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PODCAST

School Behaviour Secrets with Simon Currigan and Emma Shackleton

Beacon School Support

Are you a teacher, a SENCo or a school leader?Want research-backed strategies for supporting students who find it hard to manage their emotions or behaviour? Want practical ways of supporting pupils with special needs like autism, ADHD, FASD or attachment disorder? Want tried-and-tested classroom management strategies that will work with that ‘tricky class’?Then you’re in the right place.Welcome to the School Behaviour Secrets podcast where we’ll answer ALL these questions and so much more! Week

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All Episodes

17:11

5 Ways To Stop Group Work Descending Into Chaos

School Behaviour Secrets with Simon Currigan and Emma... ·

2026/10/04

Does your class work well independently, but the moment you put them into groups, the noise goes up, chairs start scraping and everything begins to unravel? Group work places more demands on pupils than we sometimes realise - from moving around the room and managing resources to remembering instructions, negotiating with other pupils and switching attention. In this episode of School Behaviour Secrets, you’ll learn five simple ways to make those transitions smoother and help pupils settle mor...

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17:28

Co-regulation: Why Speaking Calmly Can Make Things Worse

School Behaviour Secrets with Simon Currigan and Emma... ·

2026/09/27

Ever used your calmest voice with an upset pupil, only to find it winds them up even more? You’re trying to help, but somehow your calming strategy is making things worse. In this episode of School Behaviour Secrets, you’ll explore the difference between sounding calm and helping a pupil feel understood. Through a familiar classroom scenario, you’ll hear how well-intentioned responses can add pressure, and why showing some emotion can sometimes communicate more empathy than a perfectly soothi...

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16:19

Why Locking School Toilets Won’t Stop Internal Truancy

School Behaviour Secrets with Simon Currigan and Emma... ·

2026/09/20

If pupils are marked present, but still spend large parts of the school day hiding in the toilets, wandering corridors or visiting the medical room – have you solved your internal truancy problem, or just moved it somewhere else? In this episode, you’ll learn about emotionally based internal truancy, or EBIT - an informal way of thinking about pupils who make it into school but struggle to access the classroom. You’ll discover how to balance safe toilet access with clear expectations around l...

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23:12

Why Tiny Mistakes Trigger Big Reactions

School Behaviour Secrets with Simon Currigan and Emma... ·

2026/09/13

Have you ever taught a pupil who produces excellent work most of the time, but becomes overwhelmed, angry or tearful after making one tiny mistake? Perfectionism can look like a positive quality from the outside, yet it may be hiding intense anxiety underneath. In this episode of School Behaviour Secrets, you’ll learn why some perfectionist pupils are more vulnerable to dysregulation and how to distinguish healthy high standards from a fear-driven need to avoid mistakes. You’ll also discover ...

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26:02

When Shame Looks Like Defiance

School Behaviour Secrets with Simon Currigan and Emma... ·

2026/09/06

Why do some pupils smile, deny what happened, blame someone else or become angry when they're challenged about their behaviour? Sometimes, what looks like defiance or a lack of remorse may actually be a defence against shame. In this episode of School Behaviour Secrets, you'll learn: - The important difference between guilt and shame - and why it matters for behaviour - Why shame doesn't always look like shame, and can sometimes appear as smiling, blame, denial or aggression - How shame can c...

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15:13

Why Some Pupils Never Ask For Help

School Behaviour Secrets with Simon Currigan and Emma... ·

2026/08/30

Some pupils never put their hand up. They never admit they’re stuck. But then they fall behind while everyone assumes they’re coping. In this episode of School Behaviour Secrets, you’ll learn why asking for help can feel threatening for some pupils and the hidden coping strategies they use instead - from copying others’ work to trying to become invisible in the classroom. You’ll also discover the simple SAFE approach for understanding why pupils stay silent, and how the PAIN Framework can he...

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23:21

How To Keep The End Of Term Sane

School Behaviour Secrets with Simon Currigan and Emma... ·

2026/07/12

The final week of term should feel positive - but when routines disappear, emotions rise and pupils realise the year is ending, behaviour can quickly start to unravel. In this episode of School Behaviour Secrets, you’ll learn how to keep the end of term calm, structured and meaningful without removing all the fun. We’ll look at why pupils often become silly, emotional or unsettled before the holidays, how to balance high-energy activities with calm “landing” tasks, and how to help children lo...

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18:55

What School Leaders Need To Know About SEMH Right Now

School Behaviour Secrets with Simon Currigan and Emma... ·

2026/07/05

School leaders are facing increasingly complex SEMH needs, rising pressure around behaviour and inclusion, and more uncertainty about what effective support should look like in practice. In this episode of School Behaviour Secrets, you’ll hear what schools are telling us right now about SEMH leadership, why it can feel so difficult, and what leaders need in order to move forward confidently with SEMH and behaviour. You’ll also find out about Beacon School Support’s first National SEMH Confere...

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24:52

When Pupils Use Friendships As A Weapon

School Behaviour Secrets with Simon Currigan and Emma... ·

2026/06/28

Some behaviour problems don’t start with defiance, disruption or poor emotional control. They actually start when pupils use relationships to humiliate or exclude another child in their friendship group. In this episode of School Behaviour Secrets, you’ll discover how Relational Aggression affects pupils in both primary and secondary schools, why it’s so easy for adults to miss and how it can drive anxiety, dysregulation and sudden changes in behaviour. You’ll also find out how the PAIN Frame...

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27:13

How To Support Pupils Who Are Anxious

School Behaviour Secrets with Simon Currigan and Emma... ·

2026/06/21

Have you noticed some pupils seem more anxious, avoidant or dysregulated at this time of year - even when nothing obvious has changed in the classroom? In this episode of School Behaviour Secrets, you’ll learn why exams, transition days, new classes, secondary transfer and end-of-year changes can increase anxiety for pupils. You’ll discover why some children aren’t just reacting to what’s happening now - they’re reacting to what they think is coming next. Plus we’ll look at how anticipatory a...

