At Handcrafted, we are dedicated to supporting our staff and service users in line with our Christian ethos and values. We recognise that maintaining positive behaviour is key to safeguarding young people and creating a safe, nurturing environment.

This policy outlines the principles, permitted sanctions, prohibited measures, and use of physical interventions that guide behaviour management at Handcrafted, ensuring staff support young people appropriately and effectively.

This policy will be reviewed as required and at least annually by the group or individual responsible for review and authorised by the Trustees as below:

Group or individual responsible for review	The Safeguarding Steering Group
Last review and approval	16/10/2024

Overview

It is unreasonable to expect young people not to misbehave from time to time. Whether it is temper tantrums or direct challenges to a staff member’s authority, there will always be times when staff need to employ the use of control and discipline. Good order is also a necessary aspect of life to enable young people to develop in a safe and secure environment.

This policy seeks to provide all involved with a framework within which positive behaviour can be promoted and managed while protecting young people and staff alike.

Support given to a child or young person who is living at the children’s home must ensure that the child is safeguarded and protected, and that the welfare of the child is paramount. Children in Care are all subject to individual circumstances, which can result in feelings of hurt, fear and sadness. Such feelings, together with previous experiences, can at times be expressed in behavioural terms. At the same time, children and young people will grow up into a world where people will not always take account of their difficult past experiences. They need to be able to act with consideration for others and for themselves.

Context

It is important to recognise that children living in care will not always respond to discipline in the way that children in the community may respond. There are a number of aspects to this:

They may have been through experiences that have led to them having an extremely low view of themselves. They may feel failures, worthless and deserving of punishment.
They may be accustomed to punishment and to having nothing.
They may find it difficult to use intrinsic or social rewards.
They may find it difficult to maintain motivation and relationships with staff and peers.

Difficult behaviour is often a means of coping with difficult emotions and extreme situations. Every young person is different and management strategies need to be individualised and tailored to the particular young person and their current situation. Approaches are likely to need to change over time. Young people will need repeated opportunities to learn positive coping strategies.

Principles

Principles which seek to guide staff in promoting positive behaviour and managing behaviour effectively are:

Focusing on an asset-based approach, praising and seeking to reward good behaviour.
Adopting a non-confrontational approach Establishing a good relationship/ rapport with children based on mutual respect.
Establishing house rules which are consistent, explicit and applicable to all children within the household.
Acknowledging and appreciating the past life experiences which children bring.
The use of age, and developmental stage-appropriate sanctions - but only, when necessary, not as routine.
Receiving training which covers both the origins of behaviour and standard techniques/strategies.
Having access to resources.
Working within a multi-agency context.
Working with the child and enabling the child to express their wishes and feelings.

Promoting Positive Behaviour

It is expected that support workers will:

Encourage socially acceptable behaviour.
Assist young people in recognising the consequences of their behaviour.
Develop the young person’s positive coping strategies.
Assist young people in recognising their feelings and the impact of these on their behaviour.
Maintain and build relationships, sense of self-worth, motivation and experience of success, ensuring that all children and young people feel valued.
Assist young people to develop resilience.
Develop inner control so that in time they will learn self-control and are motivated towards improved behaviour.

Environment

Support workers should provide a positive environment for the children and young people in their care by:

Being good role models of positive behaviour
Praising and rewarding positive behaviour
Encouraging an atmosphere of mutual respect between carers and young people
Ensuring that all children and young people feel valued

The support team should develop a shared approach to interactions, rewards and sanctions that is made explicit and open to young people. That will be done in the following ways:

There should be regular reviews of the ways management strategies are working.
Support workers should use a range of ways of managing situations.
Support workers should be mindful of maintaining the balance between criticism and praise.

Young people are more likely to use suggestions towards change if these are made in a positive way suggesting what a child might do rather than what they should not do and talked about in small doses alongside praise for success and achievement.

Support workers and managers should regularly discuss what sanctions are being used to ensure that they are safe as well as effective.

Rewards and Sanctions will be more successful if they are applied fairly and in the context of relationships between support workers and young people which are based on mutual respect.

