Yep – I still call it ‘behaviour management’ because regardless of where the winds of popular discourse blow us (with the new and trendy names for the same old stuff), at the end of the day, adults still manage young people’s behaviour. They must also run the room to create and maintain safe and dignified learning environments where students have the best chance of managing their behaviour.

 

Some students develop self-management and pro-social conduct quickly, others take much longer, and some will need support throughout school. Regardless, the basics of effective behaviour management remain largely universal.

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Effective restorative practitioners are skilled, authoritative managers of young people. They are emotionally intelligent, self-aware and empathic. They hold the line on high expectations of behaviour and warmly communicate behaviour standards and expected routines. They also understand that behaviour management is an act of ongoing maintenance. Students are supported to meet behaviour standards by being taught behaviours and routines explicitly.

 

Effective classroom managers are skilled in using consequences, use encouragement effectively and are described by most students as strict but nice. Students work harder for these teachers because they know the teacher expects a lot of them and cares about them.

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Grounded in the work of Dr. Bill Rogers (one of my heroes), BM101 is a prerequisite for the level 1 Restorative Practices training. Basic behaviour management principles and techniques must be understood, rehearsed and mastered before pushing headlong into restorative approaches. Without this grounding, we risk forming a permissive (see social control window) management style.  

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BM101 is a full-day workshop that early career teachers love, and later career teachers constantly give feedback on how vital the reminder was. Teachers are so busy; the job is so cognitively overloading and emotionally demanding that sometimes we forget the approaches that make the most significant difference when it comes to managing students. We all need a reminder!

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We explore

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• Behaviour Management from the inside out – The ‘why’, ‘how’ and ‘what’ of managing student behaviour

• Belonging (social recognition) as a primary driver of student behaviour

• Establishing and maintaining classroom rules

• Understanding the 4 Goals of Misbehaviour (after the work of Adler and Dreikurs)

• The language of behaviour correction and our level of intrusiveness (after the work of Dr. Bill Rogers)

• Consequences

• Follow-up conversations with students about behaviour

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What school leaders say about BM101

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The workshop reminded us that before we can fully implement restorative approaches, we must first be confident behaviour managers. BM101 brought us back to the core principles: clear expectations, consistent routines, emotionally intelligent responses, and high standards communicated with warmth. It reinforced the idea that managing behaviour is not a one-off strategy, but an act of ongoing, deliberate maintenance. 

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Sue Budd - Emmaus Catholic Primary School

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Bill’s wisdom, experience, and fun way of presenting these challenging issues allow staff to relax and enjoy exploring ways to support student behaviour. I highly recommend BM101 to any school wanting to improve consistency of practice and open an important dialogue around behaviour management.

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Mel Agustina - Eastside Lutheran College

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