Dealing with Challenging and Violent Behaviour

1. Introduction

Children who encounter difficulties in their developmental cycle require sensitive and responsive services to address their needs. Often such children will display difficult, risk taking or challenging behaviours, including violence and / or aggression. When a child displays challenging behaviour it should never be viewed in isolation but rather seen in the context of their experiences to date and staff should try to work out why the child is behaving as they are.

If we look after children in our care in the context of our philosophy and key principles, the likelihood of violence and aggression should be minimal i.e. is less likely to happen. However, it has to be accepted that in exceptional circumstances some children may resort to violent and aggressive acts.

Where Homes accommodate Children with a history of violent or challenging behaviour, Registered Managers must ensure that the environment and culture of the Home promotes and supports positive behaviour and must also ensure that strategies and staff training are in place which encourage such behaviour through de-escalation of conflicts, discipline, control and the use of Physical intervention and restraint that staff understand and apply at all times.

Staff should be supported and trained to manage their own feelings and responses to the emotions and behaviours presented by children and understand past experiences and present emotions that are communicated through their behaviour.

2. Referral

For many children, challenging and violent behaviour may have been evident prior to coming to us.

Registered Managers should ensure that:

• Impact Assessment/matching placement form will be completed for the mainstream residential children’s homes prior to any confirmed placements. This form is completed in conjunction with the Social Worker and Registered Manager. The information regarding behaviours assists the Registered Manager in making informed decision about the suitability of the placement taking into consideration the compatibilities of others;
• Information is sought as to any challenging or violent behaviour;
• A description of the behaviours should be sought and ascertained whether it could have been attributed to an event in the child's life at that time, or whether this is a pattern of behaviour over time;
• Individual Risk Assessments are carried out and strategies recorded on how to manage behaviours and to minimise/reduce these.

3. Admission Stage

At the point of admission staff should ascertain the following:

• What intervention strategies have been used to manage the child’s behaviour?
• What interventions had positive outcomes?
• What interventions triggered further acts of aggression or violence?

3.1 Risk Assessments

With this level of understanding, Registered Managers should be able to:

• Undertake a written risk assessment with supportive guidelines for staff;
• Ensure all staff are provided with training on how to deflect and manage challenging and violent behaviour as a result of the risk assessment.

All children living in the mainstream Children’s’ Residential Homes must have an ‘All About Me Plan’ drawn up by the key worker, staff involved in the placement planning and the child, before or as soon as practicable after they are placed. Where behaviour difficulties are identified either at the point of placement or thereafter, the strategies for managing and promoting positive behaviour must be incorporated into the Plan - there should also be a separate detailed Positive Behaviour Management Plan.

The Short Break Service has a Short Break Information Plan that is completed by the Social Worker prior to the child accessing the service; this plan incorporates the above as in the Children’s Residential Homes.

4. Reporting and Recording

The manager and the staff within the home should agree the behaviours which will be taken to constitute violence or aggression for reporting purposes.

A pre-printed book A3 bound book is now in place within the Residential Network, staff will record any serious incidents which include violence, bullying, challenging behaviour and aggression. This is a very detailed record with clear headings and questions that staff need to complete/record following any incident. Debriefs following any incidents are also completed and recorded with both staff and children along with any accident and injuries

Reports on aggressive and violent behaviour should provide the following information:

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

Staff and managers should consider the following before reporting an act of aggression or violence:

• Staff should 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 their 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?

Home's managers and staff should explore all of the above and look for any triggers before they label a child as aggressive or violent.

5. Agree Terms to be Applied to Specific Behaviours

The terms challenging and violent behaviour could a wide range of actions. It is likely that if staff were asked individually what acts they felt constituted challenging or violent, the responses 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.

Registered Manager should ensure that:

• Staff discuss what behaviours they feel describe the terms challenging and violent;
• Children are asked what behaviour they feel describe the terms challenging and violent;
• It is essential that Registered Managers agree with their staff what constitutes challenging and violent behaviour;
• Where reasonable to do so, staff and children should participate in discussions together;
• Staff are made aware that discussions with children are a constructive way to ensure that they understand how others perceive behaviours.

6. Follow up After an Incident

Whenever an act of violence or aggression has occurred the home's manager should ensure that both staff and child concerned, are allowed to discuss the incident and its impact on themselves and others in the group.

Managers should:

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

7. Level of Risk

Managers need to ensure that procedures are in place for responding to incidents and that they match the level of risk.

Workers who are exposed to the risk of violence and aggression need training on the procedures to follow in the event of an incident. It is important that they are aware of the criteria for initiating procedures and are free to do so when they feel under threat.

8. Actions for Staff following a Violent Incident

A decision should be made between the staff member, the manager and young person about whether to report matters to the Police, see Blackburn with Darwen Joint Agency Protocol to Assist in Dealing with Offences in Residential Children’s Care Homes.