For Schools

Overview

The teacher programme is a 6 day programme delivered one day at a time with 3 weeks between each day.  This enables teachers to implement and test the strategies they cover over the course of the training.  It is designed for teachers of children aged 4-12 years but can also be used to provide training for school counsellors, psychologists, teaching assistants and any school personnel working with young children.  As with the other programmes, it can be used as either a general prevention programme for all teachers in a school or a more intense  programme for teachers with a high proportion of disruptive pupils in their classroom.  It is delivered in groups of 16 teachers (maximum).

The rationale for the programme is that children who are disruptive at home are likely to be disruptive at school and may elicit the same negative reactions from teachers that they have experienced from their parents.  In addition they may be excluded by their peers.  Children cannot flourish in such an environment and their behavioural problems are compounded by academic under-achievement.
According to the developer of the Incredible Years programme:

The teacher training programme aims to improve the skills and strategies of teachers.  It emphasizes:

• Positive Communication
• Limit-Setting
• Problem-Solving
• Anger-Management
• Communication with Parents
• Teacher Support Networks

A whole school approach is favoured since generalisation of The Incredible Years principles across the entire school environment is very reinforcing for the child with behavioural difficulties.

In their interactions with children the consistency of approach among school staff, parents and other professionals is what makes a real difference.