Promoting positive behaviour
Scouting should be an enjoyable experience and promoting positive behaviour is essential to the smooth running of any activity. This provides a foundation for the running of the section, reduces the chance of challenging behaviour occurring, and ensures that activities are fun, engaging and safe for everyone.
Adults in Scouting have an important role in supporting young people to manage their own behaviour and make positive choices.
Scouting is an ideal place to expect positive behaviour. The Scouting Purpose and Method is based on personal development, learning by doing and enjoyment, and a key part of the Promise is being helpful to others.
On this page:
What causes challenging behaviour?
Every young person at some point will probably behave in a challenging way. It is a natural process of growing up and testing boundaries, as young people learn more sophisticated ways to communicate and express themselves.
The reasons for challenging behaviour can be many and varied and may well lie outside Scouting and its activities. There can be many reasons for young people to behave in a challenging way and as a leader it is important to distinguish between the causes that you can influence and those you can't.
Some behaviours may be linked to medical conditions, disabilities or additional needs. See our
Additional Needs Directory for information and for information about behaviour in autism, please visit
scouts.org.uk/autism It is important to
work with the parent or carer to plan support strategies and to
make reasonable adjustments to meet their needs. There may be strategies or a behaviour plan used at school, which you can refer to.
Some challenging behaviour can be a result of boredom or inactivity, or on the flip side too much energetic activity, so the way you plan the programme can have a big impact. There may be factors from outside the section meetings that impact on the behaviour of a young person in a group e.g. bullying, family and social situations or issues that are personal to them that they may not have expressed to you.
How can I promote positive behaviour in my section?
Positive behaviour needs to be planned for, modelled, taught and acknowledged; it does not happen by accident. Here are some top tips and some practical ideas you could use in your section.
Know the young people and parents/carers in your section
See each young person as an individual, find out about any disabilities or additional needs, and establish an open and positive relationship with parents or carers. This will help with insight into the cause of any behaviours and how to best respond.
Managing the transition between sections is important, so that a new young person coming into the section knows the leaders and other young people within the section and how the section works. Support from other young people in the section can be particularly valuable for a new young person so that they don’t feel alone or isolated. For example, support from their peer leader (eg. Sixer) or a ‘buddy’, who will in turn be working towards their Teamwork or Team Leader Challenge Award.
Good Programme planning
- Running a balanced high quality programme, that young people have been involved in planning, is a great basis
- Include co-operative games and activities in your programme. Plan some games that require listening or silence to build on these skills.
- If you play knockout games, make sure young people who are out of the game are given something to do. Review the number of knockout games you use and check if it’s the same people who are always out first.
- With all games, including ones, which are familiar, go over the rules or instructions each time before you begin. Have a start signal i.e. ‘When I say go, you can start.’ If some people are not following the rules, stop the game and explain the rules again.
- When scoring, do it fairly not in your head so that things are open and honest.
- Think about how meetings and activities are structured. For example, if there is unstructured play, like football, when young people are arriving, this is more likely to lead to challenging behaviours or young people becoming more energetic. It can be useful to plan something for young people to do, while they’re waiting for the meeting to start.
Establish good routines and systems
- Have a routine for meetings. Start and finish ‘formally’ and set expectations of what is required from young people, adults and parents/carers at that particular meeting. Use similar routines each time for explanations. For instance, everyone sitting down in small groupings. Ensure that everyone understands the purpose of these i.e. to move on to the activity/game as soon as possible.
- Use signals so that you do not need to use your voice all the time. For example, hand in the air means stop talking and pay attention. When the young people see a leader raise their hand they stop what they are doing (movement and noise) and put their hand up too. This then spreads across the section. It is important that the leader stands still and is quiet while their hand is raised (demonstrating the expected behaviour) and that any other leaders in the room are also quiet at this time, reinforcing the expected behaviour.
- A red, amber and green card system could be used. This is usually when a young person is causing danger or has hurt someone - 5 minutes to go and think about what they did, and then a talk with a leader about what happened. If behaviour improves, show the green card.
Here are some good tips in running activities, to encourage positive behaviour:
- Before starting to explain activities and games make sure you have everyone’s attention.
- Stop if someone interrupts or starts to chatter to their neighbour. When someone is talking, others (including other adults) should be silent. Keep explanations and demonstrations short and to the point and use bite size statements.
