Behaviours in after-school sessions

I have been doing 1 after-school mentoring sessions (for Y11s) and 1 after-school homework club (for Y3-4s) for some time, lately I am a bit dishearten by the behaviour :frown:

and have even started to question my ability to control the class when my PGCE starts...

The sessions with Y11s started rather well, with lively discussions but the students would try to get away with doing the minimal of written work. Just prior to the Easter holiday they students were very tired at the session after an earlier exam, so I let them off not attempting any written work. After the holiday when we regrouped last week, I started to try giving them exam tips and ask them to do some written work. The mock question (that I found on the internet) had double-negatives which confused the students, but after rephrasing the question the students produced some answers which I gave feedback on (how to score even higher marks on it: like getting 2 points of views, evidencing, concluding etc.)

Then this week none of these students returned to the session. Obviously it's after-school and optional, and it is probable that coincidentally they all had something else to do, but it is really upsetting for me, thinking that I have totally messed it up last week.

Furthermore, today the Y3-4s were not working very well either, one boy kept talking about some bodily excretion, some did not have homework and were messing about in the library corner... telling them off only resulted in temporary silent then the noise picked up again...

I wonder if others have similar experience and if so, how have you dealt with the situation? I am a bit confused about what to expect in terms of behaviour, as it is not lesson-time and optional for the children/students; at the same time I feel like a failure if they're not showing some progress out of the sessions.

Not sure if it's too late now if it was really me who did the Y11s wrongs - for this age-group is it possible to rectify it?

Thank you for reading. Just thinking that maybe I need to change my approach or maybe it's a way of seeing the realities before the actual course begins... surely there'll be lots of similar moments for the year(s) ahead!

Reply 1

elldeegee

Original post by hana&feather

I have been doing 1 after-school mentoring sessions (for Y11s) and 1 after-school homework club (for Y3-4s) for some time, lately I am a bit dishearten by the behaviour :frown:

and have even started to question my ability to control the class when my PGCE starts...

When you're on your PGCE, you will be given tips at uni (and hopefully school) on how to improve your behaviour management skills.

The sessions with Y11s started rather well, with lively discussions but the students would try to get away with doing the minimal of written work.

Did they succeed? Did you make sure they did the work that was set? If you then let them get away with not doing enough work (I/e/ before Easter) they will use that and try and take the mick.

Then this week none of these students returned to the session. Obviously it's after-school and optional, and it is probable that coincidentally they all had something else to do, but it is really upsetting for me, thinking that I have totally messed it up last week.

They may have all had the same exam the next day, or a controlled assessment or something. If you're really worried speak to the HoD/Headteacher about it and see if they have any feedback for you.

Furthermore, today the Y3-4s were not working very well either, one boy kept talking about some bodily excretion, some did not have homework and were messing about in the library corner... telling them off only resulted in temporary silent then the noise picked up again...

They may have just been having an unsettled day... not that that's an excuse! What other punishments are there for their not behaving appropriately? Are the year 3/4 sessions also optional?

I am a bit confused about what to expect in terms of behaviour, as it is not lesson-time and optional for the children/students; at the same time I feel like a failure if they're not showing some progress out of the sessions.

are you sure that both classes are optional? And that they're not told to go by their parents/teachers? They may be not actually bothered about doing the work. Ask the teachers themselves for feedback. Sometimes progress isn't immediate in the session itself (which is why people often have a problem with Ofsted inspections) but if they've had a night or a few days for the material to be absorbed their teachers may be finding that the sessions are actually helping in ways that the students themselves don't actually recognise.

The best thing from transitioning between this sort of teaching to PGCE is that you will be a bit more of an authority figure and will be able to set detentions/sanctions a lot easier. The best thing from then transitioning from PGCE to NQT is that the students [begin to] see you as less of a "temporary teacher". This will also be the thing with your after school sessions, they will be seeing you as a temporary teacher and so trying to push you... It's not nice to generalise but that's how it is.
You will get sick an tired of hearing this phrase over the next couple of years buuuuuut: It does get better.

Reply 2

hana&feather

Original post by elldeegee

When you're on your PGCE, you will be given tips at uni (and hopefully school) on how to improve your behaviour management skills.

Did they succeed? Did you make sure they did the work that was set? If you then let them get away with not doing enough work (I/e/ before Easter) they will use that and try and take the mick.

They may have all had the same exam the next day, or a controlled assessment or something. If you're really worried speak to the HoD/Headteacher about it and see if they have any feedback for you.

They may have just been having an unsettled day... not that that's an excuse! What other punishments are there for their not behaving appropriately? Are the year 3/4 sessions also optional?

are you sure that both classes are optional? And that they're not told to go by their parents/teachers? They may be not actually bothered about doing the work. Ask the teachers themselves for feedback. Sometimes progress isn't immediate in the session itself (which is why people often have a problem with Ofsted inspections) but if they've had a night or a few days for the material to be absorbed their teachers may be finding that the sessions are actually helping in ways that the students themselves don't actually recognise.

The best thing from transitioning between this sort of teaching to PGCE is that you will be a bit more of an authority figure and will be able to set detentions/sanctions a lot easier. The best thing from then transitioning from PGCE to NQT is that the students [begin to] see you as less of a "temporary teacher". This will also be the thing with your after school sessions, they will be seeing you as a temporary teacher and so trying to push you... It's not nice to generalise but that's how it is.
You will get sick an tired of hearing this phrase over the next couple of years buuuuuut: It does get better.

Just want to say thank you very much! Today my mentee told me that her predicted grade has gone from B to A* - it is worth it after all, and she was a bit disappointed when I told her that I won't be mentoring next academic year.