Education Q&A – July 2024

Could a scripted response make us all sound like robots? (Anonymous) 

What is a scripted intervention?

Scripted interventions give a clear plan for how you’re going to have a conversation with a student when they are displaying negative behaviour. 

Often you have already given the student a few gentle nudges to behaviour positively and you now need to apply a sanction, draw a line, and reintroduce the boundaries with them. 

Scripted interventions should be no more than 30 second conversations that you have with many pupils once, twice, or even 10 times a day. 

The scripted response details how, even with the most challenging students, you’re going to get in, deliver the message and get out with your dignity intact and the dignity of the child intact.  

Personalise your response  

When using scripted interventions, it is important to consider: 

• The scripts are not set in stone, tailor them to your needs. 

• Use the principles and general structure as a guide so there’s a commonality within your school where the scripts follow a similar pattern of philosophy – that’s where the consistency lies. 

• They need to be your scripts – consider using your own language that’s familiar to you. 

• You don’t have to have the same scripts for every adult in the school. Let staff add their personality to their own script. 

Model self-regulation in the classroom 

The main aim of a scripted intervention is to remove negative emotions from your response. Although not robotic, the scripted responses are particularly powerful when you/your emotions are removed from the delivery. Go through the mechanics and repeat.  Save your emotions for when learners deserve them the most. 

Learn more about scripted interventions and how to introduce them into your classroom.