Course Aim

To equip school staff with the knowledge, understanding, and practical skills needed to effectively support, care for, and educate children who present with behaviours of concern and may experience crisis when unable to cope.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this two-day course, participants will:

Know:

• The relevant legal frameworks including duty of care, necessity, and proportionality principles.
• The Kaplan-Wheeler model and the 7 phases of crisis behaviour.
• Warning signs and risk factors associated with escalating behaviour.
• Health and safety implications of managing challenging behaviour.
• The difference between planned and emergency interventions.
• Manual handling principles to reduce injury risk.

Understand:

• The principles of trauma-informed care and person-centered approaches.
• Behaviour as a form of communication.
• The importance of maintaining staff wellbeing and emotional equilibrium.
• The impact of survival hormones and perceptual narrowing during crisis situations.
• The ethical considerations in avoiding unnecessary restrictions.
• The rationale behind different intervention strategies based on behaviour phases.

Be able to do:

• Identify triggers and early warning signs of distress.
• Apply effective non-escalation and de-escalation techniques.
• Demonstrate safe physical intervention skills, including prompting and escorting.
• Execute personal safety and breakaway techniques.
• Respond appropriately to various challenging behaviours (e.g., kicking, head-butting, spitting).
• Safely disengage from physical interventions.
• Document incidents properly and participate in effective debriefing processes.
• Clearly articulate the rationale for interventions used.

Course Structure

Pre-Course Online Learning (90 minutes)

Prior to attending the in-person sessions, participants will complete online modules covering:

• Introduction to legal frameworks and duty of care
• The Kaplan-Wheeler model of crisis behaviour
• Health and safety considerations
• Principles of reasonable force

Day 1: Understanding and Prevention

Morning Session (3 hours)

• Welcome and introduction to core values: dignity and respect
• Trauma-informed approaches to behaviour support
• Understanding the 7 phases of crisis behaviour in detail
• Identifying triggers and early warning signs
• Practice: Observation and assessment of behaviour phases

Afternoon Session (3 hours)

• Proxemics – managing distance, position, and body language
• Communication strategies for de-escalation
• Practice: Verbal and non-verbal de-escalation techniques
• Scenario-based role play: Responding to escalating situations
• Day 1 review and reflection

Day 2: Intervention and Recovery

Morning Session (3 hours)

• Review of Day 1 learning
• Physical intervention principles and safety considerations
• Demonstration and practice: Safer approach and positioning
• Practice: Prompting and escorting techniques (front and back)
• Practice: Control principles including clothing grips, wrist holds, and straight arm holds

Afternoon Session (3 hours)

• Managing challenging situations: Responding to specific behaviours
• Team approaches to intervention
• Post-incident procedures: Recording, reporting, and debriefing
• Staff wellbeing and support strategies
• Final assessment and certification

Learning Methodologies

This training uses the SCENA approach – a scenario-driven, research-informed methodology that focuses on realistic situations school staff may encounter. The training includes:

• Interactive discussions and problem-solving
• Practical role-play of common school scenarios
• Physical skills practice in a supportive environment
• Coaching feedback from experienced trainers

Tailoring and Relevance

The training content is specifically designed and tailored to the roles and challenges faced by school staff working with children who present with behaviours of concern. Scenarios and examples will be adapted to reflect participants’ specific working environment and the needs of the children they support.

Legal and Medical Review

All physical intervention techniques taught are tactically effective, legally correct, and medically safe. The training content is regularly reviewed by legal and healthcare professionals to ensure it meets current standards and would withstand scrutiny in legal proceedings.

Trainer Qualifications

All trainers are experienced professionals with backgrounds in education, behaviour support, and crisis management. They hold relevant qualifications and have extensive practical experience in supporting children with challenging behaviours.

Resources Provided

Participants will receive:

• Comprehensive course handbook
• Access to online resources folder with templates, guidance documents, and instructional videos
• Policy development support
• Post-course telephone support for safety queries

Monitoring and Evaluation

Course effectiveness will be measured through:

• Pre and post-course knowledge assessments
• Practical skills demonstration and assessment
• Participant feedback and satisfaction surveys
• Follow-up support to evaluate implementation in the school environment

Reinforcement and Ongoing Learning

To ensure skills are maintained and developed:

• Access to refresher materials online
• Recommended 12-month refresher training
• Guidance for team practice sessions between formal training
• Support for developing internal champions to sustain good practice