Permitted Sanctions

The techniques that are deployed will be largely dependent on the young person’s individual circumstances and needs and should also be relevant to their age and developmental stage. The aim is always to reduce and/or eradicate behaviours by responding in a positive and consistent manner.

Understanding the impact of trauma is essential to our approach. Our trauma-informed care recognises that the potential histories of adversity that our young people may carry mean there is often more going on beneath the surface. We try to understand and respond to the underlying needs rather than just the actions that we see. We aim to create a safe, empathetic, and non-judgmental space that acknowledges and responds to trauma, fostering healing and resilience.

Occasionally though, staff will need to exercise sanctions for unacceptable behaviours in the home and the following actions are permitted:

Disapproval
Verbal Reprimand
Time Out

Disapproval

For disapproval of a behaviour to be effective, and have an influence on the young person, the quality of the relationship between the child and carer is of great importance. 'Disapproval' should not be practiced over extended periods of time, nor should it involve other children.

Verbal Reprimand

This can be used where the young person’s behaviour is clearly outside the boundaries of acceptance. At no time should intimidating or threatening language or manner be used.

Time Out

This can be used as a calming down period – removing a young person to another area.

Prohibited Measures

Staff must never resort to any of the prohibited measures listed. Staff will be subject to investigation if they use any of the prohibited measures:

Corporal Punishment
Deprivation of Food or Drink
Refusal or Restriction of Contact
Required to Wear Distinctive Clothing
Withholding of Medication or Medical/Dental Treatment
Locking in
Deprivation of sleep

The emphasis is on individual young people and behaviour management which is tailored to each child's needs. Some of the behaviours which carers may find difficult could include persistent lying, persistent stealing, sexually harmful behaviours, self-harming, aggression, repeated destruction of property and going missing from home.

Wherever possible, rewarding acceptable behaviour should be the preferred and usual method of reinforcing and encouraging acceptable conduct and behaviour.

Staff will be encouraged to seek help and advice, where appropriate, from other agencies such as health and education.

Positive Handling and Restrictive Physical Interventions

Staff have to bear in mind that the legal ‘duty of care’ that applies to all those working with young people means that ‘doing nothing’ may be construed by the law as ‘‘negligence’’ in terms of this duty.

There are circumstances when it would be appropriate to intervene physically to prevent behaviour that is harmful to a child or others.

Positive Handling non-restrictive intervention

Positive handling non-restrictive physical interventions cover such areas as touching, obstructing and holding.

Touching: Normal physical contact (as would be expected between good parents and their children) is not prohibited between staff and the young people they look after but should not be used as a matter of routine.
Holding: Holding would discourage a young person from actively harming themselves or others.
Obstructing: the use of a support worker’s physical presence without touching to obstruct or restrict a young person’s movement.

It is recognised that Handcrafted staff will on occasion be required to exercise control in a manner which safeguards and promotes the welfare of the child. There may be circumstances where a child or young person may be at risk of committing harm to themselves or to other people, whether intentionally or not. In such circumstances non-restrictive physical intervention may be necessary (touching, obstructing, or holding).

Any physical intervention will be justifiable and appropriate to the child's circumstances and will enhance safety. Any physical intervention must take account of the physical, emotional and medical needs of each individual young person. Physical interventions should not in any way be used as a substitute for other types of intervention. (Also read Appendix 1)

Risk assessment and behaviour management will inform and indicate the necessity for the use of physical intervention. Where this is indicated staff will receive relevant training and information about the management of behaviour, which will emphasise positive approaches and alternatives to the use of physical intervention wherever possible.

Where physical intervention has been necessary, staff will make a written record. The social worker should be informed as soon as possible so that the child can be seen. Young people and staff will afterwards receive additional support, when required.

Restrictive physical intervention (restraint)

Where non-physical de-escalation approaches and positive handling doesn’t de-escalate situations, Handcrafted staff will not be trained in physical restraint. Staff will contact emergency services if the situation is deemed to be dangerous.

Behaviour Management Plan

This is a plan which sets out any known or predicted difficult behaviours of the child, known factors likely to trigger the behaviour, agreed strategies to manage the behaviour, arrangements for recording the behaviour and strategies taken to manage it. Strategies should be agreed with young people. For further information see Appendix 2.