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25:25

Teaching A Tricky Class? This Is The First Thing To Fix

School Behaviour Secrets with Simon Currigan and Emma... ·

2026/06/14

Got a tricky class that feels harder to teach than it should? Sometimes the problem isn’t one big behaviour issue - it’s the smaller repeated issues that drain everyone’s attention, patience and energy. In this episode of School Behaviour Secrets, we look at why some classes feel so difficult to manage, how problematic routines can create hidden workload for teachers and pupils, and why simply telling pupils what to do once is rarely enough. You’ll discover why children don’t always transfer ...

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27:15

Why Some Pupils Fall Apart After Lunch - And What...

School Behaviour Secrets with Simon Currigan and Emma... ·

2026/06/07

Have you ever had a pupil come back from lunch looking fine - only to refuse work, argue, shout or completely fall apart minutes later? In this episode of School Behaviour Secrets, we explore why lunchtime isn’t always a break for every pupil. You’ll learn how social stress, sensory overload, unresolved conflict and tricky transitions can build up during lunch - then spill over into the afternoon lesson. We’ll also look at what schools can do to make lunchtimes calmer, support vulnerable pupi...

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28:23

When Behaviour Strategies Work… But Make Things Worse

School Behaviour Secrets with Simon Currigan and Emma... ·

2026/05/31

Have you ever used a behaviour strategy that worked brilliantly in the moment - only to find the same behaviour came back again the next day? And the next? In this episode of School Behaviour Secrets, we explore why some short-term behaviour strategies appear to work because they reduce the immediate tension but can accidentally teach pupils or whole classes habits that make behaviour harder in the long run. Most importantly, you’ll discover three simple questions that help break the cycle an...

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27:26

Are We Mistaking Compliance For Regulation? (And Why...

School Behaviour Secrets with Simon Currigan and Emma... ·

2026/05/17

Are the quiet, compliant pupils in your classroom genuinely regulated - or just holding everything together? In this episode of School Behaviour Secrets, we explore the important tension between compliance and regulation. Because while schools absolutely need routines, boundaries and clear expectations, “doing what we asked” doesn’t always mean a pupil is calm, settled or coping underneath. You’ll learn why some pupils can appear fine in school but collapse at home, how masking and shutdown c...

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22:14

Why Pupils Say “I Don’t Care” - And What To Do Next

School Behaviour Secrets with Simon Currigan and Emma... ·

2026/05/10

What should you do when a pupil looks you in the eye, shrugs and says, “I don’t care”? It’s one of those classroom moments that can easily pull adults into a power battle. But while they sound disrespectful or deliberately provocative - what if those three words are not the whole story? In this episode of School Behaviour Secrets, we explore what pupils might really be communicating when they say, “I don’t care,” why taking the words at face value can lead us in the wrong direction, and what ...

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25:14

When Behaviour Seems To Come Out Of Nowhere:...

School Behaviour Secrets with Simon Currigan and Emma... ·

2026/05/03

When a pupil explodes over something small, it can look like their behaviour came out of nowhere. But what if that “tiny trigger” wasn’t really the cause - just the final bit of pressure they could no longer cope with? In this episode, you’ll learn how stress stacking affects dysregulated behaviour, why looking for one simple trigger can lead schools down the wrong path, and how to ask better questions after an incident so support is matched to the pupil’s real needs. You’ll also hear a pract...

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27:33

The Hidden Causes of Attention-Seeking Behaviour

School Behaviour Secrets with Simon Currigan and Emma... ·

2026/04/26

Why do so many sensible school strategies fail, even when staff are trying their best? In this episode, you’ll learn why attention-seeking behaviour is often a misleading label - and why two pupils can show very similar behaviour for completely different reasons. Using the PAIN framework, you’ll discover how to look beneath the surface, identify the hidden drivers behind a child’s behaviour, and choose responses that actually match their needs. You’ll also learn why adult attention can change...

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27:13

Why Good School Strategies Fail - And How To Fix Them

School Behaviour Secrets with Simon Currigan and Emma... ·

2026/04/19

Why do so many sensible school strategies fail, even when staff are trying their best? In this episode of School Behaviour Secrets, we explore one of the biggest challenges facing school leaders: consistency. Because having the right strategy is only half the battle - the real challenge is getting staff to understand it, apply it in practice and embed it over time. Using the example of restorative conversations, you’ll learn how to use the ALIGN framework - a simple, practical model to help s...

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26:16

How Executive Function Can Trigger Student Dysregulation

School Behaviour Secrets with Simon Currigan and Emma... ·

2026/04/12

What if a pupil’s dysregulation isn’t just about behaviour - but about hidden executive function demands they can’t yet manage? In this episode of School Behaviour Secrets, you’ll learn how difficulties with executive function can fuel frustration, overload and emotional dysregulation in the classroom. Using a concrete case study and the PAIN framework, we unpack how challenges with holding information in mind and inhibiting impulses can quickly tip a child from not coping with work into shut...

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23:12

SEND Reform Is Coming: What It Means For Behaviour...

School Behaviour Secrets with Simon Currigan and Emma... ·

2026/03/23

The government’s new SEND reform paper proposes major changes to how schools support pupils with additional needs. But what does it actually mean for mainstream schools, teachers and SENCOs? In this episode of School Behaviour Secrets, we break down the key changes in the proposed SEND reforms and explains what they could mean for SEMH support in schools. You’ll learn: • Why mainstream schools will increasingly be expected to meet SEND needs earlier • How the new layers of support (Universal,...

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288 results

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