BEHAVIOUR RISK ASSESSMENT
Student: / Completed by: / Date: / Reviewed / Reviewed / Reviewed
The following codes are used to complete the attached risk assessment. / Target:
T = Themselves
S = Staff
C = Children, in or out of school, vulnerable or otherwise
V = visitors to the school or members of public in the community
P = Property and physical environment / Probability:
HL = Highly likely; existing evidence leads staff to conclude that the behaviour is more likely than not to occur again.
L= Likely; there is a possibility that the behaviour will occur again
U = Unlikely; although the behaviour has occurred before, the context has changed or can be changed to make it unlikely to happen again. / Seriousness:
  1. This would include physical injury requiring medical attention beyond that of basic first aid; extensive damage to property; significant distress to self or others; or lengthy disruption to the normal school routines.
  2. This includes physical injury requiring basic first aid within the school; minor damage to property; some distress to self or others; or brief disruptions to the normal school routines.
  3. No physical injury or damage to property; minor distress or disruption.

Behaviour / Risk: / Target: / Probability: / Seriousness: / Influencing Factors/ Other :
Head-butting
Kicking
Punching /Hitting
Physical intimidation/pushing
Biting
Damage to property
Spitting
Running away / pacing/ absconding
Licking windows
Climbing
Self-harm
Possible Influencing Factors:
  1. Periods of unstructured activity
/
  1. Transition times
/
  1. Availability of dangerous equipment
/
  1. Changes to routine/circumstances/ home/ school/ other
/
  1. Environment/ noise/crowds/ other etc.
/
  1. Particular students / adults (specify)
/
  1. Other
(Specify)
Preventative Measures
P = currently in place A = currently being actioned I = felt to be inappropriate to the particular risk presented
Proactive Measures:
P / A / I / Additional Measures/Comments:
Where appropriate, eliciting student view in planning and reviews
Staff have seen and have access to the and Risk Assessment
Where appropriate, providing regular feedback and pastoral support to student.
Involving parent/carer in decision making and planning
Involving outside agencies (e.g. EP / EWO/ Social Care/CAMHS / TAMHS/ YOT/Other) – please specify:
  • Social Worker – Name:
  • CAMHS Worker – Name:
  • Other – Name:

Establishing an individual plan e.g. Behaviour Monitor Cards (BMC) / Individualised timetable etc.
Providing regular supervision for the member(s) of staff who work with the student
Adapting curriculum arrangements to reflect challenge, choice and structure levels which are appropriate to the student’s assessed needs.
Adapting group arrangements to promote positive peer models and minimise inappropriate contact
Providing frequent breaks or change of activity opportunities
Establishing a positive teaching programme to increase the student’s range of appropriate skills
Providing an appropriate reward system which the student can earn by demonstrating the skills defined in the teaching programme and through other appropriate behaviour
Identifying the message communicated by the students behaviour
Agreeing key reactive strategies for handling incidents of complex / challenging behaviour with all staff likely to be in contact with the student, and ensuring that these plans are shared with the parent/carer
Providing staff support at difficult times such as start of day /break times/lunch times/other times during transitional periods throughout the school day/end of day.
Systematically reviewing difficult incidents in order to improve upon practice and learn from experience.
Reactive strategies to respond to early warning signs in an escalating situation.
P = currently in place A = currently being actioned I = felt to be inappropriate to the particular risk presented
U = This strategy has been tried in the past and has been inappropriate or unsuccessful for the particular child /young person.
Reactive Strategies:
P / A / I / U / Additional Strategies /Comments:
Active listening
Humour
Good choice / Bad choice reminder
Distraction / diversion to preferred activity – state which activity :
Change of task
Planned ignoring
Reflection
Environmental adaption (removing triggers / changing peers/ changing staff)
Options explained
Negotiation
Verbal advice
Comfort (e.g. arm around shoulder) - please specify:
Step away / change of face
Informed of new appropriate behaviour (Positive reinforcement)
Remind of rights/responsibilities
Remind of consequences
Non-verbal communication - specify
Physical Intervention

Emergency Procedures When on-site:

  • On arrival to school- XXXXXX hands over his bag to allow staff to search it.
  • XXXXXX will be asked to empty his pockets and banned items will be removed. Banned Items are:
  • Lighters
  • Tabaco products
  • Knives
  • Sharp objects e.g. protractors, scissors etc.
  • Fireworks
  • Should XXXXXX’s behaviour become unsafe where he /his peers/ other staff members are at risk of harm or damage to property is occurring – staff must call 999

Emergency Procedures – Off-Site (Swindon Area)

XXXXXX walks off-site and absconds from school:

  • Learning Mentor to contact SLT
  • Learning Mentor / SLT to contact Carer
  • SLT to contact DCT Social Care.
  • Carer to contact Learning Mentor /School to inform that XXXXXX has arrived home safe and well.

We know from previous experience that when XXXXXX walks off-site and absconds, he heads home.

Safety factors:

  • XXXXXX travels independently to and from school and to Swindon Town Centre on public transport. ( He has a bus pass for Swindon only)
  • XXXXXX has a mobile phone on his person
  • XXXXXX does check in with his carers to let them know he is safe.
  • Carers contact Learning Mentor to let them know that XXXXXX has arrived home.

XXXXXX absconds in the community: (Swindon Area)

  • Learning Mentor to contact SLT
  • Learning Mentor / SLT to contact Carer
  • SLT to contact DCT Social Care.
  • Carer to contact Learning Mentor /School to inform that XXXXXX has arrived home safe and well.

Escalation of Behaviour when out in the Community:

  • Lead Learning Mentor to try and de-escalate
  • 2nd Learning Mentor to ensure members of the public do not try to intervene
  • Should XXXXXX’s behaviour become unsafe where he and members of the public are at risk then Learning Mentors will call 999
  • Learning Mentor to inform School (SLT) and Carer
  • SLT to inform DCT Social Care.
  • Risk Assessment to be reviewed in partnership with DCT Social Care and other agencies.
  • Supervision with Learning Mentors

Escalation of Behaviour in school Vehicles when traveling to and from activities/locations:

  • XXXXXX starts to display aggressive behaviour during transit, staff must:
  • Pull over at the earliest opportunity and park in a safe place
  • Remove themselves from the vehicle ensuring that they have the keys.
  • Try to de-escalate the situation by talking to XXXXXX calmly
  • Do not attempt to drive XXXXXX anywhere when he is displaying aggressive behaviour
  • Should the levels of aggression increase resulting in damage of property, to self (XXXXXX) , to staff, and members of the public, the police MUST be called – 999 emergency.
  • Should XXXXXX refuse to get out of the vehicle – staff to wait outside of the vehicle and ensure that they do not leave XXXXXX or the vehicle unattended.
  • Staff to inform SLT (School) – staff also to ask to be swapped over if they feel they are escalating the situation by being there (change of face) – Staff to stay in situ until replacement team arrive.

Different stages of behaviour:

Challenging behaviour is unlikely to come ‘out of the blue’, or happen without warning, but it can happen very quickly or with signals that are hard to spot. Behaviour develops in stages as shown in the ‘arousal curve’ diagram below.

Figure 1: Arousal curve showing different stages of behaviour

The Green ‘Proactive’ phase is where the person is feeling mostly calm and relaxed and is able to engage positively with you in a meaningful way. The aim is to try and support the person to stay in this phase as much as possible. It is important to think about what it is that is helping the person to feel calm and relaxed.

The Amber ‘Active’ phase is where the person may be starting to feel anxious or distressed and there is a chance that he/she may need to challenge you in some way.

Here we need to take swift action to support the person to return to the Green Proactive phase as quickly as possible to prevent challenging behaviour.

The Red ‘Reactive’ phase is where challenging behaviour actually occurs and we need to do something quickly to achieve safe and rapid control over the situation to prevent unnecessary distress and injury.

The final Blue ‘Post Reactive’ phase is where the incident is over and the person is starting to recover and become calm and relaxed again. We still need to be careful here as there is a risk of behaviour escalating again.

Identifying the different stages of behaviour can help you to make sure the person has what they need on a day to day basis. This provides an opportunity for those caring for the person to teach them useful skills to help them get what they want and need.

It also provides information that acts as ‘early warning signs’ (in the Amber ‘Active’ phase) that the person is expressing that they are anxious; wanting something they are unable to ask for; not liking something; feeling bored, etc. These early warning signs provide the opportunity to intervene before the behaviour escalates to a full blown incident of challenging behaviour.