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SEMH: Unique Child

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Children

Unique Child

All children take time to develop the ability to learn to regulate their emotions, communicate their feelings and regulate their behaviour and attention, the range at which they will do this is wide. Unsafe or withdrawn behaviours should be considered concerning children’s developmental levels, and life experiences. Children with identified SEND will often need more time and support to develop and learn appropriate ways to behave. All behaviour should be viewed as communication and will reflect the child’s experiences and needs e.g., experiences of separation, domestic violence, and language development.

Most children will respond over time to positive relationships, an enabling environment and strategies put in place to support them. Practitioners need to reflect on unsafe and withdrawn behaviours taking account of children’s feelings then attempting to change the situation to support the child to experience more positive feelings. There may be cause for concern when unsafe, anxious, and withdrawn behaviours become persistent and sustained, impacting the child’s and other people’s well-being. On rare occasions, children may exhibit dangerous behaviours that quickly highlight a concern.

Some observed behaviours or concerns identified in this area may be identified in this list, which is not exhaustive:

  • Anxious.
  • Withdrawn.
  • Situational Mutism.
  • Assessment within PSED is at a lower developmental level.
  • Attention is not in line with the developmental level.
  • Impulsivity not in line with developmental level.
  • Behaviour impacts peer interactions.
  • Difficulty following instructions not in line with developmental level.
  • Disruption to group activities not in line with developmental level.
  • Behaviour that may harm self or others.
  • Sexualised behaviour.

Where there are concerns relating to a child’s social, emotional, behavioural, and mental health needs it is important to ensure their wider developmental needs are thoroughly assessed. This will enable you to identify whether the behaviour being observed is in line with their developmental level, which will enable you to put appropriate support in place for the child. This can be achieved by having a proficient level of understanding of child development alongside a robust observation and assessment process which may utilise the following tools:

May be useful for children whom you have developmental concerns, or identified SEND: