The practical guidance here is useful for teachers who want to learn more about positive behaviour support and to get tips on how to use it to support young people in the classroom environment. However, parents will likely find the advice useful too.
We also discuss the interplay between PBS and SEN (Special Educational Needs) and strategies for using the positive behavioural support framework to support autistic people, children with a learning disability and other criteria for educational support.
What is Positive Behaviour Support (PBS) in the UK?
PBS or Positive Behaviour Support is an evidence-based approach aimed at supporting individuals who exhibit behaviours of concern (challenging behaviours). It emphasises assessing, managing, and preventing these behaviours through a collaborative and proactive approach to enhance the quality of life for the individual while reducing the occurrence of behaviours of concern.
Rather than reacting to behaviour after it occurs, PBS focuses on proactive strategies—assessing the reasons behind behaviour, teaching alternative skills, and creating supportive environments to reduce triggers and promote positive interactions. It aims to improve quality of life, increase independence, and reduce the need for restrictive or punitive interventions.
What Does PBS Replace?
PBS moves away from traditional behaviour management systems that rely on punishment, sanctions, exclusion, or reward charts alone. In the past, managing challenging behaviour in schools often meant using reactive measures such as detentions, suspensions, physical restraint (restrictive practices), or exclusion. These approaches were not always effective, particularly for neurodivergent pupils or those with special educational needs, and often failed to address the root causes of behaviour.
PBS replaces this with a more holistic and ethical model, grounded in:
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Functional Behaviour Assessment (FBA)
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Person-centred planning
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Teaching alternative skills
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Environmental adaptations
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Collaborative support involving educators, families, and specialists
By shifting the focus from discipline to understanding and support, PBS is increasingly seen as a more humane and effective approach, especially in inclusive education settings.
PBS is not just good practice, it's a person centred approach to behaviour that gives the right support in a person's life so they can thrive and develop alongside their peers.
It recognises that behaviours of concern always have a root cause and is more about creating a support network around the young people in the classroom to minimise triggers and develop an environment in which everyone feels their needs are met.
Support for PBS Across the UK
Across the four nations of the UK, education inspectorates and government bodies are increasingly promoting Positive Behaviour Support—or similar trauma-informed, relationship-based approaches—as part of school improvement and inclusive education strategies.
England (Ofsted)
Ofsted encourages a positive, predictable, and safe environment that promotes good behaviour through relationship-building, clear expectations, and emotional literacy. While Ofsted does not mandate PBS specifically, it supports evidence-based approaches that reduce exclusion and improve outcomes for pupils with additional needs. Schools are rewarded in inspections for creating inclusive cultures that proactively manage behaviour rather than relying on exclusion or punitive discipline.
Ofsted’s 2023 guidance on behaviour and attitudes calls for a "whole-school approach" that prioritises consistency, emotional wellbeing, and respectful relationships—principles aligned with PBS.
Wales (Estyn)
In Wales, the national framework for supporting well-being and behaviour is closely aligned with PBS principles. Estyn, the education inspectorate, supports the Whole School Approach to Emotional and Mental Wellbeing, which includes understanding pupil behaviour through emotional and social development, rather than just managing surface behaviour.
Welsh Government policy encourages the use of trauma-informed practices and restorative approaches, especially in Additional Learning Needs (ALN) provision—again echoing the aims of PBS in creating supportive, individualised responses.
Scotland (Education Scotland)
Scotland promotes nurture, inclusion, and relationships as the foundation of good behaviour management. The Scottish Government's Included, Engaged and Involved guidance explicitly calls for alternatives to exclusion and encourages approaches that explore the underlying causes of behaviour. The Getting it Right for Every Child (GIRFEC)framework aligns well with PBS, promoting early intervention, multi-agency working, and child-centred planning.
Education Scotland also supports restorative practices, de-escalation techniques, and adjustments to meet individual needs, creating a clear pathway for PBS principles to thrive in Scottish classrooms.
Northern Ireland (ETI)
In Northern Ireland, the Education Training Inspectorate (ETI) supports the Department of Education’s focus on social and emotional learning, mental health, and behaviour as communication. Initiatives like the Wellbeing Framework and EOTAS (Education Other Than At School) services promote tailored approaches for children with complex needs.
While PBS is not mandated, there is growing support for practices that align with PBS—particularly in special schools and SEMH units, where functional assessment and collaborative planning are increasingly embedded.
Steps to Implementing Positive Behaviour Support in Your School
Introducing Positive Behaviour Support (PBS) into your school doesn’t require an overnight overhaul—it’s a journey of improving understanding, collaboration, and consistent practice. Whether you’re working in a mainstream classroom, a specialist provision, or a PRU (Pupil Referral Unit), PBS provides a proactive framework for reducing behaviours of concern and improving pupil outcomes—especially for those with Special Educational Needs (SEN).
Step 1: Build Awareness and Shared Understanding
The first step is to help your whole team—teachers, teaching assistants, SENCOs, and leadership—develop a shared understanding of what behaviour really is through some PBS training. PBS starts with the principle that behaviour is communication, and that our role is to understand what it’s telling us.
