Impact of Literacy Difficulties on social, behavioural, emotional and well-being

Social Behaviour and Emotional Wellbeing (SBEW) as an identified special educational need is unique in that at different points in their lives every single member of the school community will experience need in this area. It is therefore incredibly important that a whole school ethos is designed, built and maintained with a commitment to understand and support all our pupils, parents and colleagues in an atmosphere of collective care. Additional needs in this area, however severe, do not need to be long term and should not carry shame. Strategies and interventions adopted without an ongoing whole school ethos firmly built on Trauma Informed Practice and the principles of nurture will have limited positive impact in the long term. The cornerstone to any approaches to understanding and supporting SBEW is strong positive relationships within the whole school community with a sense of belonging for all. (Social, Behavioural, Emotional & well-being, Andrea Kelly, 2020)

Working with the Whole School Community to Understand, Nurture and Support Social Behaviour and Emotional Wellbeing

In the original SEN Resource File this chapter was called Understanding and Managing Social, Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties (SEBD). This identified special educational need has been redefined as Social Behaviour and Emotional Wellbeing and this reflects our growing understanding of the inseparable nature of visible behaviours and emotional wellbeing. There is a wealth of information available to us on how our experiences impact upon not only brain development, but our ability to regulate and manage our own behaviour. This knowledge has led to an evolution in how we work with pupils experiencing SBEW needs. We understand that rather than use methods where adults manage and modify the visible behaviours in class, we support the young people and work with them to resolve the real need underlying the behaviour. The good news is that while the problems are complex the solutions are more straightforward than we anticipate– this chapter is packed full of practical and doable strategies, activities and good ideas. The key is to start with one thing! Don’t try every idea in this resource straight away. Take your time and do one thing well! Change takes time, patience, team work and consistency. 

Pupils with literacy difficulties have a range of strengths and a range of learning differences. Some pupils may appear quiet and withdrawn and some may experience angry outbursts, which can often change and / or increase with age. When a pupil’s social, behavioural, emotional and well-being is impacted, he / she may feel responsible; this can result in a pupil underestimating his / her own knowledge and skillset and have a detrimental effect on confidence, ability and self-esteem. 

The following indicators can be observed at any stage of a pupil’s development and intervention should be prompt and supportive of the pupil’s social, behavioural and emotional well-being. Teachers and staff need to understand the nature of the pupil’s difficulties and the impact it can have on behaviour. This is particularly important in understanding why some pupils fall behind in literacy. Careful consideration needs to be given to the different influences on a pupil, be they ‘pupil-based’ or ‘environment-based’ and stress needs to be minimised. 

At the core of SBEW needs is often stress, anxiety, lack of self-worth/low self-esteem and fear of failure. These feelings can be caused by any number of factors including developmental delays, learning difficulties, skills deficit, fractured peer & adult relationships, domestic violence, parent experiencing mental health difficulties, alcohol/drug addictions, and parental separation. This is an area of need important to every pupil. Some pupils in our class have experienced visible trauma, such as a parental bereavement or those listed above. Some pupil’s experience trauma every time they are asked to put pencil to paper. Some pupils communicate this trauma through socially unacceptable behaviours. Some pupils communicate this trauma by withdrawing and may go unnoticed. Following nurture principles and trauma informed practice is critical to supporting the social behaviour and emotional wellbeing development of every young person in the school community regardless of their age and stage of development or the underlying factors.

Realise the impact adverse childhood experiences and trauma can have. Through a reflective process we can raise our awareness that the approach we adopt in our schools can support the recovery of the young people we work with. Staff can and do have a significant impact on the emotional wellbeing of their pupils through supportive and positive relationships. 

Recognise that the young person or parent you are talking to or working with may be exhibiting signs of trauma. The behaviours we see may be due to the fact that they are experiencing stress due to current or past adverse childhood experiences. We pause before we react and we try to understand. This requires self-awareness and empathy. 

Resist re-traumatisation We are committed to not re-traumatising a person as far as is possible. All of our interventions reduce tension. While boundaries and routines are important, they are flexible, allowing for a pupil centred approach. When we recognise that a strategy is causing a person toxic stress we stop and change our action. 

