What to 'do' and 'not do' in schools

Recently knowing my upcoming adventures when going into schools it is causing me to recall memories of people I have encountered- whether that be in daily chit-chat, through the internet, or things I might have heard other professionals state that they have or have not done before.

To anyone who is doing research within schools or just generally with children, I completely understand that it can be daunting going into a new setting, and a few tips beforehand about how to conduct yourself is duly appreciated.

SO, here in this article I just wanted to give you a bit more guidance. Here are a few pointers as what to do and what not to do as a professional working with children or going into schools. These are from me, others, professionals and what we have all seen and learnt along the way.

Do

• Try to smile at all of the children and say 'Hello'. Sometimes just simply saying hello is a nice prompt to a child that you do not mean to be intimidating, and can make them comfortable more quickly.
• Have patience with them. Some may struggle which can cause them to feel self conscious, some might be easily bored, some might seem like they would rather chat. Make sure to try and gauge their attitudes, and always be patient when encouraging and prompting them.
• Try to remember their names as quite often someone saying your name can just make them feel more at ease around you to help them understand that you understand them and know them, and can just make them happier to work with you.
• Learn the schools policies beforehand. For example, it might really help you to know what their policies are for you if a child has disclosed something personally. (As far as I am aware in ALL schools anything sensitive/bad/scary relating to their potential safety which is disclosed to you needs to be reported discreetly and immediately to a Teacher.) More often than not the policies may also be helpful for answering any questions that you may have beforehand and may put your mind at ease.
• Make sure to ask if you do not know something. There is never any shame in potentially not knowing your way around, or when break is or what you can do/ cannot do. Always just make sure to ask as 9 times out of 10 I can guarantee that they will know the answers and help solve your problem.
• Do speak softly to the child at all time, even if they may be acting difficult.
• Try to let them get as comfortable with you as possible, and try to accommodate for this as much as you can. Let them get to know you if that makes them more comfortable around you, or it may help them to talk about themselves to you. Try to act encouraging with this, and make sure to encourage them generally. Even if they are really struggling, let them know how well they are doing because even just for trying something that is difficult, they are doing fantastically well, and it can really help them to know how well they are doing (even for just trying). 

Do NOT

• Do not shout at the children even if they are being uncooperative and unresponsive, they either do not want to do the work, or can be prompted through patient encouragement. You may not feel like you can prompt them to concentrate sometimes, but you will. If you shout at them, it will immediately put up their barriers, remember that they are actually doing you a favour by participating in your study.
• Try not to be alone or secluded with a child, always either have a colleague with you, leave doors open or sit in quite yet visible areas of the school. One favoured is often the seating areas and tables within the hallways outside of the classrooms, as these are visible areas yet are secluded enough for the child to not feel too pressured when attempting to work with you. This just means that the school have more of a preview of what you are doing with the children (and I often find they are delightfully intrigued!), and hey if they find it interesting and you ever want to go back they already have an idea of what you might be doing. It also just means that you will have more of a chance to get a teachers help if needed (and can cover both your back and the teachers if you do this. After all, if a child vomits all over the place, you are not the one filling out the paperwork, the teacher is an had more of an opportunity to do so accurately when you are visible to them.
• DO NOT GET YOUR PHONE OUT. Jesus, the amount of people that I have talked to that get their phone out to just leave on the table, or who get it out to use as timers (EVEN WHEN THEY HAVE BEEN TOLD NOT TOO). This is the rule of ALL schools. You are not an exception, you are on their grounds, you abide by their rules. If you were a professional within the school you would do this anyway, so as a professional visiting the school, you still hold true to these rules. It is not a pointless rule, it is their for yours, the teachers AND the children's safety. Why risk having your phone out- no one can know what you are doing on it, and children could make assumptions that you might be taking a picture when you are looking at your timer. You do not know and you shouldn't risk it. You also in most cases should be giving more attention to the child than to your phone, otherwise, why are you there.
  *Disclaimer: This doesn't usually apply to staff specific areas in most schools, but check with the school as to whether they are happy for you to have it out in the staff room if you have emails to check. But the school will let you know what they are comfortable with and where. 

Hopefully this helps! If you still have any questions about what you might be expecting, always feel free to message the school with your questions, or feel free to ask any general questions on here! In conclusion i would say, DO be nice, kind and intuitive, DO NOT ignore the school, their rules/ needs or the children's needs. So I sincerely hope that you can go in and absolutely smash it, go get 'em!



(P.s. a lot of these will be appreciated by the school as well as the children and their parents.)