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Clarity, Co-ordination, Consistency – How to run an effective pupil referral unit

Children with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties (SEBD) need the same care and consistency as their peers – and with a touch of flexibility, forgiveness and understanding you can make their lives, and yours, better, says Becky Durston… I went on to spend 13 years heading up a secondary pupil referral unit, until I was […]

Becky Durston
by Becky Durston
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Children with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties (SEBD) need the same care and consistency as their peers – and with a touch of flexibility, forgiveness and understanding you can make their lives, and yours, better, says Becky Durston…

I went on to spend 13 years heading up a secondary pupil referral unit, until I was selected for a post in a PRU that had both secondary and primary pupils. The only advice I received was somewhat disheartening. An old friend with similar experience of working with younger children said, “Ensure you have high locks on the door so they can’t get out, and that they have slippers rather than shoes – so when they kick you it doesn’t hurt so much.” Yet thankfully, over the next two decades working in PRUs with primary and secondary pupils, I learnt so much more, but particularly two important things. Firstly, that you should employ primary specialists, and secondly, that primary pupils on a social and emotional level need much the same as secondary school children. All pupils need to know you care; they need to see it in your eyes. These kids are very perceptive – they learn to be – and need to feel protected and secure. The rules need to be clear, and so do the positive and negative consequences. There is always talk about the importance of consistency in schools, which, of course should be an aim. But some kids need a bit of flexibility, they need rewards (even if it’s just a smile or wink) and a chance to make good their mistakes. Other pupils will understand the need for this, and appreciate your efforts to maintain order in their class. Pupils always want to feel the same as their peers, with the same work and opportunities, so it’s important to support this with carefully-planned and coordinated classroom assistance if necessary. Expectations should always be high – it’s another way to show you care. But identify any gaps in age-appropriate basic skills, special educational needs or disabilities, and support in the same way. As long as this basic principal of ‘same as peers’ is applied, alternative programmes such as anger management can be built in.

Make links at home

To maintain your good work in the classroom, it is essential to make links with children’s homes, which can be difficult. Huge amounts of effort will often be needed to gain the trust of parents or carers, and there may be setbacks, and heated or distressing sessions. But it’s necessary to work through this, to stay calm and remain consistent with the school’s message and approach. This may involve home visits, emails, phone calls, flexible meeting times at school and links with supporting agencies. The parents and school need to be on the same page as far as possible. You need information that will help you teach the child and they, just like the child, need to feel that you genuinely care. I always found it useful to have an open-door approach as far as possible, as well as providing hot drinks and biccies. I even kept a few toys in my desk, in case younger siblings were present. The most important thing is to make a plan based on all this information and review it with the key players often, identifying progress and setbacks to be worked on. The child should be involved wherever possible, especially if they make a mistake. I often received exclusion papers with huge lists of misdemeanors, but there was usually little or no evidence of the child’s point of view, which may have helped the school understand, rather than disapprove.

Keep good records of events in order to inform your plan, and spot any patterns developing such as tiredness first thing, hunger, fears (irrational or otherwise) and refusal to cooperate at certain times or with particular activities or staff. Finally, I have learnt that you can’t win them all, and shouldn’t beat yourself up if a case defeats you. The Australian behaviour guru, Bill Rogers, used to say eight out of 10 is good enough. I concur.

Becky Durston is President of PRUsAP – a national organization for Pupil Referral Units and Alternative Provision; for more information, visit prusap.org.uk or follow @prusaporguk

After I graduated I did a year and a half in an all-boys primary school. But I knew deep down that I wasn’t particularly interested in the children with their hands up, rather the ones with snotty noses, hair in their eyes and confused looks on their faces. When I secured a post working with SEBD secondary pupils, I knew I’d found my niche and never looked back.

Pupils need to know you care

I went on to spend 13 years heading up a secondary pupil referral unit, until I was selected for a post in a PRU that had both secondary and primary pupils. The only advice I received was somewhat disheartening. An old friend with similar experience of working with younger children said, “Ensure you have high locks on the door so they can’t get out, and that they have slippers rather than shoes – so when they kick you it doesn’t hurt so much.” Yet thankfully, over the next two decades working in PRUs with primary and secondary pupils, I learnt so much more, but particularly two important things. Firstly, that you should employ primary specialists, and secondly, that primary pupils on a social and emotional level need much the same as secondary school children. All pupils need to know you care; they need to see it in your eyes. These kids are very perceptive – they learn to be – and need to feel protected and secure. The rules need to be clear, and so do the positive and negative consequences. There is always talk about the importance of consistency in schools, which, of course should be an aim. But some kids need a bit of flexibility, they need rewards (even if it’s just a smile or wink) and a chance to make good their mistakes. Other pupils will understand the need for this, and appreciate your efforts to maintain order in their class. Pupils always want to feel the same as their peers, with the same work and opportunities, so it’s important to support this with carefully-planned and coordinated classroom assistance if necessary. Expectations should always be high – it’s another way to show you care. But identify any gaps in age-appropriate basic skills, special educational needs or disabilities, and support in the same way. As long as this basic principal of ‘same as peers’ is applied, alternative programmes such as anger management can be built in.

Make links at home

To maintain your good work in the classroom, it is essential to make links with children’s homes, which can be difficult. Huge amounts of effort will often be needed to gain the trust of parents or carers, and there may be setbacks, and heated or distressing sessions. But it’s necessary to work through this, to stay calm and remain consistent with the school’s message and approach. This may involve home visits, emails, phone calls, flexible meeting times at school and links with supporting agencies. The parents and school need to be on the same page as far as possible. You need information that will help you teach the child and they, just like the child, need to feel that you genuinely care. I always found it useful to have an open-door approach as far as possible, as well as providing hot drinks and biccies. I even kept a few toys in my desk, in case younger siblings were present. The most important thing is to make a plan based on all this information and review it with the key players often, identifying progress and setbacks to be worked on. The child should be involved wherever possible, especially if they make a mistake. I often received exclusion papers with huge lists of misdemeanors, but there was usually little or no evidence of the child’s point of view, which may have helped the school understand, rather than disapprove.

Keep good records of events in order to inform your plan, and spot any patterns developing such as tiredness first thing, hunger, fears (irrational or otherwise) and refusal to cooperate at certain times or with particular activities or staff. Finally, I have learnt that you can’t win them all, and shouldn’t beat yourself up if a case defeats you. The Australian behaviour guru, Bill Rogers, used to say eight out of 10 is good enough. I concur.

Becky Durston is President of PRUsAP – a national organization for Pupil Referral Units and Alternative Provision; for more information, visit prusap.org.uk or follow @prusaporguk

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