Managing Extreme Behaviour: A Practical Guide for School Leaders

Behaviour in schools appears to be continuing on a downward trend. I saw this firsthand as a school leader, and I hear it in many of the schools I speak with around the country. The pressure and responsibilities on school staff are enormous, and it can be hard to think clearly and rationally when you find yourself in the thick of it. I have written this article to offer practical advice, reassurance, and actionable steps you can take if you feel like nothing is working and you are running out of ideas.

For school leaders dealing with pupils whose behaviour has escalated to a point where it poses a risk to the safety or learning of others, the steps they take at each stage matter enormously. Getting those steps right not only protects the child at the centre of the situation but also demonstrates that your school is meeting its legal obligations and acting in the best interests of everyone involved.

This guide brings together government guidance, the Equality Act 2010, and practical strategies that can make a real difference when behaviour is at its most challenging.

The Equality Act 2010 requires schools to make reasonable adjustments for pupils with disabilities, including those with undiagnosed or suspected additional needs. This duty applies whether or not a child has a formal diagnosis. The SEND Code of Practice reinforces this, stating that when a pupil is identified as having special educational needs, schools must follow a graduated approach: assess, plan, deliver, and review the impact of the support provided.

Government guidance (DfE, 2023) is clear that when suspensions become a regular occurrence for a pupil, headteachers should consider whether suspension alone is effective and whether additional strategies are needed. It also states that schools should, as far as possible, anticipate likely triggers and put support in place to prevent them.

It would be unlawful to suspend or exclude a pupil simply because they have SEN or a disability that the school feels unable to meet. Likewise, if a behaviour could be directly linked to the pupil’s unmet SEND need, a decision to suspend or exclude could be called into question. For example, a pupil with autism is known to be triggered by standing in line for lunch. Staff put the pupil in the lunch line, and the pupil lashes out, injuring another pupil. A decision to suspend or exclude would be discriminatory. Before any decision to suspend or exclude, the headteacher must be satisfied that the decision is lawful, proportionate, and fair, and that the pupil’s views have been considered.

Step 1: A Graduated Response and Identifying Functions Behind Behaviour

Before any form of suspension or exclusion is considered, schools need to demonstrate that a graduated response has been followed. This means assessing the child’s needs across all four areas of need, putting appropriate provision in place, and running a clear cycle of assess, plan, do, and review. Crucially, this should be documented, regularly shared, and reviewed with the family and pupil. This is a recurring theme throughout this article.

A pastoral support plan (or equivalent) should be used to identify the functions behind a pupil’s behaviour. What is driving it? Is there an unmet need, a sensory difficulty, anxiety, or something happening outside of school? Understanding the “why” is the foundation for putting the right support in place. This process should always include the voice of parents, carers, and the pupil themselves. The STAR model is one example of a behaviour trigger analysis tool (templates freely available online):

  • Settings: The context in which the behaviour occurs, which can be internal or external to the individual. These settings determine the motivation to achieve results and can influence the likelihood that the behaviour will occur again.
  • Triggers: The signals or stimuli that set off specific actions, occurring just before the behaviour. Triggers can increase a personal want, suggest a likely threat, or signal the availability of a desired reward.
  • Actions: The challenging behaviours themselves, which must be defined in observable terms.
  • Results: The consequences that immediately follow the challenging behaviour can be positive, negative, or neutral.

This model is particularly useful for identifying and addressing triggers that lead to challenging behaviours, enabling targeted interventions and support. You have to really commit to this and get into the finer detail. One instance where this model worked for a pupil in my care was when we identified that the pupil was being triggered by the smell of a cleaning product. Don’t carry out these interventions with a tick box mentality. If you have a genuine sense of curiosity, there is a chance you will identify the trigger and begin to make a lasting, positive impact on the pupil.

Practical Reasonable Adjustments That Work

One of the most effective reasonable adjustments for pupils displaying extreme behaviour is providing a staffed space where they can continue their learning when remaining in the classroom is not safe or productive. This is not a punishment room. It is a supervised environment where the pupil completes their work with adult support, maintains their academic progress, and has the opportunity to regulate before returning to class. Budget and staffing are issues in almost every school. Where will we find the financial resource? In my experience, pupils often find themselves in the head/deputy’s office completing work, which inhibits leaders’ capacity to improve the school and serve all pupils fairly. It may be a case of more formally timetabling the leadership team so that responsibility is shared and time is allocated to strategic work, which is vital for the safe and effective running of the school.

Alongside this, a reflective space offers pupils a place to go when they recognise they are becoming dysregulated. The emphasis here is on choice and self-regulation. Over time, many pupils begin to use this space independently as they develop a better understanding of their own emotional responses.

Other practical adjustments might include classroom positioning to reduce distractions, movement breaks, fidget tools, visual timetables, chunked instructions, and adjusted transition timings. Noise-cancelling headphones, flexible uniform arrangements, and adapted homework expectations can also make a significant difference. These are low-cost, straightforward changes that remove barriers without affecting the wider class’s learning.

