Tackling challenging behaviour in schools

The Directorate for Educational Services is in the process of recruiting counsellors, career advisers, prefects of discipline and specialists in social and emotional development to develop programmes and carry out interventions with children who show challenging behaviour that impedes their educational progress, said Micheline Sciberras, director general for education services.

In an effort to promote positive behaviour in schools, the directorate is giving teachers appropriate support in the form of training and additional human resources. Four schools have already been provided with trainee counsellors, trainee psychologists, trainee career advisors and youth workers.

Ms Sciberras was speaking at a national conference on 'Nurture groups - An early intervention approach for primary schools', jointly organised recently by the University's European Centre for Educational Resilience and Socio-Emotional Health, the Education directorates and St Nicholas College.

Also addressing the conference was Paul Cooper of the University of Leicester, UK, who said nurture groups have been found to be an effective tool in the education of young children with social, emotional and behaviour difficulties. He described the key principles underlying such groups and how they were organised on a day-to-day basis in primary schools. Three teachers also shared their experiences in leading nurture groups in Malta.

College Principal Anthony Sammut said emotional well-being is essential to learning and that nurture groups have a whole-school effect, in that not only the children within the group improve, but also other children in the mainstream who have similar problems.