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Attachment-aware Behaviour and Relationship-building policy

LPW Independent School Attachment Aware & Relationship BuildingPolicyJuly 2018Document control

Author/Contact: S Dunsford & K Baynham

Document Path & Filename: Document Reference: Version: 1.0Status: To be signed offPublication Date: Sept 2018Related Policies: Review Date: Sept 2019Approved/Ratified by:

Distribution: All teaching staff, governors

Positive Reinforcement and Self-Regulation Encouragement (P.R.A.S.E) processes

An attachment aware policy to aid young people’s understanding of how to regulate and manage their responses to the complexities of the world around

them, in a school and community setting.


“Too often we forget that discipline really means to teach, not to punish. A disciple is a student, not a recipient of behavioural

consequences.” (The Whole Brain Child - Siegel. D., 2011)

Purpose

This policy is written to enable learners at LPW Independent School to recognise when positive choices are made and when they have successfully managed their state, self-regulated their brains, and therefore, their bodies and responded to a situation in a positive way. It is written with the main imperative to empower our learners to manage and regulate their responses to stimuli which may, if unregulated, lead to the young person making choices which do not serve them or others well.

The core purpose of this policy is to ensure that at all times within school that children’s mental health is supported and that also this policy supports the school’s ‘Attachment-Aware & Trauma informed’ philosophies.

It is worth noting that having an attachment-aware, trauma informed behaviour policy is not designed to disregard ‘behaviour’ which is below the standard that is expected; it is an approach which ensures all actions of young people are recognised with a mentally-healthy mind-set and seeks to empower all young people to own their actions and become self-perpetuating with their positive choices thus investing in themselves.

LPW Independent School’s core values and purpose are fundamentally built on supporting a young person’s mental health and we are determined in our ambition to remove the outdated and punitive stigma of ‘behaviour’ and champion the knowledge that a child’s actions are determined by key neurological drivers which, dependent on their range of experiences throughout their early lives, are enabling or disabling. It is our duty as primary carers and educationalists to empower our young people to be enabled and thus successful in their self-regulation. It is our determination to be a secure base which offers a sense of protection, caring and safety for all, as well as a source of inspiration and energy for learning and exploration, risk taking and challenge. (The safety/risk paradox – caring and daring; Kohllrieser et al, 2012).

Background Information

Attachment

“What is believed to be essential for mental health is that an infant and young child should experience a warm, intimate and conscious relationship with his(her) mother…in which both find satisfaction and enjoyment” (Bowlby, 1953)

“Attachment influences students’ school successes. This is true of students’ attachment to their parents, as well as their teachers. Secure attachment is associated with higher grades and standardised test scores compared to insecure attachment. Secure attachment is also associated with greater emotional regulation, social competence, and willingness to take on challenges, and with lower levels of ADHD and delinquency, each of which in turn is associated with higher achievement” (Bergin and Bergin 2009)

Attachment-aware Behaviour and Relationship-building policyWhat our attachment-aware and trauma-informed school features to help learners to settle, understand their feeling brain and allow their exploratory brain to be freed up to learn:

An understanding of the starting points of learners and what they have lived through, by using the learner story.

Allocation of a key adult Triangle of Trust to facilitate co-regulation which should ideally be 2-3 years.

As stress levels can be high, use sensory breaks to help regulation, such as a walk round, physical activity, use of a calm box, other type of sensory break, use of a safe space.

Minimise transition points over the day and week as any shift creates stress. Write an overwhelm plan to support each learner. Use of visual clues and checklists to aid understanding in a complex world. Use of team building activities framed as rewards. A flexible approach which individualised provision, the production of individual

development plans to show the unique approach used for each learner with insecure attachment styles.

Emotional and social starting points are acknowledged which need differentiation so expectations should differ, and this plays out with a higher levels of structure and routine than may be seen with learners following plans

Use of key adults across the team to co-model and use of the word “Let’s” as well as use of commentary to make sense of the feelings and emotions, wonder aloud to make sense of the environment. This helps to translate the environment and understand their place in it.

Co-regulation with a trusted adult leads to a person with insecure attachment being able to self-regulate over time. This helps to make school feel safe, secure and stable.

