The Idea:

Consistent Behaviour Management

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Why do we need to be consistent?

Consistency is an important ingredient of effective behaviour management. When teachers are predictable in
how they act, pupils know what to expect, feel more secure in the classroom and can focus on their learning
(Rathmann et al., 2018).

Consistent approaches are known to have a positive impact on pupil outcomes as well as improving pupil
wellbeing and whole-school climate. When educators believe that every pupil is capable of achieving academically
and they consistently reinforce this belief with their words and actions, pupils are far more likely to meet those
expectations (Murdock-Perriera et al., 2018).

What does consistent behaviour management look like?

Consistent behaviour management can be broken down into several key themes:

Consistency of
expectations

Consistency of Consistency of
response language

In schools where behaviour management is effective, all three types of consistency will be visible at a whole-school,
class and individual level. Effective practice will also be consistent across time.

However, Rodgers (2007) points out that not all consistency is good. If, for example, a pupil goes into a certain
lesson expecting to be routinely humiliated, this would not be helpful in achieving positive behaviour management.
Educators should therefore be clear about what they are seeking to achieve and identify how their own expectations,
language and responses can positively reinforce this.

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The Idea: Consistent Behaviour Management

How can we be consistent with our behaviour management?

We have established that consistency is a powerful tool for supporting high expectations, building strong relationships
between pupils and educators and creating a positive school climate. But how can we foster consistent behaviour
management?

By following the steps below, educators can start to develop consistency across the school.

Agree the rules

School-wide rules are often designed and agreed collectively and usually remain static over a long period
of time. However, there is often scope to create your own class-based rules and routines to support
these universal expectations. Having a clear set of rules in place, underpinned by classroom routines and
protocols, creates certainty and consistency.

When creating your classroom-based rules and routines, involve pupils in doing this where possible. When
pupils know the reasons for the rules, or have been involved in creating them, they will feel a sense of
ownership and it will often be easier to hold them accountable.

Rules should always be simple to understand and easy to remember. This makes it easier to reinforce the
rules consistently. When creating rules, it is also helpful to describe the behaviours that you want to see
rather than those you don’t. For example, you could say, ‘walk around the classroom calmly’ rather than,
‘don’t run’. Wording rules in this way reinforces your expectations in a clear and precise manner.

Reinforce the rules

Once rules are established at a classroom and a whole-school level, it is important to reinforce these continuously.

Rules can be reinforced in a number of ways, including:

• modelling (the educator demonstrates the expected behaviour);

• reminding (a subtle question or statement to remind the pupil what is expected of them);
• displaying (e.g. by providing a written list of rules somewhere that pupils can refer to easily).

Constantly reinforcing the rules helps pupils to memorise them and internalise what is expected of them. When
correcting and sanctioning a pupil, you should remind them which specific rules they have broken so that they can
make clear links between actions and consequences.

Be prepared for your lessons

Behaviour is usually better in well-prepared lessons. On a basic level, this is because you will put thought into
delivering engaging content and you will have anticipated and mitigated any problems.

Being well prepared helps with consistency too. Pupils will often feel more relaxed when they know what routines
and structures they are likely to encounter. If your lessons have a predictable format, pupils will know what to
expect and how they should respond. This will reduce anxiety levels and mean that pupils are more likely to
demonstrate compliance automatically. This, in turn, frees up ‘thinking space’ to be used on the learning itself.

Make consequences clear

When correcting a pupil, it helps to describe the consequences of non-compliance. This serves two functions.
Firstly, a pupil might genuinely not know that their behaviour is inappropriate or what the consequence is likely
to be. Alongside this, it offers a clear and precise warning about what will happen if they do not correct their
behaviour. This allows the pupil to make an informed choice about how to proceed and means that if they choose
to persist with inappropriate behaviour, you can be certain a conscious decision has been made. When you
subsequently deliver a sanction, this leaves the pupil less room to challenge.