Post Placement

Any behaviour management plan will be regularly reviewed and amended as required. Ongoing training will be made available to staff. Where a specific training need is identified within a carer’s supervision this will be addressed in regular support reviews and review of Risk Assessment and Risk Management Plans. Staff are encouraged to seek the help and advice of the Registered Manager.

Appendix 1 - Essential Required Good Practice Relating to Physical Intervention

The permissible types of non-restrictive physical intervention which involve the physical involvement of staff are described. They are not intended to be progressive and failure of one method should not necessarily automatically lead to the next.

The type of physical intervention used will always depend upon and need to be in keeping with the circumstances including the age, competence and nature of the young person and the potential risks involved. Wherever possible, physical intervention should be guided by a risk assessment and behaviour management plan.

Any intervention should always be preceded by clear verbal instructions and warnings of the consequences of ignoring them and then accompanied throughout by attempts to "talk down" and calm the incident until any risk has passed.

Physical intervention should only be used when required by the particular circumstances prevailing and never as part of a general regime. Consideration must be given to the health and cultural background of each individual child/young person before intervening.

Touching

Staff should be able to express "parental affection" towards young people in their care to provide comfort to ease distress. This may include a hug or friendly arm on the shoulder etc. Staff need to be mindful that a high proportion of young people who are looked after have experienced sexual and physical abuse. Therefore carers need always to be cautious and ensure that any physical contact is not misinterpreted.

Staff should ensure that care is taken not to touch a young person in any way they are uncomfortable with as certain physical contact may be open to misinterpretation.

Where a support worker is concerned that behaviour may have been inappropriate, they should discuss their concerns with their manager or supervising social worker.

Young people who have been sexually abused may exhibit sexualised or inviting behaviour. Staff need to remain aware of their role and acknowledge any issues such as behaviour that arises for them, seeking advice and guidance from their manager or supervising social worker.

Holding

This should involve no more than a hand placed on an arm or shoulder or leading a young person by one or both hands and/or possibly by the flat of one hand placed against a young person’s back in order to guide him/her to some other place or activity.

This may be necessary to divert a young person from destructive or disruptive behaviour.

A young person may be successfully diverted from destructive or disruptive behaviour by being led away by the hand, arm, or by means of an arm around his or her shoulder. Again, young people having a minor argument or a fight, which in itself is not likely to cause serious harm, but is nonetheless disruptive and detrimental to the well-being of other children, may be successfully separated by being held firmly and guided away.

Young adults may be successfully engaged by a hand placed firmly on the arm or shoulder to reinforce the attempts of carers to reason with them, or to emphasise the concern felt for them.

Staff should adopt the following principles when dealing with young people in this way. Whenever possible, the support worker involved should have an established relationship with the young person and should explain to the young person what they are doing and why:

Holding should not arouse sexual expectations or feelings, and should cease if the child gives any indication of this.
Staff should be careful where they hold young people. For instances, carers should be careful not to hold a child or young person in such a way that involves anything other than the arms or back.
If on any occasion the young person forcibly resists or clearly objects, then "holding" should no longer be used as a method of physical intervention for that particular young person.
Should the support worker feel unsure about any responses to a young person’s behaviour they should consult with the social worker or their manager.

Appendix 2 - Behaviour Management Plan

As part of the placement planning process for all Children in Care, consideration should be given to whether it is necessary to draw up a Behaviour Management Plan.

All children placed in residential care should have a Behaviour Management Plan.

Addressing behaviours such as:

Absenting behaviour
Anxiety or withdrawal
Bullying or other similar behaviours
Challenging behaviour
Drug or substance misuse
Lack of awareness of personal safety
Offending or offensive behaviour
Prostitution
Self-harming behaviour
Sexually exploitative or inappropriate sexual behaviour
Violence or aggressive behaviour

Behaviour Management Plans are incorporated into risk management plans.

Behaviour Management Plans must summarise the behaviours causing concern and the strategies being adopted by staff to manage the behaviour(s).

Where the same behaviour is exhibited outside the placement, e.g., at school, every effort should be made to ensure staff and other professionals work in partnership, ensuring consistency where appropriate.