- Ensure the young people know why you are asking them to do a particular thing.
- If doing an activity that can be explained in two stages, such as crafts, let them start and pause to explain the next step.
- Give notice, like counting down from five to zero. The leader can hold their hand out in front and start counting down from five, folding fingers down with the countdown. Finish with a statement along the lines of, ‘And you are now quiet and listening’. Or alternatively use an egg timer with an alarm.
- Check if everyone has understood the instructions before beginning the activity.
Set the standards with the young people
Challenging behaviour can mean different things to different people, therefore it is important that acceptable standards are created and agreed, and that everyone knows what behaviours are acceptable and unacceptable.
Actively involve young people in creating a Code of Behaviour for the section. Young people are more likely to remember and stick to something that they themselves have played a part in creating.
In preparation, it is useful for the leadership team to have a rough idea of the essential things that need to be included, to ensure health, wellbeing and safety. Talking about the Promise or the Scout Law is a great place to start discussions with the section.
It is important that the Code of Behaviour becomes a ‘living’ document that is reviewed regularly and referred back to positively in praise and reward, as well as in responding to challenging behaviour.
The start of each new term might be a good time to revisit it, and when new people start, get the young people to show them the Code of Behaviour so they know what is expected rather than hoping they will pick it up. Don’t forget to let parents/carers know as well.
Tips for an effective Code of Behaviour are as follows:
- Created in partnership with young people.
- Agreed and ‘owned’ by the young people together with the leadership team.
- Doesn’t contain too many rules.
- Worded positively, rather than being a long list of ‘do not’s.’ For example, “we listen to each other” rather than “we will not interrupt when someone else is talking”
- Language used is appropriate to the level of understanding of the young people.
- Relevant to all circumstances – e.g. camps, trips.
- Follows the Yellow Card and reflects the Values of Scouting.
- Effectively communicated to everyone, including new Members and parents/carers (for at least Beaver, Cub and Scout sections).
- Followed by the adult leadership team at all times.
- Displayed clearly within the meeting place and referred back to.
- Reviewed regularly.
It is also important that appropriate behaviour is discussed before events such as nights away and trips, where there may be additional boundaries needed. It should be assumed that young people know what is expected of them and what is not appropriate.
Remember, one size doesn’t always fit all, and as part of making reasonable adjustments for young people with additional needs, a separate plan may be needed to manage any challenging behaviour.
Agree on a plan if standards are not met
All leaders will at some point experience occasions when behaviour will affect the smooth running of a meeting or event, so it is important to plan ways of managing that behaviour in advance.
Leaders should agree with the young people and as a leadership team, what the boundaries of behaviour are and what the consequences will be. Consequences should focus on learning and development, rather than punishment, and what is appropriate will vary depending on the behaviour itself and the circumstances. It is important that everyone involved, including the young people, leadership team, and parent or carers, is aware of the consequences of breaking the Code of Behaviour.
For young people with additional needs, other young people in the section may need support in understanding their difficulties and any different ways that the leadership team are managing their behaviour. It’s good for leadership teams to discuss behaviour in the section regularly so that everyone is consistent in their approach, and adding it to the agenda for leadership meetings can act as a good reminder.
Any behaviour that represents a serious threat to the welfare of others should be reported, following the guidance on the
Yellow Card.
Use positive language and communication
- Be assertive in your communication. To get the attention of your section learn to project your voice so that everyone can hear, but do not shout - speaking quietly will eventually get them to be quiet and listen. Once you have their attention, they have to try harder to listen. Where necessary, speak firmly without shouting. Use a whistle sparingly if at all.
- When talking about challenging behaviour, focus on the behaviour itself not the young person, to avoid negative labelling.
- Allow young people to speak without interruption and listen to what they are saying is one way to gain their respect.
- When young people are engaged in an activity do not expect an instant response - with many young people it takes a period of time for them to register and process an instruction, or even that you are speaking. It can be beneficial for you to make the request, stop and silently count to six and then repeat the same statement or instruction.
Offer praise and recognition
Praising and rewarding appropriate behaviour is more effective in the long term, than focusing on inappropriate behaviour. Get into the practise of providing age-appropriate encouragement and praise.