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Do what you say you will do

Educators who follow through their words with actions build credibility and trust with their pupils. Be
careful never to threaten a sanction that you will not be able to act upon. By doing so, you undermine your
own credibility and this makes pupils less likely to believe you in the future.

If you tell a pupil that there will be a sanction, you should always follow this through. Equally, if you promise
a reward for good behaviour, you should also ensure that you deliver on that promise. You should always
strive to do what you say that you are going to do, regardless of whether it is a positive or a negative
consequence.

By demonstrating that you are reliable, predictable and consistent, a trusting relationship can be formed
with your pupils; this is vital for effective behaviour management.

Teach, reinforce and model the behaviours you want

Educators often put a lot of energy into teaching knowledge and curriculum skills but we should not overlook the
fact that our pupils are learning how to behave too. Invest time in teaching your pupils how to behave in certain
situations.

Reinforce and model the behaviour that you want to see. When a pupil struggles to behave appropriately, put
additional time and effort into rectifying this and offer specific strategies that are tailored to address their
individual needs. Treat a pupil who is struggling with their behaviour in the same way as one who is struggling
with an aspect of the curriculum - they might just need some extra support to help them get to the expected
end point.

Remembering that you are teaching your pupils how to behave, as well as teaching them knowledge and
curriculum-based skills, can help you to remain understanding and calm when things go wrong.

Script your responses

Sometimes, it is difficult to know how to react appropriately when you are on the spot. It is useful to have scripted
responses to help you deal with common behaviour management situations that you might face in the classroom.

Having these automatic responses can help you to stay calm under pressure, as you will have rehearsed what
to say rather than having to think of an appropriate response during a challenging situation. It will also offer
additional consistency for your pupils as they will be able to predict how you will react in certain situations.

Aim for emotional constancy

Emotional constancy involves the educator creating a calm and consistent classroom presence and is beneficial
in helping pupils to manage their own emotions. Often, poor behaviour is not personally aimed at the staff who
are on the receiving end. However, if a pupil knows that they can get an emotional reaction out of an educator, it
can offer an incentive to attempt to do so.

Lemov (2021) recognises that emotional constancy will not be possible all of the time but suggests that the
goal should be to manage your own emotions as often as possible. He suggests the following reminders will be
helpful when aiming for emotional constancy:

• When you correct a pupil, focus on the behaviour rather than making it personal about the pupil - say, ‘that is
rude’ rather than, ‘you are rude’.
• Discuss the pupil’s actions rather than how they make you feel.
• Avoid globalising - stay away from saying things like ‘you never listen to what I ask you to do’.
• Try to speak and move in a calm manner, even if you don’t feel it.

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Apply rewards and sanctions fairly

Pupils often have a well-developed sense of fairness. If you enforce rules for some individuals or groups
and not others, this can cause resentment and damage classroom relationships.

Equally, if you apply rewards and incentives unfairly, this can also cause problems. You should, for example,
avoid over-rewarding pupils with more challenging behaviour at the expense of pupils who are always
compliant and engaged. This type of bias is often unconscious but can cause problems in the long run if
pupils conclude that consistently good behaviour is less likely to be recognised.

Allow pupils to move on

When things have gone wrong and a pupil has behaved inappropriately, this should ideally be dealt with at
the time and in a swift manner. Pupils need to feel that they can recover from the mistakes that they make
and that they have not irreversibly damaged their reputation or chances of success.

Allowing pupils to start each day with a fresh start means that they will be more relaxed when entering the
room and this, in turn, will provide the conditions for a positive experience for all.

This Will Help If...

• you want your pupils to know how they are expected to behave
• you want to reinforce behaviours that are desirable and address those that are not
• you want to develop consistent practice that reinforces the school’s values

Start Your Research Here

Paul Dix has written extensively about the importance of consistency in behaviour management. You can see him
talking about his work in this video.

This Department for Education report offers case studies about behaviour management in outstanding schools.
Section 10 focuses on consistency.

This guidance report by the Education Endowment Foundation stresses the importance of consistency.

