During the October school holidays, I read Running the Room: The Teacher’s Guide to Behaviour by Tom Bennett. As indicated in the title, the book is on managing student behaviour in the classroom. I’ve been teaching for nearly 13 years and I don’t think I have nailed classroom management (but I don’t think any teacher can say they have perfected any part of their practice, in any stage of their career). Classroom management is complex and this book offers lots of evidence-informed and practical strategies for all teachers, regardless of their experience and career stage, in a non-preachy way. The key messages I got from the book are The danger of over-focussing on poorly-behaved children: 'I've seen schools where coaches have been hired for students as a reward trip to some theme park, and every seat is occupied by a little rascal/pirate, and all the well-behaved children left behind are gazing at them through the window and thinking 'Who do I have to punch to get on that?'' Parents and Teachers for Excellence is a group promoting higher standards of education in schools across England

In my earlier years of teaching, I had reflection sheets for students to complete when they are in detention to facilitate a conversation to support them to choose more appropriate behaviours in the future. I have no idea why I stopped using these sheets (perhaps because as I became more experienced, the number of detentions I’ve had to give has decreased), but I have now revamped them and them printed and ready to be used. I’ve also decided to let my students know how detentions will be operated so we have a clear understanding before they happen. 3. Have a removal strategy in place before you need itHe is an extrovert and part of the reason he loves the profession so much is that he gets to communicate with people from all walks of life. He has an empathetic ear and is always willing to listen. He is always looking to expand his growing networks and build relationships within a multidisciplinary team to improve his practice but more importantly his patient care.

With further qualifications as a Strength and Conditioning Coach and as a Reformer Pilates instructor, Luke is able to utilise this knowledge in developing a rehabilitation program to suit everyone from weekend warriors to elite athletes. The premise was simple: could an individual from one area pass as proficient in another, as judged by an expert panel? A vicar 'became' a car dealer, a house painter a conceptual artist, a bicycle courier a polo player, and so on. I don't think they ever tried to turn someone into a teacher, but at the time I was waiting for that programme to be made. 'Running the room', is the title of Tom Bennett's new book ('the teacher's guide to behaviour'), and it would have been fun seeing the trainers preparing a total novice to ‘run’ a classroom. For experts, this is second nature; for anyone else, it can be a terrifying prospect:Will studied Physiotherapy in Adelaide Australia and moved to London in 2023. Throughout his younger years, seeing the Physio for ACL and ankle injuries from basketball sparked his interest in the injury management and prevention. Being born in China and moved to Australia when he was eight, Will is also fluent in Mandarin and Cantonese.

In this session, Tom Bennett, DfE behaviour advisor and founder of researchED, discusses the habits and strategies of the most successful classroom practitioners. Before I go any further with this, the book emphasises that removal should not be done on an ad hoc basis and it should be an unusual event in mainstream classrooms. However, sometimes there will be situations where a student needs to be temporarily removed from the class and a removal strategy should be in place before it is needed. This is something I want to work on as a Head Teacher. Do I have an agreed process with the teachers I supervise for the unlikely event that a student needs to be removed from class so that all students, including the student being removed, can continue learning? When such an event occurs, the class teacher should not have to think about who and where the student is to be sent to, what the student should be doing while removed from class, what happens after the removal, etc. It is important that students should know this process before they are removed (which hopefully will be never). And he is also the Department for Education’s “Behaviour Advisor”. In this role he has carried out a number of projects, including a r eview of behaviour management in schools that culminated in his report “ Creating a culture: how school leaders can optimise behaviour”. Nuno has moved to the UK in the past 3 years to pursue his passion for helping individuals achieve their goals and helping to facilitate them in reaching their highest potential. Nuno believes in practicing what you preach and would never advise anything he hasn’t tried himself.After reading the book, I am more confident that these routines support my students’ learning. I’m going to go further this term and trial practising the routines more regularly. So instead of going through them at the start of the term, going through them at least twice a term. The book emphasised that routines need to be taught, practised and re-taught BEFORE a problem occurs. Don’t wait for an issue to arise to re-teach a routine. It’s all presented in a very amenable fashion. He is clear up right up front: “ None of this makes me any better than a good teacher in any school.” He also shares brilliant anecdotes from his time on the front line, like this one: Throughout, the concept of firefighting is used to demonstrate the need to make behaviour strategies preventative – to be proactive rather than reactive when it comes to poor behaviour. The unifying thread of the text is that prevention is better than cure – that “a fence at the top of a cliff is preferable to an ambulance at the bottom”.

Adrian now residing in London has continued to grow and develop with R&D Physio and is brings culture and expertise to the team and brand. While we [teachers] may be expert behavers, new teachers are novices at running the room. No wonder we make so many mistakes.' You cannot judge a person's technique by simply watching them in the moment, if they have taught the class for some time. Much of what they have done to build these great relationships has been done in the past. All you are seeing is the fruit of their labour. So don't judge yourself against this, or simply try to copy it.'Adrian brings his amazing experience to The Running Room London. Having spent many years developing and mastering his craft as a physiotherapist at iMove Physiotherapy in Sydney. Good behaviour is the beginning of great learning. All children deserve classrooms that are calm, safe spaces where everyone is treated with dignity. Creating that space is one of the most important things a teacher needs to be able to do. But all too often teachers begin their careers with the bare minimum of training – or worse, none. How students behave, socially and academically, dictates whether or not they will succeed or struggle in school. Every child comes to the classroom with different skills, habits, values and expectations of what to do. There’s no point just telling a child to behave; behaviour must be taught. Behaviour is a curriculum. This simple truth is the beginning of creating a classroom culture where everyone flourishes, pupils and staff. The value of 'scripts' (preparing in advance what you want to say, so that you can lean on these when under pressure, such as when phoning a parent for a difficult conversation). Luke's physiotherapy career has taken him across the east coast of Australia working in a number of areas including: Hospital Orthopaedics, private practice and sporting teams across a number of different codes. While based in London Luke has been working at The Wellington Hospital and has been trusted by London's top orthopaedic surgeons in post-operative rehabilitation.