Welcome back to Of Primary Importance! In this podcast series, we explore all things EYFS and primary with different topics and special guests each fortnight.
Episode 18: Breaking barriers for behaviour needs
In this episode, we are joined by Behaviour and Education Exper,t Adele Bates. Adele empowers school leaders and teachers to support pupils with behavioural needs and SEMH to thrive within their education. She’s an International Keynote Speaker, a featured Expert on ‘Teenagers and Behaviour’ for BBC Radio 4, the Author of ‘Miss, I don’t Give A Sh*t- Engaging with Challenging Behaviour in Schools,’ and is a fully funded International Researcher in Finland, the Dominican Republic and Costa Rica on Behaviour & Inclusion, alongside 20 years of teaching experience!
Adele: “I’ve had juice poured on my head, been whacked by a skateboard – and have taught a year 7 pupil who had experienced severe trauma how to read their first ever word…”
Check out this episode as Kat and Adele discuss engaging with challenging behaviour and why bridging the gap between alternative provision and mainstream schools is so important.
Here are some of the questions Kat asked Adele:
- You wrote the book, ‘Miss I don’t give a sh*t: Engaging with challenging behaviour in schools‘. Can you give us an overview of the book and why you decided to write it?
- All of this comes from the fact that you love working with the most vulnerable pupils. Where does this passion come from?
- One size doesn’t fit all and there is no ‘one way’ to do behaviour, but you do have some tried and tested approaches for managing behaviour. Can you tell me about how you have developed those?
- When you have engaged with schools to manage challenging behaviour, what have been some of the common misconceptions you have experienced?
- You mentioned in an interview published on your website that during your teaching career a headteacher told you that you were doing ‘too much pastoral’, which made you understandably angry. Why do you think that pastoral care can so often be sidelined and what changes do you want to see in schools to improve this?
- You said in an ideal world it wouldn’t just be down to experts; you wouldn’t need to be an expert in behaviour because it would be woven into the school’s ethos and pedagogy. How can schools be supported to become more confident in managing challenging behaviour?
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