Using an approach that helps to understand behaviour as communication, such as less insistence on eye contact, talking from the side, less stern, more enquiring approach.

Parts language which is based around wondering to reduce state rising to flight, fright, freeze. This language becomes part of the memory bank to be drawn on over time.

Holding in mind by thinking, connecting, sharing, reminding, explaining, describing routines and decisions.

Look after staff so they can be the best care giver themselves. When learners are seeking proximity, the adult is there to listen and support.

Ensure permanency for learners on trying to minimise staff changes through not using supply teachers

Positive reinforcement at any possible time and during any appropriate intervention. Phones are removed from learners during sessions to help focus and regulation for

learning. Team Pupil photos are used on items such as key rings and lanyards. Key dates are shared that may be linked to trauma or important events in a

learner’s life. Rooms have displays and ways to show learners that we are holding them in

mind. Learners have 3 lessons a week of PSD through tutor time to learn about

areas associated with attachment and trauma.

Attachment-aware Behaviour and Relationship-building policy Triangle of trust adult mobile numbers are shared but a time is given when

cut off from this is, so that other services can be used. This stops total reliance on the key adults.

Home visits and school visits are done on referral to share information. A tool kit is used for assessing and supporting attachment work, including

Kim’s PETALS, blob diagrams, home school partnerships, emotional triggers, and other current resources and approaches.

Scripting for these interventions above and training externally and internally will help to embed these features within the school.

Due to the neuroplasticity of the brain it is never too late to work on this with any young person.

Trauma’s impact on education.

The effects of trauma on children are far more pervasive than adults imagine. The National Survey of Children's Exposure to Violence found that over 60% of children surveyed experienced some form of trauma, crime, or abuse in the prior year, with some experiencing multiple traumas. Often, children and adolescents do not have the necessary coping skills to manage the impact of stressful or traumatic events. As such, as many as one in three students who experience a traumatic event might exhibit symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

The impact of trauma in the classroom can directly impact a student’s ability to learn. Students might be distracted by intrusive thoughts about the event that prevent them from paying attention in class, studying, or doing well on a test. Exposure to trauma can lead to some students avoiding going to school altogether, and impact their academic success.

Exposure to traumatic events can disrupt a children’s ability to relate to others and to successfully manage emotions. In the classroom setting, this can lead to poor behaviour and a lack of engagement. Following a child's exposure to a traumatic event, parents and teachers are likely to observe the following symptoms:

Re-experiencing — constantly thinking about events, replaying it over in their minds, nightmares.

Avoidance — consciously trying to avoid engagement, trying not to think about the event.

Negative Cognitions and Mood — blaming others or self, diminished interest in pleasurable activities, inability to remember key aspects of the event.

Arousal — being on edge, being on the lookout, constantly being worried

Self-regulation

Attachment-aware Behaviour and Relationship-building policyThis policy is involved with 5 main areas in developing self-regulation.

1. Recognising and celebrating success at every opportunity.2. Providing a secure base for all pupils (including the use of emotionally-clean and well-

chosen language patterns (NLP) as well as maintaining an emotionally-intelligent environment)

3. Recognising, empathising & validating young people’s feelings (inc. recognition of attachment forms)

4. Setting limits on what actions from our young people are appropriate (if needed)5. Problem solving/solutions-generation with the child/young person

Attachment-aware Behaviour and Relationship-building policyRecognising and celebrating success at every opportunity

It is worth noting that LPW Independent School is not only attachment-aware and trauma-informed but we are also a growth mind-set school. This being the case, we do not see children as being clever or not and although in the political climate we must assess against a national standard, we do not compare one child to another in the same way as some other schools. We encourage academic buoyancy (Composure, Confidence, Co-ordination, Commitment and Control (Martin AJ, Colmar SH, Davey LA, Marsh HW. 2010) and develop young people’s ability to take responsibility for how they approach their lives, both in and out of school, due to the age range of our key stage 4 learners. We build our school values and ethos on the young people making active choices, surrounding themselves with the right people, belief in their ability to achieve (whatever the goal), to fail better and use it as an opportunity to grow, accept that some stress, if managed well, can be a healthy experience, that we are flexible and adaptive in daily life and that we encourage our young people to maintain a healthy perspective. We therefore are mindful of the use of language patterns such as:

Growth Mind-set (examples of…) Fixed Mind-set (examples of…)

I expect great things from all of you, and I am here to guide you in your learning and growth. Mistakes are expected and valuable – We can all learn from them.

