School Behaviour Secrets with Simon Currigan and Emma Shackleton
Are you a teacher, a SENCo or a school leader?
Want research-backed strategies for supporting students who find it hard to manage their emotions or behaviour? Want practical ways of supporting pupils with special needs like autism, ADHD, FASD or attachment disorder? Want tried-and-tested classroom management strategies that will work with that ‘tricky class’?
Then you’re in the right place.
Welcome to the School Behaviour Secrets podcast where we’ll answer ALL these questions and so much more! Week after week, your hosts Simon Currigan and Emma Shackleton share the secrets to behaviour success that every teacher and school leader should know, all based on their decades of experience supporting real teachers and real students in real classrooms.
But that’s not all...We also interview thought leaders from the world of education so you can hear NEW insights that could hold the key to unlocking your students’ potential. Whether it’s managing the whole class, helping kids with behavioural SEN, or whole school strategy - we’ve got you covered.
Are you in? Brilliant. Because this is YOUR CHANCE to get unstuck, hear from the experts, feel inspired and start seeing more positive behaviour in your classroom again. So hit that subscribe button... and let’s get started!
Episodes
291 episodes
How To Help Pupils Manage 'Big Emotions'
Ever wondered why children (and adults) lose self-control when faced with big emotions, such as anger and anxiety?In this School Behaviour Secrets episode, we share one simple strategy that you can use right away to help pupils understan...
Quick-fire strategies: One Trick To Improve Classroom Positivity And Success
Want to know how to create a positive climate in your classroom? It might be easier than you think! Sometimes, all it takes is making one simple change.In this special School Behaviour Secrets episode, we reveal one trick you can make to...
How To Use VR To Help Pupils Overcome Anxiety And Develop Key Social Skills With Ange Anderson
Can advances in technology (including Virtual Reality) help young people with additional needs to better understand how to interact with others and actively reduce anxiety?In this week's School Behaviour Secrets podcast, we interview Ang...
Quick-fire strategies: 4 Top Tips To Make The Build Up To Christmas Enjoyable For Everyone
The lead up to Christmas can be a mixture of excitement and stress for children - and sometimes it's hard to know how to deal with both.In this episode of Behaviour Secrets, we discuss why certain children may not cope during this festiv...
What "Masking" Behaviour Means - And Why It Matters In The Classroom
Some children change their behaviour and 'mask' their true needs all day long at school. Over time, this can be exhausting and may even lead to burnout!In this School Behaviour Secrets podcast, we interview parent and educator advisor Am...
Why You Shouldn’t Listen To Behaviour Experts
It's common for schools to get outside help when they're struggling to support a child's behaviour, but sometimes this type of advice can actually do more harm than good.In this weeks Behaviour Secrets podcast, we discuss why sometimes y...
Evidence Based Ways To Help Victims Recover From The Trauma Of Bullying With Jennifer Fraser
Despite our best efforts in school, bullying affects significant numbers of children. And the latest research shows that bullying can actually change the ways children's brains are wired and function.In today's episode, expert author Jen...
How To Lead A Line Around School
Leading a line is an essential skill for adults in school - but very few teachers have been trained on how to do it effectively. Get it wrong and you have a recipe for low-level behaviour and disruption as you move the class through the buildin...
How To Actively Create Positive School Cultures That Reduce Bullying With Alex Holmes
How can we empower students to understand and deal with bullying behaviour in school? When not dealt with properly, bullying has a hugely negative impact on school culture and student and staff wellbeing.This week on School Behaviour Sec...
Quick-fire strategies: How To Use Reduced Timetables In The Right Way
Is a reduced timetable a highly effective support strategy - or is it just another form of exclusion?This week on School Behaviour Secrets, we reveal the right approach when using reduced timetables in schools. We'll be sharing our tips ...
The Truth About ADHD And Medication with Walt Karniski
As a parent, it can be tough to decide whether or not to medicate your child for ADHD. But how can you be sure it's the right call?This week on our school behaviour secrets podcast, we sit down with developmental paediatrician and author...
5 Tips For Managing Talkative Classes
Getting the working noise level right in class can be tricky. Research tells us that students benefit from the chance to collaborate and discuss learning with their peers, but we all know that too much noise leads to off task behaviours and was...
Why Kids Don't Change Problem Behaviour (Even When It's To Their Advantage) - Part 2
Sometimes our students get stuck in cycles of negative, challenging behaviour - even when they've been offered support and intervention programmes in school. That leads to poor outcomes for the individual - emotionally and academically - and of...
Why Kids Don't Change Problem Behaviour (Even When It's To Their Advantage) – Part 1
Sometimes our students get stuck in cycles of negative, challenging behaviour - even when they've been offered support and intervention programmes in school. That leads to poor outcomes for the individual - emotionally and academically - and of...
Why Negative Reinforcement Isn’t What You Think It Is…
Been taught that negative reinforcement is a more socially acceptable term for a punishment? Then you've been told a lie.Negative reinforcement is a specific behaviour strategy that is different from punishment in a number of ways. In to...
Support strategies for pupils with Emotionally Based School Avoidance (EBSA) With Jerricah Holder
In the past, we've described children could have difficulty coming into school as 'school refusers,' as if their behaviour is down to wilfulness. But is it time to flip the script - and start looking at other causes for that behaviour?In...
What To Do When A Student Refuses To Work
There could be a number of reasons why a child is refusing to complete their work. Maybe they're feeling overwhelmed, maybe they don't understand the task, or maybe they're just tired. As a teacher, it's important to try to figure out what the ...
Quick-fire strategies: This 2 word sentence makes de-escalation easier
When a pupil has an outburst in school, it can be easy to approach that situation as a confrontation, where the child is deliberately engaging in disruptive behaviour. The result? Lots of stress - for the adult and the pupil.But what if ...
Quick-fire strategies: What many schools are getting wrong with positive and negative feedback
As teachers and school leaders, it's easy to become distracted (and polarised!) by the question, "Which is more powerful - positive or negative feedback?" But what if that's the wrong question entirely?In this episode, I explain...
Quick-fire strategies: How to project your voice the right way
As teachers and educators, we rely on our voices to teach effectively and communicate information across the classroom, school hall - or even whole playgrounds. But when we project our voices in the wrong way, we can experience frequent sore th...
Quick-fire strategies: What to do when your behaviour strategies stop working.
Sometimes, the SEMH support strategies we're using with a student just stop working - for no apparent reason - and we're left with the dilemma, "What do we do next?"In this episode, I share how this simple concept from statistics might e...
Quick-fire strategies: Asking this one question can unlock your class's potential
When it comes to behaviour and learning, there's one question we should be asking ourselves (as the adult) that can change the game in our classrooms. And although it's a question we often ask ourselves at the start of our career, it's one we q...
Quick-fire strategies: This mind-trick will make you better at de-escalation
De-escalating students during an outburst can be physically and mentally draining. But what if there was a way of making it easier on you?In the first of our "quick fire strategies" episodes, I share one mind-trick that makes de...
The Hidden Pressures That Students Face and How These Can Impact Their Wellbeing with Helena Kulikowska and Sara Turner
More pupils than ever before are facing unseen pressures, causing an increase in anxiety and stress in pupils of all ages. What are the hidden stresses and what can educators do to alleviate them?In this special Behaviour Secrets compila...
The Difference Between Supporting Students And Normalizing Them (And Why It Matters) with Nicki Day
There's a fine line between supporting students with SEMH needs with positive behaviour change and trying to "normalise" them - so they fit into society's idea of how children should think and behave.In this week's episode, we explore th...