Sarah McCullough Education Services

👌🏼

Ever worked with a pupil who can:

👉 Explain what anger feels like
👉 List five calming strategies
👉 Practically coach you through a breathing exercise

… but ten minutes later is shouting, storming out or hitting a classmate?

😫 It feels like all your hard work on emotional literacy just evaporated.

So - here’s what’s really happening.

⬇️ When a pupil's under pressure, their ability to recall facts - the things they’ve learned in a managing emotions group - gets weaker.

⬆️ But automatic behaviours - the stuff they’ve spent years practising, like shouting or hitting - get much stronger.

So, in the moment, they don't 'forget' on purpose.

🔁 Their brain reverts back to the default behaviours that have been ingrained over time.

And that’s why teaching emotional regulation like a curriculum subject often backfires.

You can build a mountain of knowledge - but in a stressful situation, it gets drowned out by automatic behaviours.

Which means you need to create a bridge for your student between 'knowing' and 'doing'.

In this week’s episode of School Behaviour Secrets, you'll learn:

💔 Why regulation strategies fail when pupils need them most

✅ A simple solution for overcoming this problem - so your students achieve change in the real world (where it's needed).

If you’re working with children who “know the strategies” but still struggle in the moment, this one’s for you!

🎧 Listen here:

https://beaconschoolsupport.co.uk/podcast/267

♻️ Remember to share with colleagues or friends who'd find this useful.

https://www.lotterygoodcauses.org.uk/open-week/offers?fbclid=IwZnRzaAQTyDNleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAo2NjI4NTY4Mzc5AAEeYsY6poFILqCmOc2VzswKSGLMRYJlojham-mBS8WMtF5e2n0XgkqHVmByFWk_aem_jr1Yhf3jtOFBww44zbF8Dw&utm_id=97758_v0

Open Week Offers - National Lottery Good Causes Each week National Lottery players raise £30 million for Good Causes. Find out about their stories here.

Hi all, and welcome to all my new followers!
Firstly, apologies for not posting for so many months. A LOT of life has been happening at SMEDS HQ including family bereavements and continuing to support my LA with outreach services. But the services are still here, ready to support you and your children in any way that I can.
Secondly, I hope that this new term is kind to you. Remember to take a breath whenever you need to. Your children need the best version of you, so you need to look after yourself too!

Thirdly, who’s excited to see the new whitepaper being published today…. I certainly am when I get a moment to myself! 🤓

You can’t fix demand avoidance if you’re using the wrong strategies.

For example:
👉 PDA and ODD can look identical on the surface.
👉 Same refusal. Same pushback. Same emotions.
👉 But the reasons behind them couldn’t be more different.

Here's the short version:

1️⃣ Kids with PDA try to avoid anxiety triggered by adult demands.
2️⃣ ODD kids aren’t avoiding the task - they’re resisting the power dynamic around it.

Here's the implication for the classroom.
💡 You need to match the right strategy to the right need.

That's important, because:
❌ If you use ODD-style structure with a PDA learner, you’ll spike their anxiety.
❌ If you use PDA-style flexibility with an ODD learner, you’ll fuel the power struggle.

Making both situations get worse.

⭐️ But when we match the strategy to the underlying cause, the student's emotions subside, behaviour changes and engagement increases.

Want a full breakdown of this?
📍 Plus step-by-step strategies to use for PDA and ODD?

I’ve put together a short, practical resource called Defusing Demand Avoidance.

👇 It’s on flash sale right now - you can grab it here until midnight Friday:

https://beaconschoolsupport.co.uk/sales/demand-avoidance-pack

ACEs & Trauma: Free Professional Webinar Join NAPAC’s free, compassionate and comprehensive webinar on Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and their lifelong impact. This live webinar explores the psychology of ACEs, the science behind trauma and how early adversity shapes emotional, psychological and physical wellbeing across the lifes...

📣Tomorrow all Parent Carers in the North of the County are invited to The Kino Lounge, Kettering where EnFold are in attendance from 10.30am to 12.30pm

😴 Running on coffee and hope? You’re not alone! If bedtime feels more like a battle than a rest, this one’s for you.

Northamptonshire’s iDiscover platform is offering a Sleep Workshop just for parent carers — full of practical tips, understanding, and (hopefully) the secret to a full night’s sleep!

Because let’s face it… when our young people don’t sleep, no one sleeps. 💤

👉 Check it out and give yourself the gift of better nights (or at least a fighting chance!).

🔗 https://nhftidiscover.powerappsportals.com/Courses/

Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
Integrated Care Northamptonshire

We are running a daytime online 'Handling Anger in the Family' course starting on 21st November.
We do try to run our courses both in the daytime and evening to allow parents to work them around family and work life.
This 4 session course focuses on how you and your child can understand and manage anger in a safe and healthy way.
This course will get filled up very quickly, so don't miss out on booking your place.
https://hopeforfamilies.org.uk/events