Positive Relationships, Happy Events and Consequences

The concept of relationship support is underpinned by the understanding that we need these skills to get along with others in order to get the best from life. Whether this is in work or play, or in a friendship or relationship, we need a range of practical and emotional skills to navigate our way through life. Most of our children and young people have not had benefit of positive role models to show them how this is achieved to best effect. At the Caldecott Foundation we recognise that this will only be achieved by building and maintaining relationships with children and by supporting their relationships with others.

Rewards consequences form a small part of the tools available to adults to support and encourage positive behaviour.

Children in the Home are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on:

• Mutual respect and trust;
• An understanding about acceptable behaviour; and
• Positive responses to other children and adults.

In particular, the registered person will ensure that adults:

• Meet each child's behavioural and emotional needs, as set out in the child's relevant plans;
• Help each child to develop socially aware behaviour;
• Encourage each child to take responsibility for the child's behaviour, in accordance with the child's age and understanding;
• Help each child to develop and practise skills to resolve conflicts positively and without harm to anyone;
• Communicate to each child expectations about the child's behaviour and ensure that the child understands those expectations in accordance with the child’s age and understanding;
• Help each child to understand, in a way that is appropriate according to the child's age and understanding, personal, sexual and social relationships, and how those relationships can be supportive or harmful;
• Help each child to develop the understanding and skills to recognise or withdraw from a damaging, exploitative or harmful relationship;
• Strive to gain each child's respect and trust;
• Understand how children's previous experiences and present emotions can be communicated through behaviour and have the competence and skills to interpret these and develop positive relationships with children;
• Are provided with supervision and support to enable them to understand and manage their own feelings and responses to the behaviour and emotions of children, and to help children to do the same;
• De-escalate confrontations with or between children, or potentially violent behaviour by children;
• Understand and communicate to children that bullying is unacceptable; and
• Have the skills to recognise incidents or indications of bullying and how to deal with them; and that each child is encouraged to build and maintain positive relationships with others.

Children should be supported to understand how to build friendships with other children. They should be able to spend time with their friends in the local community, in their home area, and by having friends visit them at the Home, in line with the child’s plans, age and understanding.

The culture of the home should be clearly understood by all those living and working within the home. It will be led by the Registered Manager who will have clear expectations about acceptable codes of conduct and the reasons why these boundaries must be in place.

Adults should understand and help children to understand what makes a healthy, nurturing relationship. Adults should be skilled in understanding the range of influences that friendships can have and should encourage those with a positive impact and discourage those with a negative impact. Adults should be skilled to recognise the signs and provide support to children in danger of or involved in exploitative or damaging relationships with others and where possible prevent these types of relationships.

In the case of children who have, or are likely to, sexually offend, the Home should establish the extent to which friendships can be supported, in line with the child's relevant plans and subject to the safety of all concerned.

The Home is committed to a holistic approach that draws on established theoretical bases, research, best practice and guidance in order to promote and develop positive relationships.

The Home’s approach to behaviour support:

• Aims to create a safe, caring environment where children are supported to develop understanding and empathy towards each other;
• Ensures that all children have opportunities to become confident and achieve their full potential;
• Encourages the child's consultation and participation in setting rules and consequences;
• Ensures that all children and young people have clear expectations in relation to their behaviour, are supported to understand and to develop alternative positive approaches to challenges within their lives;
• Ensues that all children and young people understand how positive behaviour is recognised and rewarded;
• Ensures that all children and young people are supported to understand the consequences of unwanted behaviour;
• Ensures that all adults understand and share the principles of positive approaches to behaviour;
• Accepts the individuality of children and young people and celebrates the diversity of their backgrounds.

The quality of relationships between professionals, adults caring for the children, the children and their parents (as appropriate) is crucial to this approach.

Adults play an important part in the day-to-day life of a child, and will be trained and supported in establishing positive relationships with children and in managing behaviour, including behaviour which may be challenging at times.

Training on realistic techniques and strategies will enable adults to achieve and develop a more positive relationship with the child and a more harmonious life and will enable the child to feel good about themselves. The development of safe, stable and secure relationships with adults in the Home is central to the ethos of the Home and supports the development of secure attachments that, where appropriate, persist over time.

