On April 8th we hosted our second CPD event ‘Behaviour Management for Supply Teachers’ at IKON Training in Ipswich!
This session focussed on techniques that can be used by supply teachers to identify the causes of challenging behaviour in the classroom and tips on how to de-escalate these behaviours. It also provided a great opportunity for our teachers to get together and talk about their own experiences in supply, share ideas and network.
The session kicked off at 9am with a breakfast full of pastries and fruit – which went down very quickly! Paul Lowes, our Opus Teach Managing Director, welcomed everybody, introduced the team and addressed the mornings agenda.
Educational Consultant, Stella Day then took to the floor to kick off some great conversation. There was plenty of time given to share the huge amount of experience in the room, and it was great to see all our teachers interacting and sharing advice.
Next, James Crown, Training Manager at IKON Training began a lively and interactive session all about behavioural management within schools. The session focussed on many different elements in behavioural management including the Iceberg theory and Betari’s Box .
We find behavioural management a key topic to address within supply. Unlike permanent teachers, supply teachers are often faced with the challenge of not being in a placement long enough to build a strong rapport with a class. This means they may not be aware of some of the causes of challenging behaviour that are specific to each class, or the way that the usual teacher would handle these behaviours. Therefore, it is important for supply teachers to learn about universal ways to identify these behaviours and decide on the best way to de-escalate them.
This is especially the case for day to day supply where the teacher walks into a class full of children for the first time and must gain the attention of the pupils and assert their position all within seconds. It is these initial actions within the classroom, the words spoken and the first activity set, that can dictate how the rest of the lesson can go.
James addressed different scenarios and used our teachers’ examples to provide feedback on the actions taken and suggest what could have been done.
At the end, we had a great Q&A session, whereby we took any feedback from our teachers regarding the event and our service. It was great to be able to talk openly and hear what would benefit our supply teachers, and what they would like the next event to focus on. We will be taking all feedback on board and planning for future events.
It was great for us to meet so many of our supply teachers, and 100% of attendees said they found the event useful!
If you’d like to provide any future CPD session ideas or would like to be informed of any events coming up, please email [email protected].
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Finally, if you’re interested in more information about supply teaching, or are interested in registering with Opus Teach, please get in contact!
If you’re a school looking for quality teachers, similarly to teachers, you can either give us a call on 03301 242801 or drop us an email at [email protected], or alternatively you can register on our website by clicking here.