Tools for Schools: training on children in care for school staffRead the behaviour, then reach for the right tool.

Story. Tyler, 12, is in his second secondary school this year. In period 1 he is asked to read aloud, laughs, throws his book and walks out. By break he has a detention and nobody has asked him why.

Theory. Behaviour is communication. Dan Siegel’s window of tolerance (1999) gives staff a quick way to tell when a child is calm enough to think, and when they are too stressed to hear a reasonable instruction, however calmly it is given.

Action. Window of Tolerance. Staff place three moments from Tyler’s morning on the window, then do the same for a pupil they teach, anonymised, and agree what an adult could do differently at each point.

By the end of this part people can explain the window of tolerance to a colleague, and tell from a child’s behaviour whether they are in a state to think or not.

You leave with The Window of Tolerance, as a way to read what sits behind a behaviour.

Story. Amira, 8, comes back after half term and won’t go into class. She hides in the toilets and, when found, says she hates her teacher. Her teacher was off sick the last week before the holiday.

Theory. Bowlby’s attachment theory (1969) explains why a child who has lost adults before reacts so strongly to separations that look small. Louise Bombèr’s work on attachment in schools (Inside I’m Hurting, 2007) shows why a consistent key adult matters. The DfE’s Behaviour in Schools guidance (2024) expects staff to look at underlying factors and put support in place alongside sanctions.

Action. De-escalation phrases. In threes, staff rehearse what to say to Amira at the toilet door, and to a pupil of their own in a tense moment: fewer words, a calm voice, the boundary held. They swap roles so everyone practises as the adult.

By the end of this part people can use three or four de-escalation phrases in a tense moment, and describe what a key adult does for a child like Amira.

You leave with De-escalation phrases for a tense moment, and a clearer picture of the key adult’s role.

Story. Before Tyler arrives, his pupil profile says “volatile, poor attendance, known to police”. By the end of his first week, three teachers have moved him to the back of the room.

Theory. Erving Goffman’s work on stigma (1963) explains how a label becomes the first thing people see. Rosenthal and Jacobson’s Pygmalion in the Classroom (1968) showed that teachers’ expectations can shape how pupils are taught and how they do. Words in staffrooms, meetings and profiles carry those expectations.

Action. Profile reframing. Staff rewrite Tyler’s profile, then a real anonymised pupil profile from their school, so it is accurate, includes what helps and what the child is good at, and doesn’t label. They also practise one line to change the conversation when a colleague labels a child in the staffroom.

By the end of this part people can rewrite a pupil profile without labels, and redirect a labelling conversation with a colleague.

You leave with A reframed profile, and a line to change the conversation about a child in the staffroom.

Story. Tyler’s social worker rings on a Thursday afternoon to say he is moving homes on Monday. School learns the rest from Tyler, who is excluded the following week.

Theory. School and social care work to different rules and timescales, and each often doesn’t know what the other is for. We set out the roles of the designated teacher, the designated safeguarding lead, the social worker and the virtual school head, and who should be told what and when.

Action. Separating Reason from Behaviour. Staff work through Tyler’s exclusion scenario, separating what he did from why, deciding which boundary holds and what support goes alongside it, and who in school and social care needs to know.

By the end of this part people can name who to contact for a child in care and when, and use Separating Reason from Behaviour to hold a boundary while responding to the reason.

You leave with Three tools to take into school, with the handouts to keep.