Behaviour Management & Physical Intervention

Course 03 – Behaviour Management & Physical Intervention

Learning objectives

By the end of this course, staff should be able to:

• Explain behaviour as communication.
• Apply positive behaviour support in an after-school setting.
• Use clear routines, boundaries and expectations.
• De-escalate behaviour calmly and safely.
• Understand how SEND, trauma, tiredness and communication needs may affect behaviour.
• Understand prohibited practices, including corporal punishment.
• Explain when physical intervention may be used as a last resort.
• Record and report behaviour incidents accurately.
• Reflect on incidents to improve future practice.

Before you begin

Behaviour management in an after-school club is different from behaviour management in a classroom. Children may arrive tired, hungry, overstimulated, disappointed, excited, anxious or struggling after a long school day. They may also be moving from one set of expectations at school to another at club.

This does not mean unsafe behaviour should be accepted. It means staff must respond professionally, with curiosity, consistency and care. Good behaviour management protects children, staff and the setting.

Department for Education behaviour guidance for schools states that behaviour approaches should help create calm, safe and supportive environments, and it also links serious or persistent behaviour concerns to safeguarding where harm may be suspected [cite:behaviour-in-schools-2024]. While DASC is an after-school club rather than a school, the same professional principles are useful.

Key legislation and guidance

The following sources inform this course:

• Children Act 1989 [cite:children-act-1989]
• Equality Act 2010 [cite:equality-act-2010]
• SEND Code of Practice [cite:send-code-2024]
• Working Together to Safeguard Children [cite:working-together-2023]
• Keeping Children Safe in Education, where relevant to safeguarding practice [cite:kcsie-2025]
• Behaviour in schools guidance [cite:behaviour-in-schools-2024]
• Use of reasonable force in schools guidance [cite:physical-intervention-guidance]
• Restrictive interventions guidance due to apply in schools from April 2026 [cite:restrictive-interventions-2026]

DASC staff must follow DASC policies first. These external sources provide useful principles and legal context.

1. Behaviour as communication

Children’s behaviour often communicates something. A child may not have the words, emotional regulation or confidence to explain what they need. Behaviour may communicate tiredness, hunger, anxiety, sensory overload, frustration, confusion, lack of belonging, difficulty with transition, unmet SEND needs, distress or safeguarding concerns.

Staff should ask: “What might this child be communicating?” not simply “How do I stop this behaviour?”

2. Positive behaviour support

Positive behaviour support means creating an environment that makes positive behaviour more likely. It relies on proactive routines, relationships and clear expectations rather than constant correction.

Staff should:

• Greet children positively.
• Establish simple, clear, consistent rules.
• Model respectful, calm behaviour.
• Praise positive efforts and cooperation.
• Ensure activities are engaging and accessible.
• Create space for quiet play and relaxation.

3. Routines, boundaries and expectations

Clear routines help children feel secure. Boundaries tell children what is safe and acceptable.

• Handover: Clear sign-in/out, welcome routine, snack transition.
• Rules: Co-created with children, displayed visually, stated positively (e.g., “We walk inside” instead of “Don’t run”).
• Snack time: Turn-taking, sharing, clean-up responsibilities.
• Transitions: Clear warnings before changing activities (e.g., “5 minutes until we tidy up”).

4. De-escalation strategies

When behaviour becomes difficult, unsafe or disruptive, staff should intervene early and calmly to prevent further escalation.

• Stay calm: Lower your voice, keep your body language open and non-threatening.
• Give space: Avoid cornering the child or crowding them.
• Simple choices: Offer structured, positive alternatives (e.g., “You can sit quietly here, or we can go look at books together”).
• Distraction/Redirection: Shift focus to a new task, game or environment.
• Active listening: Acknowledge the child’s feelings (e.g., “I can see you are angry, but I cannot let you hit”).
• Reassurance: Let the child know they are safe and you are there to help them.

5. SEND, trauma and individual needs

Some children need different, individualised behaviour support.

• Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND): May affect communication, sensory processing, emotional regulation or transition. Follow the SEND Code of Practice [cite:send-code-2024] and DASC individual support plans.
• Trauma: Children who have experienced abuse, neglect or domestic abuse may react with fear, defiance, withdrawal or aggression.
• Tiredness & Hunger: Especially common after a full school day.
• Communication: Some children behave unsafely because they cannot express their needs in words.

The Equality Act 2010 requires providers to make reasonable adjustments for disabled children [cite:equality-act-2010].

6. Prohibited practices

Certain responses to behaviour are strictly illegal and prohibited at DASC.

Staff must never:

• Use corporal punishment (hitting, slapping, shaking).
• Humiliate, mock or shame a child.
• Lock a child in a room alone (seclusion).
• Deprive a child of basic needs (food, drink, toilet access).
• Threaten violence or severe punishment.
• Use physical force as a punishment.

7. Physical intervention: Last resort only

Physical intervention (or the use of reasonable force) must only be used as a last resort to prevent injury to the child, injury to others, or serious damage to property.

The DfE guidance on reasonable force explains that force can be used to control or restrain, but must be reasonable, proportionate and necessary [cite:physical-intervention-guidance].

• Necessary: Used only when there is no other safe way to prevent harm.
• Proportionate: The minimum force required for the shortest time possible.
• Reasonable: Consistent with what a sensible adult would do in that situation.

Draft guidance on restrictive interventions reinforces that restrictive force should only be used to maintain safety and must be minimized [cite:restrictive-interventions-2026].

8. Recording behaviour incidents

Significant behaviour incidents, and any incident involving physical intervention, must be recorded factually and promptly.

Records must include:

• Date, time and location.
• Names of children and staff involved, plus witnesses.
• Triggers and what happened before the incident.
• Details of the behaviour and de-escalation methods tried.
• Details of any physical intervention used (reasons, duration, method, force).
• Details of any injuries or damage.
• Follow-up action and signatures.

9. Reporting and notifications

Any use of physical intervention must be reported to the manager immediately. Parents must be informed on the same day.

The DSL should review incidents to check for safeguarding links, such as a child’s behaviour indicating abuse or neglect [cite:behaviour-in-schools-2024].

10. Refusal to cooperate and low-level disruption

Not all difficult behaviour is unsafe. Staff should respond to low-level disruption (refusal to tidy, shouting, minor disputes) with calm consistency.

• Avoid shouting or engaging in power struggles.
• State expectations clearly and simply.
• Follow through with agreed, fair consequences.
• Focus on positive behaviours nearby to redirect.
• Use humor and game-like challenges to encourage cooperation.

11. Safer working practice

Safer working practice protects both children and staff.

• Avoid unnecessary physical contact.
• Do not hold a child on your lap or cuddle them in an intimate way.
• Avoid being alone with a child in an unobserved space.
• Challenge colleague behaviour that appears inappropriate or unsafe.
• Record any unusual incident or accidental contact.

12. Working with parents

Open, supportive communication with parents helps align behaviour strategies.

• Share positive news, not just concerns.
• Speak to parents privately about behaviour.
• Avoid blaming or judging parents.
• Work together on consistent approaches.
• Keep parents informed of any significant concerns early.

13. Teamwork and support

Managing difficult behaviour is a team effort.

• Agree on strategies so approaches are consistent.
• Support colleagues during active incidents (e.g., step in, manage the rest of the group).
• Debrief after difficult sessions.
• Share what works well for specific children.
• Look out for colleague stress and well-being.

14. Practice scenarios

15. Manager guidance

Managers should ensure behaviour expectations are clearly explained to staff, prohibited practices are understood, behaviour incidents are reviewed for patterns, physical intervention is monitored, parents are communicated with appropriately, SEND and safeguarding links are considered, staff receive support after difficult incidents, and training evidence is recorded in the matrix.

16. Reflection questions

17. Knowledge check

18. Competency declaration