I am so glad I made that mistake, because I learned….

We have high standards, and I know that we can meet them.

I’m so proud of the effort you put in, in order to improve your learning…

Congratulations, you really used great strategies for…..

Good boy/girl

You are clever

You are right/wrong

This is easy/hard

I/you can’t do this

I’m not good at….

I’ll never do this because I’m not as clever as…

By creating a growth mind-set environment, we enable young people to feel valued as individuals and encourages confidence and perseverance which, in turn, allows them to experience a deeper level of success as it is self-motivated.

Attachment-aware Behaviour and Relationship-building policyAll young people need recognition for efforts made. Some of our children find it challenging initially to make well-formed choices and when they do it is imperative for the adult to make every effort to notice and celebrate when this happens. It is always vital to try where possible to ignore certain behaviours which do not serve the young person well, thus preventing young people being identifiable by their conduct choices. At all times, stakeholders must be aware that all behaviour is communication and at no time should a young people be identified by their behaviour. Recognition of positive efforts made should be instant and respectful. A young person’s self-talk needs to be modelled so it is essential that the process is praised more than the outcome. It is vital that they are recognised for their positive choices regularly and if they find this challenging it is up to the supervising adult to create opportunities where they can succeed. We do not promote a conformist attitude within the school, however we promote an individualised approach which allows the learner to develop within their own reality providing it is safe to do so.

Attachment Team – Triangle of Trust

The learner will have an attachment team, a variety of multi skilled workers that will ensure that the learners take part in an induction process, understand the non negotiables such as wearing school uniform and handing over phones during lessons. They will also be a first point of contact for the families and agencies involved in working with them, helping identify areas for development using tools such as THRIVE, Boxall profile and Kim’s petals. Celebrate successes, setting targets and rewards, supporting with onward routes and transitions.

Providing a secure base for all learners

A secure base offers a sense of protection, care and safety. Every young person has the right to feel safe and as a result all will understand that there are limits to behaviour and that if these are reached, young people will be helped in developing strategies so these are not reached again. Learners at this school understand that irrespective of their choices that we will help them overcome their barriers to being successful and they can trust that every adult will understand that they are not the personification of their behaviour. The school’s main aim is to enable all young people to feel safe and secure and that they can make mistakes without being judged or labelled. Young people understand that very rarely when the school cannot meet their needs as it may not have the expertise to do so, it will look for other personalised provision which would enhance the young person’s life chances better, moving towards preparation for adulthood. We there for have a duty to ensure the safety of the young people across our sites, involve them in the Health & Safety tours/processes and work with them to de-escalate behaviour that may be deemed unsafe.

The school specialises in emotional intelligence, understanding the importance of well-chosen language. All staff are aware of the impact of emotionally-driven language on behaviour and that it can cause disassociation between the young person and the consequence, as it no longer relates to their quality world. Staff therefore:

Avoid using emotive language when discussing learner’s choices Avoid becoming emotionally involved in a learner’s behaviour/response Understand that all behaviour is communication (either voluntary or involuntary) Avoid speaking petulantly to a learner Avoid shouting in any circumstance Are intent on understanding a learner’s reality

Attachment-aware Behaviour and Relationship-building policy Try to use positive reinforcement wherever possible Are always respectful of the learner and their family Ensure that all learner is heard dispassionately and equally and that no young

person is treated in light of previous choices made. Developing curriculum and timetable that is personalised, suitable and relevant to

individuals

Recognising, empathising and validating young people’s feelings (including the recognition of all forms of attachment)

