class would often have meltdowns and throw themselves screaming and shouting to the floor. They would then cry and thrash around prompting class evacuations. During our first session of the research programme, we were instructed to name the child’s feelings to them during these moments in order to get through to them. I have since been telling the child, ‘ I can see how you feel (eg frustrated, angry, upset etc). We are going to find a quiet and safe space’. This seems to completely disarm the child. Whilst the meltdown will continue and they remain highly dysregulated, they willingly leave the room with the adult and share their feelings. This helps them to regulate their emotions and lessens the anxiety of the rest of the class as there is no evacuation and less exposure to the loud and distressing meltdown.
Seamus Buttle, Beddington Infants School