Blow drying squirrels and attacks with sharp pointed objects
Team-Teach is now the preffered response to using de-escalation techniques and positive handling for the Education and hopefully the Social Work setting in East Lothian. The authority now has several intermediate tutors and from last week seven advanced tutors. The range of skills now available to staff who have to deal with children who put themselves or others into danger is considerable. The course I attended was one, if not the, most demanding I have ever attended. The pass mark for one part was 100%!! We all passed. The physical part to the training was exhausting and the emotional aspects of using positive handling techniques on children cannot be underestimated. It is only when you undertake the training that you start to really consider the range of problems faced by the youngsters out there and the level of support they need. Having an unconditional positive regard for youngsters should be the baseline from which we approach and try to resolve difficult situations. The beauty of the Team teach training is that it takes an holistic approach to behaviours and gets practioners to reflect on all of the influences that result in undesirable behaviour patterns. An integral part of the training is to get staff to work together to look at the topography of behaviour and tease out trigger points and responses. Often the problems are exacerbated by the poor choice of language and other communication skills by teachers themselves. Sometimes we can be the problem ourselves without even realisng it. One of the help scripts to combat this is for staff to ask themselves and share the notion 'is there a better way'. Over 95% of all conflicts can be resolved without putting hands on any youngster. If you have to restrain or hold a child you better make sure it is done properly with the outcome being an improved ralationship between the practitioner and the youngster, our duty of care is always to make safe and risk assess accordingly.
In the advanced course we learned how to deal with attacks from blunt and sharp objects (where there is no other way, running away is good!), ground assaults and dealing with children who go to ground and are best described as floppy dead weights. A technique my five year old has perfected! Bless!
Hopefully we won't be called upon to instruct these techniques very often, but the skills are now there if needed. One part of the course dealt with Transport and the issues around getting difficult youngsters to and from school or an educational outing. There were many practical suggestions which I am sure many staff will benefit from.
The squirrels? The conversation went something like this:
What is the daftest thing you have done?
Well..... I once blow dried a squirrel.
Why?
It was wet!
How did it get wet?
They're always like that when you take them out of the deep freeze!
Why was it frozen?
Oh! My brother's a taxidermist!
Nice thing to look forward to at the weekend, I am meeting up with some old friends who were all at teacher training college, Callendar Park, from 1973! Still going strong (ish). The babysitter is organised and my wife, Marie, and I will actually be out on a social occasion without our five boys. I view that as a cheap doo! Now, whose turn is it to drive?
Blow dry Squirrels ...
Karen
Wednesday 21 June 2006