Attachment Style

% of general

child populatio

n

The child’s general state of being

Mother’s (father’s)

responsiveness to her (his)

child’s signals and needs

Why the child acts in the way they do

Secure 65%Secure,

Explorative, happy

Quick, sensitive, consistent

Believes and trusts that his / her needs will be met

Avoidant 20%Not very

explorative, emotionally

distant

Distant, disengaged

Subconsciously believes that his / her needs

probably won’t be met

Ambivalent 10 – 15%Anxious, insecure,

angry

Inconsistent. Sometimes sensitive,

sometimes neglectful

Cannot rely on his / her needs being met

Disorganised 10 – 15%

Depressed, angry,

completely passive, non-responsive

Extreme, erratic, frightened or frightening, passive or intrusive

Severely confused with no strategy to have his / her

needs met

It is worth noting that the school are at no point condoning choices which are disruptive to the learning of any student or that which puts anyone at risk. The difference with this approach is it focusses on prevention before remedy and in building capacity in our learners and their attachment teams to be self-regulating. Should decisions be made by learners which are not acceptable and not in keeping with the school ethos, consequences follow. The importance in this is that a learner recognises that a consequence is a result of a choice they have made. That by choosing a specific course of action, they are then choosing the consequence. The power of choice rests with the young person not the adult. That is if a child makes a choice which is contrary to the school ethos, that it is not the adult who is inflicting a punitive measure, the adult is in fact being guided by the young person in what consequence will follow depending on the learner’s actions.

Some of the differentiated consequences that may be used include…

Restorative Justice Timeout Safe space One to one time Community service Meetings with parents/guardians and other supporting agencies

Attachment-aware Behaviour and Relationship-building policy Meetings with the Head Teacher and other senior members of the school including the

School Governors Additional time within the school and additional time after school with tutor/teacher Referral to higher level external therapeutic support Theraplay activities Thrive activities Alternative timetable Higher proportion of physical activity Referral to a similar ALP setting to support the learner develop if any action is serious

enough that they cannot remain in their school base for them or others to be safe.

The importance is that an adult recognises that it is their duty to manage and mitigate behaviour without inflicting their own map, emotional state and preconceptions onto the learner. Also to be aware that a learner’s behaviour may be a consequence of some form of mild to severe attachment issue and the impact of trauma and therefore relationship building, empathy, sensitivity and investment into their quality world is essential in order to help them to progress in their own self-regulation. This will be addressed in personal, social development lessons and tutor time.

Setting limits on what actions from our young people are appropriate (if needed)

All within the school are given the opportunity to understand what choices are appropriate and what choices are not. It is not the aim of this policy to allow learner’s to lack accountability it is more that it enables them to develop self-regulation and to build capacity in their quality world to avoid choices which do not serve themselves and others well. Should someone make a choice which is not in keeping with the ethos of the school then consequences will follow. It is the determination of the school that no consequence is punitive or emotive and that the learner understands at all times that the ownership of the choices they make and the consequences which follow belong to them and them alone. It is in educating our school population in how to avoid such decisions where the capacity for the social and emotional development can grow.

1. Expectations


Positive

One of the most effective supportive strategies in schools has been shown to be careful planning and preparation, providing excellent learning opportunities that are engaging, interesting and fun.

Consistency from learners lies in the attitudes of adults and not simply in the application of procedure. A truly sustainable consistent approach does not come in a toolkit of strategies but in the determination of every member of staff.

The key is to develop a consistency that ripples through every interaction. Where students feel treated as valued individuals that respect adults and accept their authority. To support this, we have agreed that consistency should run through the school experience as well and it is a recognition that our learners do not cope well with change or unstructured time.

As a result we will:

o Keep timetable disruption to a minimum and only collapse lessons as part of a structured and planned day of intervention or reward.

o Meetings will not be conducted during the school day unless the class can be covered by an existing member of the team, or senior member of staff. If the meeting is an emergency then the Headteacher or deputy Headteacher will cover the lessons concerned. The use of cover teachers will be kept to a minimum.

Preventative strategies create a context where acceptable attitudes are positively encouraged. An ethos is developed which emphasises co-operation, responsibility, concern for others and self-respect.

Learners know what kind of atmosphere they prefer in school and what they expect of a ‘good teacher’. Children want adults to:

treat them as a person help them learn and feel confident make the day a pleasant one be just and fair have a sense of humour

Although they want this for themselves, they also want it for other children because it makes the learning situation more comfortable. It is evident that children prefer to learn in a relaxed yet purposeful atmosphere and where the adults are safely in control; where they can progress their learning with success and be acknowledged as ‘people who matter’. We believe that where learners feel they are valued they respect adults and accept their authority.Similarly, we recognise the implicit need for young people to develop the skills that make positive relationship with adults possible, this with learners who themselves have attachment difficulties.