The capacity and competence of adults to build constructive, warm relationships with children that actively promote positive behaviour, provides the foundations for managing any unwanted and damaging behaviours. Where positive relationships exist between children and adults this should be respected and maintained as far as possible when making any decisions to alter staffing arrangements. The registered person should respond to children's views about changes to adults and be aware of the potential impact this may have for the child’s stability and emotional well-being.

Positive behaviour and relationships should be reinforced, praised and encouraged; poor behaviour should be challenged and discussed.

Adults should at all times endeavour to:

• Understand factors that affect children's motivation to behave in a socially acceptable way to enable them to respond to each child’s individual behaviour;
• Encourage an enthusiasm for positive behaviour through the use of agreed strategies with the child in line with the child's relevant plans;
• Listen to and empathise with children, respect their thoughts and feelings and take their wishes into consideration;
• Look for things that are going well, or any step in the right direction, and appropriately reward it, we call this building on the child’s strengths;
• Use rewards in a creative and diverse way, specific to children's needs, capabilities and interests. 'Non tangible' encouragement and support – by adults demonstrating to children that they have done well include smiling and praising children;
• Make sure that children and young people are aware of the things that they have done well. This should involve prompt verbal feedback, along with clear recording in the child or young person’s file. All ‘tangible’ rewards should be clearly identified by adults digitally completing a “Happy Event” record on Clearcare.
• Where necessary, manage conflict, maintain constructive dialogues and react appropriately if challenged by a child in their care.

The PACE model can help adults work successfully with a child.

PACE stands for:

Sometimes 'L' for Love is included, making PLACE.

The use of children’s meetings and peer to peer meetings are good spaces to support the development of skills in peacefully resolving conflict. It is important that adults remember that many of the young people in our care have not experienced positive conflict resolution so no assumptions should be made that they know how to or have the skills required do this. This may require breaking down the process into small pieces to aid with learning.

The Home has expectations, setting out how things are managed within the Home. This should be explained to children, with the reasons for them and they should also know that there are expectations for everyone. They should not feel that they are being treated with less regard than other children in the Home. Ideally, children should know these expectations before they are moved into the home.

House expectations will be posted in the Children’s’ Guide and on children’s notice boards. House expectations will be revised regularly in consultation with the children and adults. Discussions regarding consequences should form part of the regular Children’s meetings within the home.

These should include:

• Treating each child with understanding, dignity, kindness and respect; building, protecting and preserving positive relationships between each child and the adults caring for them;
• Understanding each child’s behaviour allows their needs, aspirations, experiences and strengths to be recognised and their quality of life to be enhanced;
• Involving children and relevant others wherever practical in outcomes and strategies;
• Supporting each child to balance safety from injury (harm) with making appropriate choices;
• Making sure the child’s rights are upheld.
• Ensuring a trauma lens is applied to understand how children communicate through their actions (behaviour)

Reward

A reward is a thing given in recognition of service, effort, or achievement – a reward does not need to be something of monetary value, it can be an opportunity to spend time with a preferred/particular adult undertaking a special activity. It can be something more formal like a monetary reward in the form of a gift or a paid activity.

Consequence

Sometimes children present behaviours that are difficult for the adults. Through a trauma lens this maybe because this has been a successful survival strategy in the past and/or their communication of their trauma experience. In additional it is probably because the situation they are in is overwhelming for them to process. Because of their experiences some actions can be worrying, confusing, and upsetting.

Any action that constitutes a consequence should be proportionate, measured, not harsh and logical. They should be the last resort. They must work for the child or young person and be child-focused.

Adults should work from the relational model of care as well as the PACE framework to support the child or young person.

Repetition of the rules, humour and clear messages can avoid consequences being needed.

For a child or young person of an appropriate age, it is important to discuss what they think is an appropriate and fair restriction

A consequence is an act or instance of following something as an effect, result, or outcome. It is important that adults understand that a consequence is different from punishment. A punishment is something which is punitive and is unlikely to have a positive impact on the undesirable behaviour. It does not promote learning from experience. Consequences are recorded digitally on Clearcare, using the consequences record form.

A consequence should be used as a learning tool to ensure that undesired actions are actively discouraged from being repeated. It is important when considering if a consequence is appropriate to take the following into account:

• Context/circumstances of behaviour;
• Involves the child in the process;
• Encourages the child to take responsibility and put things right;
• Promotes resolution;
• Is non-discriminatory.