Respond in an informed and consistent manner at a whole school level with language, policies and procedures all reflecting the knowledge and experience we have of trauma. Our school embeds a mutually respectful, nurturing trauma sensitive response in every interaction. We recognise that all members of the school community, both pupils and adults, may have experienced adversity and bring this into work. We are committed to understanding and supporting the well-being and welfare of all members of the school community by actively fostering a sense of everyone belonging. 

Mitigating Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) – The building blocks to resilience Research (Bellis 2017) has shown that supporting resilience in pupils can help mitigate the impact of ACE’s, identifying 4 essential factors for resilience: 

• One or more stable and caring child-adult relationship
• Feel you can overcome hardship and guide your destiny
• Equipped to manage your behaviour and emotions
• Being involved and connected The importance of a trauma sensitive and regulated adult in creating safe, secure adult-child relationship may well be the foundation for which pupils learn how to manage their relationships, emotions and overcome adversity effectively. Trauma sensitive responses from adults help create safety and calm for pupils helping them to regulate themselves more effectively. For more information on ACE’s click on the links below. Information about ACEs on the Safeguarding NI website.

The simplest place to start is to embed a balance of activities and practice built around the Take 5 model developed by the Public Health Agency. Take 5 Steps to Wellbeing is a set of evidence-based messages aimed at improving the wellbeing of the general population modified from the Five Ways to Wellbeing concept developed by the New Economics Foundation. They can be free, easily achievable and applicable to anyone’s life regardless of their circumstances. The 5 steps to Well Being are Connect, Be Active, Take Notice, Keep Learning and Give. They provide a simple evidence -based model for designing, building and maintaining a whole school ethos which actively supports Social Behaviour and Emotional Wellbeing. “Every school should work to create and maintain an ethos which contributes to the care, safety and well-being of children or young people

• Model an active listening approach. Introduce a good listening charter in the classroom 
• Develop a class cue to encourage the pupil to stay on task
• Introduce a ‘first and then approach’
• Indicate any changes to the class routine on the visual timetable
• Maintain classroom routines and rules that promote positive behaviour
• Provide positive reinforcement and praise
• Ensure there are regular ‘movement breaks’:

EA AAIS: Time-Out Activities

EA AAIS: Quick-Fixes

• Chunk information as far as possible to make it more manageable
• Provide visual reminder charts of what to remember at the start of each day (this can be supported by parents at home as the pupil prepares for school)
• Create a supportive and collaborative inclusive culture in the classroom
• Give task countdown reminders, 10 mins / 5 mins to go
• Adapt tone and phrasing when requesting demands, such as:

“I wonder have you not started the task, because you need help to read it, or you need materials?” 

“Let’s see if we could…” or “Is it possible we could” (avoid the blame culture)

• Be aware of the connection between literacy difficulties and behaviour and show empathy towards the pupil with literacy differences
• Use multisensory activities to engage the pupil’s sensory pathways
• Observe and monitor the pupil’s patterns of behaviour to identify ‘triggers’ to subsequently avoid
• Provide support mechanisms such as school counselling, pastoral care services, peer mentoring (if required)
• Get to know the pupil and his / her learning profile
• Get to know the pupil’s interests and work from this point
• Engage parental support to discuss pupil’s learning in school and at home; try to maintain regular communication
• Refer to the guidelines of the British Dyslexia Association Dyslexia Style Guide when creating teacher produced hand-outs / worksheets (these guidelines will benefit all pupils, not only those with literacy difficulties)

What do we do when the young person’s brain is responding in a way that has triggered the alarm state? 

• Regulate -First the young person needs to feel safe so focus on reducing tension and reassuring them. Say very little and give them space and time. Relate- Next the young person needs to feel loved so focus on connecting with them, take an interest in them. Share a happy memory. 
• Reason -Now the young person is able to talk about what happened. Talk about alternative ways to manage these emotions when they come. 

Reduce your language and the number of people nearby. Give space and keep safe. Be patient.  Let them know you are ok with them. Take an interest in them. Wonder aloud, be curious. Guide the young person through post incident learning. Work with the young person to find a solution. Use a third person, for example, celebrity, character in story, puppet to link actions with consequences. 