Fostering a culture of praise and not blame has shown time and time again to encourage good behaviour. Praise young people for doing the right thing rather than criticising those doing the wrong thing. ‘Thank you’ and ‘well done’ need to be heard and meant when talking to young people and between leaders too.
Devise ways of recognising achievement. An appropriate points system with, for instance, a round of applause for the group with the most points at the end of the night, and a small prize at the end of term for the winning team. You can also be use things like certificates to reward those that arrive on time, remember their necker, or any other single aspect of behaviour you want to highlight?
You could have a ‘Scout of the month’ award that can be given according to whatever focus of behaviour, e.g. attendance, is required. The method of reward could include a trophy to look after for the month, the presentation of a certificate and/or their names put into a hat which form a draw at the end of the year with the opportunity to win a sum of money which can go towards buying something useful for Scouting.
Lead by example
Remember you are an influential role model for young people. One essential principle of promoting positive behaviour is to lead by example. For instance, if leaders shout, young people will often become louder. Older Scouts and Explorers may have the attitude ‘If leaders don't stick to the rules then why should I’?
What messages do your adults give out? Do they stop and listen when instructions are being given out? How do they model ‘good’ behaviour? Do they recognise and acknowledge good behaviour as well as pick up on poor examples? Adult behaviour can sometimes be the catalyst for undesirable behaviour in young people. Think about how the adults are interacting and behaving around young people can be beneficial. If you identify issues and address them you may find that behaviour in your section improves.
Examples to address could include:
- Are adults on their mobile phones when young people have been told not to be, creating one rule for one and one rule for another
- Interrupting when someone else is talking, distracting either young people or adults while instructions are given out
How should I respond to challenging behaviour?
It’s important to be positive but realistic. Even with everything put in place, it is likely that at some point, you will have a challenging section meeting. Some tips are provided below, for when things aren’t going to plan.
If low level behaviour is occurring in the section as a whole, here are some useful techniques:
- Do something else for a few minutes then go back to what you were saying later.
- Sit them down and try to time a minute in silence. When they think a minute is over, they stand up.
- Clapping game. When they're noisy all the leaders clap then slap their own thighs which is repeated. Gradually the young people join in and they become quiet.
- Do a short burst of physical activity such as running around the room, begin a game of ‘Simon says’, get them to jump in the air as high as they can and then crouch down low for example.
These tips can support you in responding effectively to more serious incidents:
- remain or appear calm
- speak firmly but quietly, and give the young person their personal space
- focus on de-escalating the situation and maintaining a safe environment
- don’t take it personally and don’t be quick to make assumptions
- remember, challenging behaviour always has a cause; it can be beneficial to consider what a young person may be communicating through their behaviour
- following incidents, reflect, review and plan ahead.
Once the incident is over, discuss what happened, the actions taken and any lessons to learn for the future.
- support young people to manage their own behaviour and make positive choices
- be aware of any warning signs and seek to respond before a situation escalates
- don’t try to fix everything at once; prioritise and focus on the one issue at a time
- use the principles of promoting positive behaviour.
- seeking a different perspective and sharing experiences can be beneficial.
- support is available; seek help when you need it. If in doubt, always speak to your line manager and ask for help
Reflection and review should focus on answering the following questions:
- What may have been the cause or trigger?
- How did the leadership team respond? Was it appropriate? Was it effective?
- Were there any warning signs?
- How can we avoid the situation occurring again?
- How should the leadership team respond next time? Is further adult supervision needed in section?
- What can the young person do differently next time? How can we support and empower the young person to do this?
- Are principles and strategies for promoting positive behaviour the section?
What if behaviour continues?
Seek support from your Group Scout Leader (GSL) or line manager in Scouting.
For continued challenging behaviour, it is important to work in partnership with the parents/carers. All should be clear of the next steps - working out a process that contains defined boundaries and times scales is important so that everyone is aware of the process and how it is going to happen. If after this period has concluded, there is still an issue, then bringing in support from the Group Scout Leader is important. Once you have reached this stage, your GSL in consultation with the District Commissioner, will advise you of the process which is also contained in Policy, Organisation & Rule.
scouts.org.uk/por
Remember that any behaviour that represents a serious threat to the welfare of others should be reported through the Child Protection procedures (
Yellow Card).
How can I discuss behaviour with the parent or carer?
