{"version":"1.0.0","segments":[{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":101.35,"endTime":103.83999999999999,"body":"If you want better behaviour, start with connection, with relationships, because here's the truth-"},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":106.47,"endTime":107.85,"body":"you can't correct a child who doesn't feel safe with you."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":110.78999999999999,"endTime":114.03,"body":"When safety goes out of the window, logic goes with it."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":114.03,"endTime":120.21,"body":"So today I'm going to unpack what connection before correction really looks like in practise."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":120.21,"endTime":122.22,"body":"Not as a warm and fuzzy slogan, but as a science backed strategy for calmer classrooms."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":125.85,"endTime":133.29,"body":"We'll look at how connection acts as a biological buffer to stress, what's actually happening in a child's nervous system"},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":133.29,"endTime":138.53,"body":"and why some students resist connection even though they are the ones that need it the most."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":138.60999999999999,"endTime":146.79,"body":"So if you've ever found yourself thinking, I've tried being calm, I've tried being firm, and nothing's working with this student, then this episode's for you."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":148.55,"endTime":151.01,"body":"Hi there, my name's Simon Currigan and welcome to this week's episode of School Behaviour Secrets."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":153.99,"endTime":159.79,"body":"And I've spent the last week wondering what's happening to famed 90s rapper Ghostface Killer right now."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":159.79,"endTime":163.0,"body":"He was one of the founding members of the Wu Tang Clan, featured on a crossover hit On My Knees with the short lived girl band The 911."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":166.70999999999998,"endTime":169.99,"body":"And since the Noughties, he's just not popped up on my radar."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":170.07,"endTime":176.66,"body":"Maybe he's living quietly in Surrey now, teaching mindfulness and baking banana bread. I would love that."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":176.98,"endTime":184.33999999999997,"body":"Which brings me to today's episode, maybe awkwardly, because whether we're talking about rappers or we're talking about students,"},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":184.82,"endTime":189.54,"body":"when people lose connection they drift into survival mode."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":189.54,"endTime":193.45999999999998,"body":"And that's when things go wrong, especially in school, especially with kids."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":193.45999999999998,"endTime":200.16,"body":"So let's start by getting clear on what this phrase actually means. Connection to before correction."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":200.16,"endTime":205.04,"body":"Well, it doesn't mean letting the pupils get away with anything. It means this."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":205.2,"endTime":210.44,"body":"Before you can fix behaviour, you have to have a sense of safety."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":210.44,"endTime":212.24,"body":"That's what you've got to fix first."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":212.48,"endTime":220.07999999999998,"body":"Kids don't listen when they're scared, angry or ashamed. They listen when they feel safe. Connection before correction."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":220.16,"endTime":224.32,"body":"It's a concept made popular by psychologists Dan Hughes and Kim Golding."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":224.32,"endTime":226.42,"body":"And it's a way of reminding us not to put the logical cart before the emotional horse,"},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":230.04,"endTime":231.9,"body":"if you like. You have to tackle things in the right order, first things first."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":235.66,"endTime":238.75,"body":"And that starts when kids are dysregulated, especially when they're dysregulated with connection, with relationships,"},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":242.54,"endTime":245.69,"body":"because when they are dysregulated, it's very hard for their brain to deal with processing language or thinking ahead or being"},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":250.38,"endTime":255.82,"body":"logical or thinking flexibly, all key skills for resolving issues."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":256.29999999999995,"endTime":260.27,"body":"So if the child had a dispute with another child, actually what we want to do, our tendency is to rush in and kind of try"},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":260.27,"endTime":261.62,"body":"and unpick what, what happened in that disagreement."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":264.84000000000003,"endTime":270.03999999999996,"body":"But at that time, at that moment, the child's part of the brain that deals with that is kind of offline."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":270.2,"endTime":276.36,"body":"So it means we're trying to get the child to engage in a conversation that they literally can't connect with."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":276.44,"endTime":283.64,"body":"But when a child feels emotionally connected and safe with an adult, their nervous system settles."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":283.64,"endTime":290.44,"body":"That's when the thinking part of the brain comes back online finally and meaningful conversations about change become possible."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":290.6,"endTime":296.1,"body":"Because now they can access that conversation about why, what went right or wrong."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":296.1,"endTime":298.9,"body":"The mechanics of the brain are ready to kick into gear."