Don’t: 

• Talk about behaviour 
• Overload with language or people 
• Make demands, ultimatums or threats 
• Talk about what just happened 
• Sound annoyed
• Insist on an apology
• Disregard the young person’s feelings Until the young person is regulated, they won’t be able to relate and until they relate and are connected to you, they won’t be able to reason with you and talk about what happened. 

When you see a young person begin to struggle, take notice and recognise which R they need right now. Be patient, it can take a while before the young person is ready to talk about what happened. Sometimes it’s even the next day. It’s important to respond to the young person where they are at. This allows for genuine processing and learning from the incident and a reduction in the likelihood of longer-term repetition. 

Ref: Lucas, S., Insley, K. and Buckland, G. (2006) Nurture Group Principles and Curriculum Guidelines Helping Children to Achieve, The Nurture Group Network)

1. Pupil's learning is understood developmentally. Staff respond to pupils at their emotional/developmental level - not expected academic level. The response to the individual young person is “as they are”, a non-judgemental and accepting attitude. 
2. The classroom offers a safe base -Importance of structure and predictability. Adults are reliable and consistent in their approach—working together supportively. Adults recognise the link between emotional containment and cognitive learning. Relationships are key. 
3. The importance of nurture for the development of self-esteem -Listening and responding to pupils - showing they are valued and thought about and kept in mind. Understanding the young person’s internal working model of themselves, others and the world. Recognising - their view of themselves - bad, unlovable, who thinks things are their fault. Creating a safe place to make mistakes. They know their next steps, how to move forward and improve. They feel their voice is valued and worthwhile. Opportunities for consultation. 
4. Language is a vital means of communication Language is more than words – a way of putting feelings into words (body language, eye contact etc.) Pupils are helped to understand and express their feelings - opportunities for extended conversations. Informal opportunities for talking and sharing. Language has to be heard, used, practiced and relevant to the situation. Develops sequentially. Modelling of nurturing relationships - respectful, consistent and positive interactions. Language used by adults is consistent with nurture, so that all are supported to feel: 
   • You belong here 
   • You are welcome here 
   • I like you 
   • You are safe here 
   • Your feelings are okay with me 
   • You can explore and learn
   • You can work with me 
   • I will be thinking about you, and keeping you in mind
   •  I believe in you 
5. All behaviour is communication Given what I know about this young person and their development - what is this pupil trying to tell me? If a young person senses that their feelings are understood this can help to diffuse difficult situations. Understanding what a pupil is communicating through behaviour helps us to respond in a firm but non-punitive way (not provoking or discouraging).
   • We need to feel safe; to trust our environment and the people around us so we can develop new modes of behaviour 
   • We are aware of the relevance of pupil’s non-verbal language – We are attentive and attuned to it 
   • We are aware of our own emotions and how this links to our communication behaviour – AND subsequently how this can impact a pupil’s behaviour 
   • The function of negative behaviour is understood – we can explore these - high quality collaborative problem solving
   • The overall approach should aim to be restorative “
6. The importance of transition in our pupil's lives Staff acknowledge the feelings aroused by transitions. Understand even small changes in routine (e.g. coming to school, unstructured times, a visitor, a supply teacher,) can be overwhelming and unsettling for some young people. Experiencing good relationships (and nurture) is the best predictor for learning readiness. Whole School Ethos Understanding and supporting SBEW starts from an ongoing and intentional whole school ethos.

Special Educational Needs (SEN) Resources | Department of Education (education-ni.gov.uk)

Department of Education SEN Resource File 

Dyslexia Friendly Post Primary Classrooms SEN Resource File

National Council for Special Education NCSE: Challenging Behaviour in Post Primary

NASEN: Supporting pupils with SpLD in Post Primary 

Planning for Pupils with SBEW needs

The Planning Glossary has been put together as a simple guide to the plans available for school staff to assist them to support pupils presenting with Social Behaviour and Emotional Wellbeing (SBEW) needs. 

Resources and Further Guidance including Overview of Support

School staff are encouraged to use the High Five Resource Hub to aid them in supporting the young people.  They can also access further guidance on accessing support from PBSP for staff, pupils and parents. 

Training is also available using the link below:

Training-SEND -Plan