It is critically important that staff working in Learning Partnership West Schools build strong Relationships, develop high levels of personal Resilience and have high expectations where the Quality of learning behaviours are concerned. Staff should never ignore or attempt to excuse poor behaviour. Rather, they should attempt to understand it’s communicative intent. We aim to ensure that learners have clear boundaries reflected in a behaviour expectation framework that is underpinned by a clear system of rewards, sanctions and individual support. A common language is used

Attachment-aware Behaviour and Relationship-building policyacross our school communities, providing consistent responses where behaviour is unreasonable. Restorative justice and informal mediation approaches are adopted to enable children to repair and maintain any relationships that they have damaged.

Positive behaviour expectations form the basis of our reward system. Learners have personal behaviour targets set for them by their key workers, which are usually negotiated with learners and encourage them to deal with specific issues that impact negatively on their school experience.

Learner Support

We are a setting that actively uses the Thrive processes of identification and therapy and have two trained Thrive practitioners that support and train our staff team to recognize and support certain behaviours that impact on the learners social and emotional wellbeing. There is a broad array of interventions that we engage with including counselling services related to emotional wellbeing, bereavement support, drugs and alcohol misuse as well as engaging with other professionals such as educational psychologists. We have a Senco that supports the learners and the staff to spot behaviours.

Our staff team have key working responsibility for a small group of learners which helps to cement the positive relationships, but through our pupil progress meetings these trained professionals provide pastoral and academic interventions, strengthened by the positive relationships and the careful management of anger or frustration in a safe setting. Structured “Time Out” is available to allow learners to articulate concerns whilst simultaneously giving staff the opportunity to ‘re-set’ boundaries. Where possible it is always our aim to put children back into their classes where we know our personalised curriculum pathways give them the greatest chance of success.

Learning Partnership West School expects parents/carers to:

Support the LPW School policy on attendance and punctuality by notifying the school of any absences or lateness.

Notify the LPW School of any factors which may affect the behaviour of their child

Support their child by attending parental reviews, open days and other meetings Be aware of and support the LPW School Behaviour Policy

Exclusion

The vast majority of behaviour is managed in school however, on occasion a learner might be required to leave school premises. In cases where s/he refuses to leave an appropriate staff member will contact parents and, if necessary, the police.

There are a number of more serious behaviours that stop learners doing well and could result in exclusion or a review of placement. These include:

Verbal or physical abuse of staff Bullying – physical, verbal, emotional Sexual harassment of any kind Prejudice on grounds of race, age, gender, sexuality, disability and others Carrying an offensive weapon Use or sale of alcohol or other mood-changing drugs Deliberate damage or theft of property Smoking in or around the building Refusing to leave the premises when asked Gambling

Attachment-aware Behaviour and Relationship-building policyThe decision to exclude a child lies with the Headteacher and evidence must be presented by the assistant head in such a way that a decision is able to be made quickly and appropriately. Sometimes learners need time out of class or a space away from the rest of the learners to have thinking time or to re set behaviours and time out should be used in this instance. Every means necessary must be exhausted before a child is deemed to need to leave the site. This will be recorded as an exclusion and the permission on the Headteacher must be sought before a child is released to go home.


The Alternative To Exclusion

LPW School strives to support learners as they work through issues in school. However, there are occasions when learners breach the behaviour policy and need to be separated from their peer group. To this end, we would aim to temporarily place the learner under the care of an alternative centre within the LPW schools family to provide a sanction that isolates learners, whilst maintaining the learning opportunities ordinarily removed by fixed term exclusions. This is a temporary measure and the as with a fixed term exclusion, there will always follow a period of re- integration when the learner is involved in restorative techniques to ensure that working relationships are preserved. This temporary centre move is done in negotiation with the Headteacher and the assistant Headteachers.

Record & Respond

At LPW School any negative actions deemed by staff to warrant an official response is recorded using the SIMS database. The database records the following information.