Use this resource to introduce the concept of behaviours of concern:
What is Behaviour of Concern? 10 Examples and Common Causes
Step 2: Learn the Foundations of PBS
PBS is not about quick fixes—it’s about person-centred, evidence-informed practice. At its core, PBS involves understanding behaviour, identifying its function, and developing tailored strategies to meet individual needs.
Begin by exploring:
Behaviours of Concern and Positive Behaviour Support Overview
Positive Behaviour Support and the Behaviour Help Cycle
Step 3: Train Staff in Functional Behaviour Assessment (FBA)
Effective PBS depends on high-quality Functional Behaviour Assessments. These help identify the why behind a behaviour—its triggers, patterns, and purpose—and form the basis for a tailored support plan.
You can learn more about the process of FBA here:
Functional Behaviour Assessment Explained
Training staff in FBA doesn’t have to be overwhelming—start with one or two case studies, and build experience together as a team.
Step 4: Use the Behaviour Help App to Put PBS into Practice
To make the process easier, the Behaviour Help App provides everything schools need to assess, track, and support pupils through a PBS framework.
Introducting...The Behaviour Help App
Your All-in-One AI Tool for FBAs and PBS plans
You’re doing important work. That’s why we built the Behaviour Help App — to make it easier to track behaviour trends, identify patterns, and develop meaningful, person-centred strategies.
The Behaviour Help App: Your All-in-One Tool for FBAs and PBS
Designed to support UK schools, the app helps you:
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Conduct Functional Behaviour Assessments step by step
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Track behavioural patterns over time with smart data insights
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Create person-centred PBS plans informed by AI
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Collaborate with parents, SENCOs, and multi-agency professionals
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Save time and reduce paperwork so you can focus on pupil wellbeing
“You’re doing important work. That’s why we built the Behaviour Help App — to make it easier to track behaviour trends, identify patterns, and develop meaningful, person-centred strategies.”
Explore it here: https://behaviourhelp.com/behaviour-help-app
Step 5: Embed PBS in Whole-School Practice
Once individual staff are trained, the next step is embedding PBS into your school culture. This might include:
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Adding PBS into behaviour policies and SEN support plans
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Holding regular PBS meetings to review and update plans
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Providing time for collaboration across teams
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Building PBS into your CPD offer or SEND strategy
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Reflecting PBS values in the school’s ethos: inclusion, respect, consistency, and support
Positive Behavioural Support With a SEN Focus
Young people with Special Educational Needs (SEN) often face additional barriers to learning, social engagement, and emotional regulation. These challenges can increase the likelihood of behaviours of concern—not because the child is being deliberately difficult, but because they are communicating unmet needs in the only way they can.
Why Are SEN Pupils More Prone to Behaviours of Concern?
Children with SEN may struggle with areas that directly affect behaviour, such as:
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Communication difficulties (e.g., non-verbal pupils, limited expressive language)
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Sensory processing differences (e.g., becoming overwhelmed in noisy or busy environments)
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Cognitive or emotional regulation challenges (e.g., anxiety, frustration, poor impulse control)
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Social understanding and interaction (e.g., interpreting body language or social cues, Autism)
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Changes in routine or unstructured times (e.g., transitions between lessons or unexpected changes)
For many of these pupils, behaviours of concern are not a choice, but a form of communication—a signal that something is wrong, or that they are not coping in the current environment.
Traditional behaviour systems—such as reward charts or sanctions—often fail these pupils, as they do not address the root causes of behaviour and may unintentionally escalate stress or anxiety.
How PBS Supports SEN Pupils
Positive Behaviour Support (PBS) offers a compassionate, structured, and effective approach that recognises these underlying needs when supporting people. It provides a tailored framework for understanding behaviour in the context of each child’s unique strengths, challenges, and environment.
Key benefits of PBS for children with SEN include:
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Person-Centred Support: PBS begins with a deep understanding of the individual—diagnoses, communication needs, sensory profile, preferences, and triggers. This ensures the support plan is tailored, respectful, and meaningful.
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Functional Behaviour Assessment (FBA): PBS looks at why the behaviour occurs—what need it is fulfilling. For example, a child may lash out not because they are “naughty” but because they cannot express pain, or are overwhelmed by sensory input. The FBA establishes this.
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Proactive Strategies: PBS focuses on preventing escalation. This might include reducing environmental stressors, offering visual supports, building in regular sensory breaks, or adjusting tasks to the pupil’s cognitive level.
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Skill Building: Rather than just stopping unwanted behaviour, PBS teaches replacement behaviours—such as how to ask for help, self-regulate, or cope with frustration—giving the pupil more tools to succeed.
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Inclusive Practice: PBS enables pupils with SEN to stay included in mainstream settings by reducing the need for restrictive interventions, suspensions, or exclusions.
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Collaboration with Families and Professionals: For pupils with complex needs, PBS involves joined-up support—including parents, teachers, SENCOs, therapists, and support staff. This helps ensure consistency across school, home, and community settings.
A Pathway to Better Outcomes
By focusing on understanding, prevention, and support, PBS creates a more compassionate and effective way of managing behaviour for children with SEN. It recognises that behaviour is communication and that the key to change lies not in punishment, but in connection, structure, and support.