Managing Challenging Behaviour 1

Foster Care Training

Learning how to approach and deal with challenging behaviour within looked after children is a crucial part of foster care training. Challenging behaviour is an umbrella term for behaviour that is:

  • Inappropriate given the child’s age and level of understanding.
  • Dangerous to the child or others.
  • Causes significant stress to the lives of those who live or work with the child.
  • Contrary to social norms.

This sort of behaviour does not stem from the fact that a child is in care. In fact, as all children grow up and develop they exhibit aspects of this behaviour. As such, participants will be encouraged to look through their own behaviour. By doing so, they will be able to identify positive and negative behavioural traits.

Firstly, the training focuses on building an understanding among foster carers regarding the root causes of challenging behaviour and their impact on a child’s development. From here, the course will cover how triggers and experiences from the past can cause children to behave in a challenging manner. Of course, a knowledge of a child’s triggers is important as a foster carer may need to alter their own behaviour based upon this. The course will go on to highlight the influence of pay offs in praising good behaviour and challenging undesirable behaviour. Additionally, it will provide practical techniques for being objective and clear when commenting on a child’s behaviour. Finally, participants will learn how tracking behaviour is used as a tool to measure baseline behaviour. This process makes it easier for foster carers to detect changes. Ultimately, understanding a child’s behaviour is the essential first step of managing challenging behaviour.

The course is led by an experienced trainer who will guide the group predominantly through group discussions and case studies. his 1 day course meets the requirements of Foster Care Training, Support and Development standards:

  • Standard 3: 3.3c, 3.4(a, b, c), 3.5a
  • Standard 4: 4.1 (a, b, c), 4.2(a, b)
  • Standard 5: 5.1a, 5.7a
  • Standard 7: 7.3(b, d), 7.5b