A – Antecedents (what happened immediately beforehand)B – Behaviour (or description of incident or event)C – Consequence (for all concerned, both long and short term if applicable)

The purpose of the SIMS record is twofold: it is a tool with which to de-brief people after any sort of incident so that we can learn from mistakes or oversights and it can be used to identify patterns of behaviour over a period of time. All content is dispassionately recorded and focuses only on the behaviour at hand. Staff feelings about incidents can be discussed with colleagues in other forums. The SIMS behaviour record is not intended to replace health and safety reporting forms, which is a statutory requirement when incidents or accidents occur of a serious nature. It is a useful tool that enables us to carry out routine analysis of behaviour across subject teams and year groups. When completing the SIMS record staff members are expected to:

- Record the information in full, including date and time of day for example as this can reveal patterns of ‘Monday morningitis’ or similar!

- Ensure that information that cannot be typed into the comments box are completed in another application (e.g. MS Word) and attached to the report in the space allocated for comments or notes.

- Avoid personal or emotional responses and sarcasm; stick to the facts!

- Ensure that all those present during an incident are listed - this can be useful as it is not always those most closely involved who trigger or exacerbate an event.

- Make decisions (where possible) about outcomes (e.g. discussed with learner or telephoned home) and mark the incident as resolved. Where members of staff feel unable to resolve an incident they should first refer to the assistant head or deputy Headteacher.

Dangerous items

The following items are not allowed in to any LPW School:

Attachment-aware Behaviour and Relationship-building policy1. Illegal drugs and “legal highs” and any drug related paraphernalia e.g. weed crushers,

small bongs 2. Guns, including toys/imitations 3. Knives and other bladed articles or offensive weapons 4. Pornographic imagery 5. Alcohol 6. Fireworks or any other explosive or flammable items. 7. Stolen items 8. Laser Pens 9. Any article that the member of staff reasonably suspects has been, or is likely to be,

used to commit an offence, or to cause personal injury to, or damage to the property of, any person (including the learner).

Problem solving/solutions generation with the young person

a. Emotional coachingi. Be aware of emotionsii. Take opportunities to connect with the young personiii. Listen to understand not to respondiv. Help the learner to identify and name their emotionsv. Find good solutions:

Redirect those who are making unhelpful choices for what they do, not what they feel.

When these choices are made, help them to identify their feelings and explain why the choices are inappropriate.

Encourage emotional expression, but set clear limits on what is acceptable.

Help to think through possible solutions. Progress in small steps should be expected. Create situations where they can explore without hearing lots of

"don'ts" Make an effort to catch them making positive choices & recognise

their effort. Working with their attachment team to develop their emotional

literacy and collaboratively solve problems. b. Ensure that any consequence is delivered dispassionately and as a direct result of a

decision the young person has made. There should very rarely be any reference to previous mistakes as when the policy is applied effectively, this will have been measured and actioned accordingly.

c. Every day must be a fresh start and the learner must at all times be given the opportunity to begin again with ownership over how they can avoid such choices again.


Attachment-aware and trauma-informed approach The aim of the school is to move away from a traditional School’s behaviour policy’s that have not worked for many of our young people and implement a system that respects, teaches and supports our young people to stay in education.

Attachment-aware Behaviour and Relationship-building policyThe neuroscience of attachment disorder

Neural systems in the brain are frequently employed to defend rather than co-operate Regulatory systems become biased/primed towards arousal and fear rather than

relaxed and ready for learning Neural brain patterns (attachment schemas) are used as battle plans for apparent

survival rather than ways of connecting Reward systems seek alternatives (e.g. drugs, sex) rather than contact with

attachment figures.

If a person has an attachment disorder, it affects two key mechanisms - their social engagement mechanism and their stress regulation system. If a person’s social engagement mechanism is affected it affects the following:

Ability to interact with others Ability to understand others Ability to make sense of social relationships Ability to enjoy social relationships Social cognition

If a person’s stress regulation mechanism is affected it affects the following:

Ability to regulate stress Ability to regulate social engagements Ability to regulate positive and toxic stress Emotional regulation

It is with this in mind that the school writes their positive reinforcement and self-regulation encouragement policy and procedures.

Much of today’s popular advice ignores the world of emotions. Instead, it relies on child-rearing theories that address the children’s behaviour, but disregard the feelings that underlie that behaviour (Gottman 1997).

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