Before any consequence is imposed adults must be satisfied of the following:

1. That the child was capable of behaving acceptably and understands what was required of him/her;
2. Other encouraging and rewarding strategies have not worked or would not work in the circumstances;
3. The consequence imposed is relevant, fair and must last no longer than is absolutely necessary;
4. There is a view that the sanction may encourage acceptable behaviour or act as a disincentive;

The Consequences that are approved for this Home are listed below, for a list of Non Approved Consequences, see Appendix 1: Non Approved Consequences.

The following restrictions, if placed upon a child, are deemed to be a Consequence and must be recorded as such:

Consequences should be proportionate and work with the child or young person.

These should be recorded and agreed with other professionals. Acceptable consequences may include:

1. Confiscation or withdrawal of a telephone or mobile phone in order to protect a child or another person from harm, injury or to protect property from being damaged;
2. Restriction on sending or receiving letters or other correspondence (including the use of electronic or internet correspondence) in order to protect a child or another person from harm, injury or to protect property from being damaged;
3. Reparation, involving the child doing something to put right the wrong they have done; e.g. repairing damage or returning stolen property;
4. Restitution, involving the child paying for all or part of damage caused or the replacement of misappropriated monies or goods. No more than two thirds of a child's pocket money may be taken in these circumstances if the payment is small and withdrawn in a single weekly amount. Larger amounts may be paid in restitution but must be of a fixed amount with a clear start and end period. If the damage is serious or the size of payment particularly large then the child's social worker should be informed of the matter;
5. Curtailment of leisure activities, involving a child being prevented from participating in such activities;
6. Early bedtimes, by up to half an hour or as agreed with the child's social worker;
7. Removal of equipment, for example the use of a TV or DVD player;
8. Loss of privileges, for example the withdrawal of the privilege of staying up late;
9. Suspension of pocket money for short periods.

Young people should be encouraged, in line with their age and understanding, to participate in deciding what the outcome of their actions should be. This aids the process of learning from an experience. This should be recorded as part of allowing the use of a restrictive physical intervention, an incident debrief or 1:1 with an adult.

The Home Manager must monitor, evaluate and review the use of consequences and that the consequence used has been appropriate.

The effectiveness of consequences should be reviewed to ensure they are an effective tool and to help identify any patterns, trends and themes. If the consequences are not working alternative methods should be applied.

The review of the appropriateness, and effectiveness, of any additional measure should include the opinion of the child or young person that the measure relates to.

Consequences should be recorded digitally on Clearcare, on a consequence log for a child.

In any recording or reporting it is important to define, specifically, the actions displayed. Describing behaviour as simply “violent” or “aggressive” is not kind, inclusive or useful and does not provide the required amount of information.

Reports should provide the following information:

• What was happening at the time;
• Who was present;
• What happened;

Registered Managers should ensure that adults consider the following areas when reporting and evaluating an act of aggression or violence:

• Adults would need to question their own behaviour and responses;
• Has the child responded inappropriately to a feeling or act against them where the right to be angry was acceptable, but the response/behaviour was not?
• Did this occur with a specific person with whom it is known they have difficulty?
• Had the child received visitors or contact from family/friends at the time of the incident or shortly before or after?

Accurate and descriptive records allow evaluation to take place and may show triggers or events that may not have been initially identified. This critical assessment of a situation will ensure that reports of behaviours are based on factual and evaluative reporting and avoid unhelpfully labelling a child as “violent or aggressive”.

The terms "violence" and "aggression" have many definitions and should be avoided as descriptors for behaviours. It is likely that if adults were asked individually what acts they felt constituted violence or aggression that these would differ considerably across the group. Similarly, if the question was asked of children it is likely that their interpretation and views would differ widely.

The Health and Safety Executive’s definition of work-related violence is: ‘any incident in which a person is abused, threatened or assaulted in circumstances relating to their work’

The record should contain the opinions of the child or young person. If they are not willing to give an opinion then the record should evidence the time and date that their opinion was sought.

Where relevant, a decision should be made between the adults, the manager and young person about whether to report matters to the police, see Protocol - The Decision Whether to Involve the Police.