Social Time Intervention: The 20:20:20 Lunchtime Club

Unstructured time is often when things go wrong. For pupils who struggle with the social complexity of breaktime, a structured lunchtime programme can be transformative. The 20:20:20 model splits the lunch hour into three clear phases: 20 minutes for eating, 20 minutes of a focused inside activity with a member of staff, and 20 minutes of supervised outdoor time.

The middle section is where the real work happens. This is time spent building a relationship with a trusted adult, developing social skills in a smaller group, or working on something the pupil finds motivating. It provides predictability and reduces the anxiety that often leads to incidents during unstructured periods. It also means staff can monitor and support pupils who are most at risk of escalation during an often-overlooked part of the day.

Working with Specialists and Multi-Agency Partners

Where in-school strategies are not achieving the desired outcomes, schools should be seeking specialist advice. This might include input from educational psychologists, outreach from a pupil referral unit, mental health services, or other agencies.

An early help assessment should be considered, and a team around the family approach should be used where wider support is needed.

Government guidance (DfE, 2018) recommends multi-agency assessment for pupils with persistent disruptive behaviour, noting that these assessments may identify unmet SEN, disability, mental health difficulties, or wider family and housing issues.

Managed Moves and Alternative Provision

Headteachers should consider a managed move or off-site direction as a preventative measure. A managed move offers the pupil a fresh start at another school through a planned and supported transition, rather than the disruption and stigma that comes with permanent exclusion. This can be done either on a fixed-term or permanent basis. I have personally used fixed-term managed moves with some success in the past. Oftentimes, pupils realise that they miss their school, the staff and their friends, and begin to work with the team around them to make positive changes on their return, which is exactly the outcome we want. Not perfection, just progress.

Schools should also consider whether an alternative provision placement, a short-term part-time timetable, or an alternative learning pathway within the school could meet the pupil’s needs. The DfE guidance (2023) is explicit that where a school has concerns about the behaviour or risk of exclusion of a pupil with SEN, a disability, or an EHC plan, it should work in partnership with others to consider what additional support or alternative placement may be required.

If alternative provision is being considered, make sure you follow your local authority or trust’s AP guidelines. This is likely to include the following:

  • Are they on the list of approved providers?
  • Has a physical pre-visit taken place (and been documented)?
  • Is there a clear plan for the curriculum and outcomes for the pupil?
  • H&S policies, fire evacuation, DBSs, first aid and right to work must be on file for all staff working with the pupils and held on the SCR
  • Weekly reports must be sent by the AP, read by the schools and signed, with consideration given to the next steps
  • A clear absence procedure must be put in place

These are just a few considerations in your planning. The list is even more extensive, and rightly so. Your pupils’ safety and well-being are your responsibility, even when they are being educated off-site. You must ensure that the process of enrolling a pupil in AP, for any duration, is conducted thoughtfully and rigorously.

Taking the Pupil’s Views Into Account

Government guidance requires headteachers to take the pupil’s views into account before deciding to exclude, considering these considering their age and understanding. The pupil should be informed about how their views have influenced the decision. This is not a tick-box exercise. Meaningful conversation with the young person can reveal contributing factors that change the picture entirely.

Final Thoughts

Avoiding exclusion is a long, well-documented path, paved with genuine attempts to understand and address the factors driving a pupil’s behaviour.

  • IEPs/IPMs should be reviewed every term as a minimum and include the family and pupil’s views.
  • Your safeguarding or behaviour system should have a detailed log of all incidents, including follow-up actions, their impact, and ongoing adjustments.
  • Any reintegration meetings after suspensions should be recorded, include pupil voice and be revisited to assess the impact of the reintegration plan.

The law is clear, and the guidance is practical. By investing in reasonable adjustments, structured interventions, specialist support, and alternative placements, schools can often find a way forward that keeps children in education and gives them the best chance of a positive outcome.

Ultimately, permanent exclusion is the headteacher’s responsibility. It’s a lose-lose situation and a massive burden of responsibility. Do not take this on alone. Seek advice from external agencies, the local authority, your trust, your union and your leadership team. Document these conversations to demonstrate your commitment to partnership working and to provide a clear rationale for your decisions.

For pupils with an EHC plan, an annual review should be held before any permanent exclusion, and external specialist advice should be sought. For looked-after children, the designated teacher should contact the virtual school head as soon as exclusion is being considered.

Remember: exclusion ends a school’s involvement with a child and has a lifelong impact on their prospects. Everything that comes before it is an opportunity to make a lasting difference and avoid the worst-case scenario.

References

  • Equality Act (2010)
  • Children and Families Act (2014)
  • DfE (2015) SEND Code of Practice 0-25 Years
  • DfE (2018) Mental Health and Behaviour in Schools
  • DfE (2022) Behaviour in Schools: Advice for Headteachers and School Staff
  • DfE (2023) Suspension and Permanent Exclusion from Maintained Schools, Academies and Pupil Referral Units in England

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