Improving classroom behaviour - Solihull Approach

Emotional health education for improved classroom behaviour

Solihull Approach for improving school behaviour

Behaviour is a form of communication. Reading and understanding behaviour can help you create a nurturing learning environment for all children and young people – and a positive workspace for you too.

By prioritising children’s emotional health, you can create a classroom environment where all children feel understood, accepted, able to stay calm and most importantly – ready to learn.

‘The Solihull Approach is evidence-based and proven to improve children’s ‘pro-social’ behaviour. It relies on the relationships around children and raising understanding of children’s emotional development and needs.‘

Dr Hazel Douglas, Consultant Clinical Psychologist and Child Psychotherapist, Director of the Solihull Approach

Parent groups: Understanding your child’s behaviour

The link between school and home supports improved behaviour in the classroom and children’s readiness to learn. Schools can play an important role in helping families to tune into emotional wellbeing needs and make a big difference in behaviour.

Face-to-face groups

Understanding your child’s behaviour, a ten-week group for parents and families positively improves behaviour, reduces conflict and improves closeness for parents and children (as evidenced using the Child Parent Relationship scale).

Structured learning and group sharing is designed to support both parental and children’s wellbeing. Group facilitators will cover:

Childhood development
Brain development
Understanding feelings
Reading behaviours
Processing feelings
Different parenting styles
Rhythm of interaction
Sleep
Self-regulation and anger
Communication

Proven to make a difference

In 2019, a randomised control trial (RCT) on the ‘Understanding your child’ programme confirmed significant benefits to both children and parents and led to the inclusion in rated programmes by the Early Intervention Foundation. The course has been given the top rating for value for money by the Early Intervention Foundation (EIF).

Groups are delivered by Solihull Approach trained group facilitators.

Already a trained group facilitator?

Train to become a group facilitator

Online learning for ALL parents

The Solihull Approach learning platform, inourplace, includes a range of supportive resources and online learning modules to mirror the face-to-face course. It’s totally private, self-paced and designed to meet different learning styles and is available in different languages.

Your school might be in a funded access area meaning all of the courses are available to local residents for free. You can find out using the free access checker.

Funded access areas benefit from free learning anytime, anywhere across 16-course areas from parenting to young people’s and adult mental health.

Reduce exclusions

Disruptive behaviour in the classroom may need to lead to escalating discipline by staff members to ensure the safety of all children and prioritise the learning focus of lessons. Unfortunately, if such behaviours persist this can lead to school exclusion, though research suggests this increases the likelihood of longer-term emotional health issues for young people.

For younger children, the Solihull Approach can effectively support personalised child behaviour plans. For older children, introducing additional learning about emotional wellbeing for teenagers is also helpful.

Teenage emotional health learning

As the brain reshapes during adolescence, it’s common to become impulsive, thrill-seeking or overwhelmed by emotions such as anger, unable to stop and think rationally.

Fortunately, adolescence is the next major surge in brain organisation and development after the first three years of life, so it offers an opportunity for expanding coping strategies making way for positive neural networks to be established in the brain. Therefore, the right emotional health support for young people is critical and can help to reduce the risk of exclusion.