Before a child arrives to live in the Home, the placing authority will provide information on the following as part of the care planning process:

• Any previous known actions and events that would have an impact on how the child uses behaviour to communicate their needs and trauma experiences;
• A description of the particular actions, including any triggers so adults can identify whether there are any patterns, trends and themes.

Adults in the Home should also ascertain the following:

• What intervention strategies have been used to manage this?
• What interventions had positive outcomes?
• What interventions triggered further escalation?
• Whether additional specialist support (e.g. from Children and Young People's Mental Health Services (CYPMHS)) is required.

The Home will work closely with the placing authority to understand the child's relationship history and the impact that the child's arrival may have on the other children living in the Home.

The Home will maintain effective working relationships with local youth justice and police services where children living in the Home have targets to achieve in reducing offending or socially unacceptable behaviour.

The Home will work closely with health and education professionals to ensure that outcomes identified and progress made by children in building relationships and achieving socially acceptable behaviours can be recorded and measured.

Whenever an act of violence has occurred, the Home’s manager should ensure that both the child concerned are allowed to discuss the incident and its impact on themselves and others in the group.  An incident report and incident debrief record should be completed digitally on Clearcare, following an incident.  If a physical intervention has been required, a physical intervention incident report and debrief will be required, as well as a restorative catch-up (Life Space Interview) record.

Managers should:

• Undertake a review and make necessary changes to internal policies, routines and children’s plans to help with reducing or preventing incidents from occurring in the future;
• Discuss with adults how they dealt with the situation and, if required, how they could deal with the situation differently in the future.

The Home’s manager should collate data emanating from incidents and periodically undertake a review. The Home’s policies, training strategies, routines and methods for promoting positive behaviour amongst children should be revised as required.

If the level of risk is such that the child being able to remain living in the home is threatened or may be at risk of coming to an end, the Home’s manager must draw this to the attention of the child’s social worker and Independent Reviewing Officer (IRO), who may decide to convene a Looked After Review.

Legislation, Statutory Guidance and Government Non-Statutory Guidance

Positive and Proactive Care: Reducing the Need for Restrictive Interventions - Department of Health and Social Care

Guidance: Positive Environments Where Children Can Flourish (Ofsted)

The following consequences are non-approved, which means they may never be imposed upon children:

• Any form of corporal punishment; i.e. any intentional application of force as punishment, including slapping, punching, rough handling and throwing missiles;
• Any measure of control, restraint or discipline which is excessive or unreasonable. Restraint is used on a child only where it is necessary to prevent injury to the child or other persons, or serious damage to property. See also: Restrictive Physical Intervention Procedure;
• Any consequence relating to the consumption or deprivation of food or drink;
• Any restriction on a child's contact with their parents, relatives or friends; visits to the child by their parents, relatives or friends; a child's communications with any of the persons listed below; or their access to any telephone helpline providing counselling or advice for children. This does not prevent contact or communication being restricted in exceptional circumstances, where it is necessary to do so to protect the child or others:
  • Any officer of the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service appointed for the child;
  • Any social worker for the time being assigned to the child by their placing authority;
  • Any Independent Visitor;
  • Any person authorised by the Regulatory Authority;
  • A solicitor or other adviser or advocate acting for the child;
  • An Independent Visitor appointed for the child;
  • A person appointed to investigate a complaint under the Children Act 1989 Representations Procedure (England) Regulations 2006;
  • An independent person conducting a Regulation 44 visit.
• Any requirement that a child wear distinctive or inappropriate clothes;
• The use or withholding of medication or medical or dental treatment;
• The intentional deprivation of sleep;
• The modification of a child's behaviour through bribery or the use of threats;
• Any consequence which may humiliate a child or could cause them to be ridiculed;
• The imposition of any fine or financial penalty, other than a requirement for the payment of a reasonable sum by way of reparation. (The court may impose fines upon children which adults should encourage and support them to repay);
• Any intimate physical examination of a child;
• The withholding of aids/equipment needed by a disabled child;
• Any measure which involves a child in the imposition of any measure against any other child; or the consequences of a group of children for the behaviour of an individual child;
• Swearing at the child or the use of foul, demeaning or humiliating language or measures.

Note that this does not prohibit the taking of any action by, or in accordance with the instructions of, a registered medical practitioner or a registered dental practitioner which is necessary to protect the health of the child; or taking any action that is necessary to prevent injury to any person or serious damage to property.