Below are some suggested questions to help frame a conversation with the parent/carer of a young person who has been displaying challenging behaviour in Scouting. These questions could also be used to help plan ahead for a new Member who you are aware has behaviour difficulties.
Remember that this is a sensitive topic, and it is important to try to maintain a positive and open relationship with the parent/carer; working together to support the young person to access Scouting. Where there is repetitive challenging behaviour or the challenging behaviour is severe, you may wish to seek some more support from your Group Scout Leader, Assistant District Commissioner (Section) or Assistant District Commissioner (Inclusion). You can also seek support through the
Scout Information Centre.
Focus on the behaviour rather than the young person, and the impact this is having on the young person’s ability to access, enjoy and develop in Scouting. Stick to the facts of what has happened and focus on planning ahead, to support the young person to manage their behaviour in the future.
- [Name] seems to struggle at times with their behaviour. Does this happen anywhere else?
- Are there any recognised triggers for the behaviour at home or school?
- Are there any situations where [name] will find it difficult to cope?
- What methods/strategies have worked well at home or school, to discourage the behaviour?
- What support strategies have worked well at home or school, to encourage positive behaviour?
- What do you do at home when the behaviour occurs?
- What happens at school when the behaviour occurs?
- Is [name] on any medication?
- How do you think we can best support [name] with their behaviour at Scouting?
- How do you think we can best support [name] to manage their behaviour?
How should I respond to arguments or disputes between young people?
In addition to the guidance above:
- respond quickly
- avoid assigning blame; allow each young person an equal opportunity to give their side of the story
- establish all the facts; don’t make assumptions
- support the young people to understand how the other person may feel
- positively acknowledge where a young person has owned up and/or apologised
- if a young person has not owned up, rather than force the issue, focus on what happened and ask young people what they can do to prevent a reoccurrence
- try to find a way to defuse an incident so that no one loses face.
Teaching skills in managing behaviour
There are activities about behaviour on Programmes Online at
scouts.org.uk/pol
Below are some suggested techniques that you could support young people to use in managing their behaviour, particularly when they are feeling angry, and in turn, enable them to make positive choices. Young people may also need support in recognising their own emotions and understanding the feelings/perspectives of others.
The techniques which are appropriate will depend on the individual young person and their age/maturity, and their preferences. They may also have their own ideas about what helps them to be happy and calm.
- Walk away – distract yourself by doing something else.
- Count to ten.
- Breathe deeply and slowly, for the same time in as out. (It might be helpful to count in your head eg. ‘in, 2, 3, out, 2, 3’).
- Focus on relaxing your muscles.
- Use a stress ball.
- Pick a catch-phrase that you can say to yourself (eg. ‘chill out’).
- Pretend to be or think about being somewhere else, where you feel happy and calm.
- Hide behind an imaginary shield.
- Pretend you are a turtle and hide inside your shell, until you feel a bit calmer.
- Write down or draw how you feel, and why. Then destroy it or talk to someone about it.
- Anything else that works (without harming yourself or others).
Some questions and thoughts to think about in terms of the leadership team.
- Do you look like a team with shared levels of acceptability?
- When you all work together and react alike there is far less opportunity for ‘playing one leader off against the other’.
- Do you support each other when an activity is happening?
- What is the ‘praise’ or ‘blame’ culture of your section like?
It’s much easier to keep control if one of you is running the activity and another is helping to observe. It is very easy to miss something while you are running the activity so another pair of eyes can be invaluable. You may want to look at whether the atmosphere is full of criticism or a constant reinforcing of acceptable behaviour. ‘Thank you’ and ‘well done’ need to be heard (and meant) when talking to young people and between leaders too.
Remember too that it is the behaviour, which is unacceptable, rather than the young person and provide opportunities for them to have good behaviour acknowledged. Avoid labelling individuals as ‘good’ or ‘bad’, referring rather to acceptable and unacceptable behaviour. This helps everyone to focus on what the problem is and deal with it.
Sources of support
Each case will be different, but examples of sources of support are:
- your line manager
- Group Scout Leader
- previous Section Leader - if a young person has moved up from the section below
- Assistant District Commissioner (Section)
- Assistant District Commissioner or District Adviser (Special Needs/Inclusion)
- Assistant County Commissioner or County Adviser (Special Needs/Inclusion)
- The Scout Association Headquarters
- parents or carers
Further information
