5 Things Every SENCO Should Know About Positive Behaviour Support

SENCOs carry a huge amount: safeguarding, SEND, staff training, parent meetings, paperwork - and often, the most complex behaviour in the school.

Positive Behaviour Support (PBS) can help, but it’s often misunderstood as “being nice” or “reward charts”. In reality, PBS is a structured, evidence-based way to understand behaviour and support pupils and staff.

Here are five key ideas about PBS that can make a real difference in your setting.

1. Behaviour is communication, not “good” or “bad”

In PBS, we start from the idea that behaviour is a way of communicating a need or coping with something difficult.

Instead of asking, “How do we stop this behaviour?”, we ask:

• “What is this behaviour doing for the pupil?”

• “What are they trying to get, avoid, or cope with?”

  
  

For example:

• A pupil who shouts and leaves the classroom during maths may be:

  • Escaping work that feels too hard, or

  • Coping with anxiety about getting things wrong.

    
    

• A pupil who pushes others in the corridor may be:

  • Trying to create space in a sensory-overwhelming environment, or

  • Seeking interaction in the only way they know how.

    
    

When staff see behaviour as communication, conversations shift from blame (“He’s just naughty”) to curiosity (“What is he telling us?”). That shift alone can reduce conflict and open up more helpful problem-solving.

2. PBS focuses on changing environments, not just pupils

A core principle of PBS is that we change environments and systems, not just the child.

That might mean:

• Adjusting tasks

  • Breaking work into smaller steps

  • Offering choices in how to complete tasks

  • Using visuals to support understanding

    
    

• Adjusting routines

  • Building in predictable transitions

  • Providing clear warnings before changes

  • Creating calm, structured starts and ends to lessons

    
    

• Adjusting the physical environment

  • Reducing noise or visual clutter

  • Offering quieter spaces or alternative seating

  • Planning movement breaks

    
    

When staff see that “behaviour” is often a reasonable response to an overwhelming or unclear environment, they are more willing to adapt practice. This is where SENCO leadership is powerful: you can support staff to see environmental changes as part of good teaching, not as “special treatment”.

3. The goal is quality of life, not just fewer incidents

PBS is not just about reducing “challenging behaviour”. The bigger goal is improving quality of life for the pupil and the people around them.

That includes:

• Feeling safe and understood in school

• Having meaningful relationships with peers and adults

• Being able to participate in learning at an appropriate level

• Developing skills for communication, independence and self-advocacy

  
  

Sometimes, a behaviour log might show fewer incidents, but the pupil is more withdrawn, isolated or anxious. From a PBS perspective, that is not success.

A helpful question for staff is:

• “If this plan ‘works’, what will be better for this pupil’s day-to-day life?”

  
  

This keeps the focus on wellbeing and inclusion, not just compliance.

4. Effective PBS plans are based on good assessment

A “PBS plan” is only as good as the assessment behind it. That assessment looks at:

• What happens before the behaviour (triggers, demands, settings)

• What the behaviour looks like (clear, observable description)

• What happens after (how adults and peers respond, what the pupil gains or avoids)

  
  

From this, we can make a best guess about the function of the behaviour (for example, escape, attention, sensory, access to items/activities).

Without this, plans often default to:

• Generic reward charts

• Vague expectations (“make better choices”)

• Increasing sanctions when things don’t improve

As a SENCO, you can:

• Encourage staff to collect simple ABC (Antecedent–Behaviour–Consequence) information

• Support them to look for patterns, not one-off events

• Involve a behaviour specialist, such as a Board Certified Behaviour Analyst (BCBA) and UKBA(cert) behaviour analyst, when behaviour is complex or high-risk

  
  

A good PBS assessment leads to targeted, realistic strategies that staff can actually use in busy classrooms.

5. PBS is a team approach – and staff wellbeing matters

PBS is not something one person “does” to a pupil. It is a team approach that includes:

• Class staff

• SENCO and leadership

• Parents and carers

• The pupil themselves, as far as possible

• External professionals where needed

  
  

For plans to work, staff need:

• Clear, simple strategies (not 20-page documents no one reads)

• Time to practise and reflect

• Permission to say, “This isn’t working, can we review it?”

  
  

Staff wellbeing is part of PBS. If a plan relies on constant 1:1 support, high levels of restraint, or staff “just coping”, it is not sustainable.

As a SENCO, you can:

• Check in with staff about what feels realistic

• Celebrate small wins and progress, not just “perfect” behaviour

• Advocate for training and external support when needed

A behaviour plan that protects staff wellbeing is more likely to be used consistently – and consistency is key for pupils.

How a behaviour analyst can support your PBS work

Working with a behaviour analyst who is a Board Certified Behaviour Analyst (BCBA) and UKBA(cert) behaviour analyst can support your PBS approach by:

• Helping to carry out functional behaviour assessments

• Co-designing PBS plans that fit your school’s context

• Modelling strategies in real classrooms

• Supporting data collection that is light-touch but meaningful

• Providing training and coaching for staff

  
  

The aim is not to “medicalise” behaviour, but to bring structured, evidence-based support into the everyday life of your school.

Final thoughts

Positive Behaviour Support is not a quick fix or a sticker chart. It is a way of thinking about behaviour that:

• Respects pupils as learners and communicators

• Recognises the impact of environments and systems

• Aims to improve quality of life for everyone involved

  
  

As a SENCO, you are already holding many of these values in your work. PBS gives you a clear framework and language to build on what you’re doing.

If you’d like support to develop PBS-informed plans, train staff, or understand complex behaviour in your setting, this is exactly the kind of work I do as a Board Certified Behaviour Analyst (BCBA) and UKBA(cert) behaviour analyst.