This video by The Highly Effective Teacher outlines some strategies that staff can use to ensure consistency in the
classroom.

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The Idea: Consistent Behaviour Management

Action Points
Do a consistency audit
Look at each of the following areas and record your responses to the questions below:

Consistency of expectations:
• Am I reinforcing the agreed school rules consistently?
• Have I established consistent classroom routines, rules and expectations?
• Am I consistent in the way that I communicate high expectations?
• Am I applying the rewards and sanctions system fairly?

Consistency of language:
• Do I address pupils consistently?
• Do I always use language that reflects the school’s rules and values?
• Have I got scripted responses for common behaviour issues and do I use these consistently?
• When I talk to pupils about their behaviour, do I always remember to focus on actions and behaviours,
rather than making it personal?

Consistency of response:
• Do I strive for emotional constancy? How successful am I?
• Do I talk and act calmly?
• Do I escalate my response in line with the protocols set out in the school’s behaviour policy?
• Once an issue has been dealt with, can pupils rely on me to offer them a fresh start?

List ideas Pick an area to focus on

For your chosen area, make a list of all of the
small changes that you could make to ensure Once you have spent some time auditing
that your practice is more consistent. Start by consistency in your classroom, identify what
listing all the ideas that you can think of, without your main areas for improvement are. To do this,
worrying about whether it is possible or practical look at your responses to the twelve questions
to put these into place. above and identify which of these you are least
consistent with.
Once you have created your initial list, look at
each idea in turn and decide which it would Pick one of the twelve questions that you would
be possible to implement in your classroom. like to work on. It is an idea to start with an
Make a note of these and then pick two or area where you feel that you lack consistency
three strategies that you are going to focus on most, or one where small changes could make
developing. Spend one to two weeks working on a big impact.
these chosen strategies, striving for maximum
consistency at all times.

Reflect and repeat

Once you have spent a couple of weeks developing consistency in one area, take time to reflect on
the progress you have made.

When you feel ready to move on, simply pick another one of the twelve questions and repeat the
process. Continue doing this until you feel that you have developed consistent practice in all areas.

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Source Material
• Bright Cambridge, 2019. CambsEdFest 2019 - Paul Dix. [video online] Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=Yupf_NVOUBA> [Accessed 8 February 2022].

• Dix, P., 2017. When the adults change, everything changes: seismic shifts in school behaviour. Bancyfelin, Carmarthen:
Independent Thinking Press.

• Education Endowment Foundation, 2019. Improving Behaviour in Schools Guidance Report. [pdf] Available at: <https://
d2tic4wvo1iusb.cloudfront.net/eef-guidance-reports/behaviour/EEF_Improving_behaviour_in_schools_Report.pdf>
[Accessed 3 February 2022].

• Lemov, D., 2021. Teach Like a Champion 3.0. 3rd ed. Hoboken, NJ: Jossey-Bass.

• Murdock-Perriera, L. A., & Sedlacek, Q. C., 2018. Questioning Pygmalion in the twenty-first century: The formation,
transmission, and attributional influence of teacher expectancies. Social Psychology of Education: An International
Journal, 21(3), 691–707. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11218-018-9439-9.

• Rathmann, K., Herke, M.G., Hurrelmann, K. & Richter, M., 2018. Perceived class climate and school-aged children’s life
satisfaction: The role of the learning environment in classrooms. PLoS ONE 13(2) https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.
pone.0189335.

• Rodgers, B., 2007. Behaviour Management: A Whole-School Approach. 2nd ed. London: SAGE Publications Ltd.

• Skipp, A. & Hopwood, V., 2017. Case studies of behaviour management in schools rated Outstanding. [pdf] Department for
Education. Available at <https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_
data/file/602506/Behaviour_Management_Case_Studies_Report.pdf> [Accessed 3 February 2022].

• The Highly Effective Teacher, 2020. Teaching Strategies: How To Be Consistent In The Classroom. [video online] Available
at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GTq57ADS8M> [Accessed 8 February 2022].

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