Behaviour with one Reception child - help!

[Guest]

I would really appreciate some advice and tips on how to stop this behaviour before it escalates!

 

I have a child in my class who is always pushing the boundaries. All the children answer the register with X and ad he answers with Y. I have to ask him once or twice before he does the right thing.

 

Also would like tips on how to keep him busy during child initiated time as unless he is with an adult he can struggle to focus on an activity without getting very silly/loud etc.

 

Please give me some tips to sort this quickly. His family is suffering an impending bereavement so can't use any strategies that involve them.

 

Thanks so much.

[SueFinanceManager]

Please give me some tips to sort this quickly. His family is suffering an impending bereavement so can't use any strategies that involve them.

 

Do you think this situation at home is prompting this tricky behaviour? If things are very unsettled at home maybe this is a cry for attention

 

Do you have available staff to help him through this particular time and model the correct behaviour?

 

I often found with cheeky little boys that giving them specific jobs and roles was good and by keeping them busy they didn't have time to get too out of control.

 

I hope things get easier for this little chap but with an impending bereavement things may get worse before they get better

[Beau]

For the answering the register, personally I would just ignore if he answers in a silly way and praise those who answer correctly making quite a big thing of it. Once he realises that he isn't getting a reaction hopefully he'll just stop.

[Inge]

It is still early in the year.. and as sue said home life could well be having an impact on his behaviour..

 

I used to assess and 'pick my battles' to the worthwhile and more important ones..

 

for example how important is it really that they all respond the same at register... I used to mix it up a bit when one was trying to be different and asked all to respond in a different way.. maybe make an animal sound.. or something else I could think of that was the interest at the time... or as Beau said just ignore it and carry on praising those who do it 'correctly'

 

keeping him busy probably relates back to finding something he is really interested in and using that to try to engage him longer... you do not give an age, but it could also be part of his problem that he is unable to yet concentrate for longer periods..

[Guest]

Thank you for the tips, they are much appreciated.

 

It is quite possible that it is attention seeking, I am never sure how much to let him get away with as I have a few other boys who notice things and will say X did ... (and therefore so can I).

 

Any tips for child initiated learning time when we are supporting play? I am on my own a lot of the time without a TA and would like to know what other people do with boisterous boys who are not allowed access to outside? (we share outside with the pre school and can't have access all day).

[Mouseketeer]

Did he go to a setting before school, did they give you a transition sheet that shows whether there were any behaviour concerns before ? If yes could you contact setting to ask how they handled things ?

[Susan]

I spent ages answering this earlier and then lost it!

 

I agree with the others who have suggested that this is attention seeking behaviour. I also think that this little chap is crying out for attention as he will be aware that something is not ok at home even if he does not know what and you need to make him secure both in his new environment and with the expectations of your setting.

I would not therefore be over worried about the need to give him attention at the right times and this may include during your CI time--his family adults may have little time to spend with him and he needs the reassurance of a relationship with you. In fact I would not be overly concerned if he needed to work with you for the majority of the day and was unable to be independent. This may or may not change over the school year, but you know the reason for it and can score PSE accordingly when the time comes.

I think you could help some of the behaviour issues for him and the others with lots of circle times, modelling your expectations and addressing the issues, appropriate responses to the register,, why sometimes people behave differently etc. behaviour modification techniques such as star charts may also be helpful but you will find this difficult on your own and I would want to leave things longer before doing this, personally. You essentially have a very unhappy little boy who is telling you with his behaviour rather than with words.

You will need to make your HT and SenCO aware of these issues--there may be some play therapy that could be accessed that would be helpful and I think you need to ask for support ie another adult to help you deal with this situation, It is not fair to you or the other children, or the child himself for you to be dealing with this unaided. I think behavioural issues are almost certainly likely to escalate if you are left alone but that will not be your fault.

Hope you can get this sorted, for everyone, soon.

[Guest]

He did go to a nursery part time. They handled it by not really handling it... I spoke to his key worker and she said he was pretty out of control and hyper. She said they bribed him with stickers (which only worked occasionally) and just basically let him get on with it. (So in all not very helpful!)

[Susan]

He did go to a nursery part time. They handled it by not really handling it... I spoke to his key worker and she said he was pretty out of control and hyper. She said they bribed him with stickers (which only worked occasionally) and just basically let him get on with it. (So in all not very helpful!)

Talk to your HT urgently!

[Guest]

Thanks for the advice. He was better today. Carpet times are fine, (although I am having to teach him he will not always be chosen and cannot call out). He is getting better at this although does still need a few reminders.

 

We have been assessing through observation this week and therefore no adult directed tasks. I am thinking of seeing how he goes next week with adult led tasks.

 

I have not seen any of the 'out of control' stuff that nursery talked about and haven't attempted to use stickers as I don't do bribery or stickers!!

 

I do have a reward chart and he wants to have his name on the star at the top! (I think this is positive).

 

I've discussed it with our bereavement lady at school and she basically said get back to her when his relative dies!! (she said we can't be sure if his behaviour is linked to the bereavement or if he even knows about it) - although he does know something is going on!

[Melcatfish]

Good luck with this, it's a difficult situation especially as you are on your own in the class.

 

I would have to question the wisdom of "Waiting until the relative dies" to offer support. Particularly if the family have made you aware of the situation, in doing so they have inferred that he may need support and I would personally say that it is therefore part and parcel of the schools responsibility to offer any and all possible support for the child.

 

Children are extremely perceptive and whether or not he has been explicitly told that the family member is dying he will know that something is amiss and it is already affecting him as you have described. I would speak to your HT about some classroom support and also see if he \ she is willing to press the issue further with whoever is the bereavement lady (I am however impressed that you have an official bereavement person at your school!)

 

Keep us updated,

Mel

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[Guest]

Thanks Mel. We don't know anything from the family officially, all the info has been passed on from the nursery. His family have told us nothing!!

[Melcatfish]

Thanks Mel. We don't know anything from the family officially, all the info has been passed on from the nursery. His family have told us nothing!!

 

Tricky, maybe try opening a dialogue with them, either tell them that the nursery told you about the situation and explain that he is finding it hard to settle and you wonder if it is linked. Or if you don't want to say that the nursery told you then explain that he is finding it hard to settle and ask if there is anything at home which he may be struggling with. Although they are difficult to talk about often getting things out in the open will be helpful for you and them.

 

Good luck with it, let us know how it pans out.

Mel

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