Some pupils never put their hand up. They never admit they’re stuck. But then they fall behind while everyone assumes they’re coping. In this episode of School Behaviour Secrets, you’ll learn why asking for help can feel threatening for some pupils and the hidden coping strategies they use instead - from copying others’ work to trying to become invisible in the classroom. You’ll also discover the simple SAFE approach for understanding why pupils stay silent, and how the PAIN Framework can he...
Aug 30
16 min
The final week of term should feel positive - but when routines disappear, emotions rise and pupils realise the year is ending, behaviour can quickly start to unravel. In this episode of School Behaviour Secrets, you’ll learn how to keep the end of term calm, structured and meaningful without removing all the fun. We’ll look at why pupils often become silly, emotional or unsettled before the holidays, how to balance high-energy activities with calm “landing” tasks, and how to help children lo...
Jul 12
24 min
School leaders are facing increasingly complex SEMH needs, rising pressure around behaviour and inclusion, and more uncertainty about what effective support should look like in practice. In this episode of School Behaviour Secrets, you’ll hear what schools are telling us right now about SEMH leadership, why it can feel so difficult, and what leaders need in order to move forward confidently with SEMH and behaviour. You’ll also find out about Beacon School Support’s first National SEMH Confere...
Jul 5
20 min
Some behaviour problems don’t start with defiance, disruption or poor emotional control. They actually start when pupils use relationships to humiliate or exclude another child in their friendship group. In this episode of School Behaviour Secrets, you’ll discover how Relational Aggression affects pupils in both primary and secondary schools, why it’s so easy for adults to miss and how it can drive anxiety, dysregulation and sudden changes in behaviour. You’ll also find out how the PAIN Frame...
Jun 28
26 min
Have you noticed some pupils seem more anxious, avoidant or dysregulated at this time of year - even when nothing obvious has changed in the classroom? In this episode of School Behaviour Secrets, you’ll learn why exams, transition days, new classes, secondary transfer and end-of-year changes can increase anxiety for pupils. You’ll discover why some children aren’t just reacting to what’s happening now - they’re reacting to what they think is coming next. Plus we’ll look at how anticipatory a...
Jun 21
28 min
Got a tricky class that feels harder to teach than it should? Sometimes the problem isn’t one big behaviour issue - it’s the smaller repeated issues that drain everyone’s attention, patience and energy. In this episode of School Behaviour Secrets, we look at why some classes feel so difficult to manage, how problematic routines can create hidden workload for teachers and pupils, and why simply telling pupils what to do once is rarely enough. You’ll discover why children don’t always transfer ...
Jun 14
25 min
Have you ever had a pupil come back from lunch looking fine - only to refuse work, argue, shout or completely fall apart minutes later? In this episode of School Behaviour Secrets, we explore why lunchtime isn’t always a break for every pupil. You’ll learn how social stress, sensory overload, unresolved conflict and tricky transitions can build up during lunch - then spill over into the afternoon lesson. We’ll also look at what schools can do to make lunchtimes calmer, support vulnerable pupi...
Jun 7
26 min
Have you ever used a behaviour strategy that worked brilliantly in the moment - only to find the same behaviour came back again the next day? And the next? In this episode of School Behaviour Secrets, we explore why some short-term behaviour strategies appear to work because they reduce the immediate tension but can accidentally teach pupils or whole classes habits that make behaviour harder in the long run. Most importantly, you’ll discover three simple questions that help break the cycle an...
May 31
28 min
Are the quiet, compliant pupils in your classroom genuinely regulated - or just holding everything together? In this episode of School Behaviour Secrets, we explore the important tension between compliance and regulation. Because while schools absolutely need routines, boundaries and clear expectations, “doing what we asked” doesn’t always mean a pupil is calm, settled or coping underneath. You’ll learn why some pupils can appear fine in school but collapse at home, how masking and shutdown c...
May 17
27 min
What should you do when a pupil looks you in the eye, shrugs and says, “I don’t care”? It’s one of those classroom moments that can easily pull adults into a power battle. But while they sound disrespectful or deliberately provocative - what if those three words are not the whole story? In this episode of School Behaviour Secrets, we explore what pupils might really be communicating when they say, “I don’t care,” why taking the words at face value can lead us in the wrong direction, and what ...
May 10
22 min
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