Students with Emotional Learning Barriers
Supporting Pupils who Have Suffered Child Abuse
Apr 5, 2009
According to the report Child Maltreatment in the UK (2000) conducted by the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC), one in ten children suffer some form of abuse, whether it is emotional, physical or sexual. Such children are vulnerable to underachievement and exclusion.
Supporting Learners with Emotional Learning Barriers in Class
Every Child Matters founds itself upon these rights of children:
- A right to be healthy
- To stay safe
- To enjoy and achieve through learning
- To make a positive contribution to society
- To achieve economic well-being
Negative parenting styles are likely to pose a threat to these rights.
What are Parenting Styles?
Broadly there are three types:
- Authoritarian: A strict, disciplined upbringing with many boundaries. The child may be physically abused and chastised.
- Laissez-faire: A permissive approach with abundant freedom. The child may be neglected.
- Authorative: A balance between the two. The child needs boundaries to feel secure, and enough freedom to build confidence.
Authoritarian and Laissez-faire are negative parenting styles and will impact upon the child’s self-esteem and upon their learning.
How to Tell if a Student has Suffered Negative Parenting
- Issues with authority figures
- A refusal to learn due to low self-esteem
- Oversensitive to criticism, even if it is well-intended
- Defiance, aggression and bullying due to anger displacement
- Impaired cognitive development
- Withdrawn behaviour
- Vulnerability to truancy and exclusion
How to Support Students with Emotional Barriers
A positive teacher and student relationship could help prevent the student from exclusion. The following strategies may help enhance the child’s learning experience in Further Education.
- Ensure they experience success in learning
- Have realistic expectations
- Clear objectives
- Break tasks in to small chunks
- Value their opinion
- Display their work
- Offer choices
- Promote independent learning
- The arrangement of the learning environment is sensitive to the learner’s needs (SEN)
- Positive reinforcement through body language and tone of voice
- Praise and praise again
Counselling for Students with Emotional Learning Barriers
The appointed Child Protection officer protects the rights of children. The Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS), offers confidential support for young adults who suffer mental health problems such as depression. If a student has a supporting statement of a need (known as Behavioural, Emotional and social Development, BESD), they will be provided with a learning mentor.
Enhancing the Learning of Students with Emotional Barriers
Every Child Matters protects the right of children and raises awareness of the effects of negative parenting styles. The Further Education Sector has a support mechanism in place, but it is ultimately up to the student to follow this up. However, the teacher can do much to raise the self-esteem of students and to enhance their learning.
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