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":298.9,"endTime":307.06,"body":"So while the traditional approach might say control first, relationship later, neuroscience, that tells us a different story."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":307.22,"endTime":315.86,"body":"It tells us we have to start with relationships first, when things go wrong, and then managing the situation and self control follows down the line."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":315.86,"endTime":317.65999999999997,"body":"So I want to dig into this a little bit deeper."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":317.65999999999997,"endTime":322.58,"body":"Every one of us has a built in alarm system. It's called the autonomic nervous system."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":322.58,"endTime":325.34000000000003,"body":"And it's always scanning the environment subconsciously."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":325.34000000000003,"endTime":331.08,"body":"It's not something we think about and it's always asking one key question, am I safe right now?"},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":331.08,"endTime":339.96000000000004,"body":"And when the answer is yes, we stay or we move to a calm, flexible state where we can think, we can listen and we can learn."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":339.96000000000004,"endTime":348.28,"body":"But when the answer to that question is no, when we sense there's a threat and even a subtle threat, like a sharp tone or"},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":348.28,"endTime":353.80999999999995,"body":"a tense expression, that alarm system hits the red panic button and, and the amygdala takes over."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":353.80999999999995,"endTime":356.89,"body":"The brain kind of moves up towards fight, flight or freeze."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":356.89,"endTime":364.45000000000005,"body":"And when the amygdala is running the show, the prefrontal cortex, that's the rational problem solving part of your brain that goes offline."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":364.45000000000005,"endTime":368.21000000000004,"body":"It powers down the voice, the logical voice in your brain."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":368.21000000000004,"endTime":370.65,"body":"The volume on it gets turned right down, it gets muted."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":370.65,"endTime":372.53,"body":"And that's what's known as amygdala hijack."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":372.53,"endTime":375.26,"body":"Which means reasoning with a dysregulated child is a bit like trying to fix your WI FI by shouting at the router."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":379.83000000000004,"endTime":382.54999999999995,"body":"It's not going to work until the system resets."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":382.71000000000004,"endTime":385.90999999999997,"body":"Yes, the classic turn it off and on again. So here's the good news."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":385.99,"endTime":394.22900000000004,"body":"Connection to a calm, trusted adult acts as a biological buffer to stress. It puts the brakes on stress."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":394.22900000000004,"endTime":401.59000000000003,"body":"When pupils feel connected to that adult, someone whose tone, their posture and their facial expressions say you're okay,"},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":401.66999999999996,"endTime":404.30999999999995,"body":"their heart rate drops, their cortisol drops, and that thinking part of their brain becomes active again."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":408.54999999999995,"endTime":412.37,"body":"Connection literally changes the way their biology is working."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":412.45000000000005,"endTime":419.25,"body":"And you can see this in the real world, see how quickly a distressed toddler calms when they see their parent and the parent"},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":419.25,"endTime":423.65,"body":"comforts them and meets them in that moment of connection, everything changes."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":423.65,"endTime":429.97,"body":"You can see it on their face, you can see it from the way they hold their body, you can see it from the way their muscles relax."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":430.04999999999995,"endTime":437.65,"body":"And that's crucial because many pupils are already walking into school carrying stress before the day even begins."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":437.77,"endTime":445.45000000000005,"body":"They're living with what we call an overload of pain. The primary areas of internal need. They're unbalanced, they're unstressed."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":445.53,"endTime":451.28999999999996,"body":"Those are the domains that push them towards anxiety or anger or frustration."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":451.37,"endTime":459.16999999999996,"body":"And in terms of our nervous system, when we're exposed to those primary areas of internal need and we don't have the emotional"},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":459.16999999999996,"endTime":466.82000000000005,"body":"tools to cope with them, well, that's like putting your foot down on the emotional accelerator, pushing you towards faster, higher stress."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":466.82000000000005,"endTime":470.78,"body":"For a full rundown of the pain framework, rewind to episode 246."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":470.78,"endTime":476.34000000000003,"body":"It's got loads more detail in it, but let's run through the areas quickly right here, right now."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":476.34000000000003,"endTime":481.58000000000004,"body":"These are the key areas identified by researchers like Stuart Shanker that fuel dysregulation."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":481.65999999999997,"endTime":487.02,"body":"So we've got physical pain, aspects like tiredness, hunger, sensory overload, emotional pain."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":487.02,"endTime":496.78999999999996,"body":"Are they carrying anger, guilt, shame, Are they experiencing cognitive pain, confusion, working memory issues, difficulty processing language and instructions? Social pain."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":496.78999999999996,"endTime":501.95000000000005,"body":"Do they feel rejected or excluded by peers or adults? Pro social pain."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":501.95000000000005,"endTime":507.789,"body":"Do they lack a sense of purpose or contribution, or don't know how to contribute or work within the social group?"},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":507.78999999999996,"endTime":517.03,"body":"Each one of those adds weight to a pupil's stress load and connection actually helps lighten that load. It's like a seesaw."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":517.03,"endTime":525.01,"body":"On the one hand, we've got the stresses weighing the seesaw down, and on the other, we've got relationships and connection balancing, balancing out those pressures."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":525.01,"endTime":533.45,"body":"And when we connect, before we correct, we reduce stress across every one of those primary areas of internal need."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":533.61,"endTime":543.05,"body":"We are saying through our behaviour, you're safe here. And once safety returns, flexibility returns. The child can think logically again."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":543.13,"endTime":550.81,"body":"They can listen to what you're saying, they can repair, they can have that reasonable conversation about what happened. But here's the catch."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":550.81,"endTime":553.0,"body":"The pupils who need connection the most, they're often the ones who resist it the hardest."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":556.97,"endTime":559.85,"body":"For children affected by trauma or adverse childhood experiences say they've got a background of domestic abuse,"},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":563.21,"endTime":564.56,"body":"well, for them, adults might not be a source of comfort."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":566.65,"endTime":570.49,"body":"Maybe they've learned the hard lesson that adults are a source of danger."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":570.49,"endTime":578.73,"body":"So their nervous system has learned a simple rule. Adults aren't safe. Avoid them. Distrust them. They're not reliable."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":579.05,"endTime":584.57,"body":"Keep adults at arm's length because they can turn on you at any time, that sort of thing."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":584.73,"endTime":592.83,"body":"So when a teacher or a teacher assistant leans in to help a child who's absorbed those messages, their body actually screams danger."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":592.83,"endTime":603.5500000000001,"body":"And they push away, or they lash out, or they shut down, even though deep down they're desperate for that connection at a biological level. And that creates a vicious cycle."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":603.5500000000001,"endTime":607.51,"body":"They need adult support, but they don't trust the adults."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":607.59,"endTime":613.75,"body":"And that lack of trust actually fuels their dysregulation, meaning that they now need even more adult support."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":613.75,"endTime":618.97,"body":"But they can't accept that which dysregulates them further and they get stuck in a doom loop."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":618.97,"endTime":623.25,"body":"So for them, trust with adults is like standing on thin ice."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":623.25,"endTime":632.0500000000001,"body":"They don't trust that it will bear their weight, so they're waiting for the surface to crack and swallow them up at any moment."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":632.0500000000001,"endTime":639.57,"body":"The only way to prove that the ice isn't going to crack is through time, it's through consistency, and it's through calm."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":639.8100000000001,"endTime":644.53,"body":"So for these kind of students, connection isn't a one off technique. It's not a silver bullet."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":644.8100000000001,"endTime":651.97,"body":"It's not something you're going to achieve this morning or in a lesson or in one or two interactions. It's a long game."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":651.97,"endTime":658.33,"body":"It's the quiet repetition of safety cues, a calm voice, a predictable response. No surprises."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":658.41,"endTime":660.9300000000001,"body":"And the thing is, you build up trust with these kids. Gram by gram. That's how trust starts to rebuild."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":665.9300000000001,"endTime":672.45,"body":"And it's something I'm going to explore in more detail in a book that I'm writing right now, which goes into depth about all these techniques."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":672.45,"endTime":673.77,"body":"But that's going to be in the future."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":673.77,"endTime":675.8100000000001,"body":"I'm just going to leave that there as a teaser."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":675.8100000000001,"endTime":680.03,"body":"And before we go on to okay, you've described the problem. Now how do we actually connect?"},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":680.03,"endTime":686.91,"body":"Before we correct the nuts and bolts, I'd like to say if you're finding this episode useful, hit subscribe so you never miss a future episode."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":686.91,"endTime":694.71,"body":"And if you could leave a quick review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, it really helps more teachers and school leaders find this kind of support."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":694.7900000000001,"endTime":701.4300000000001,"body":"And it gives me an excuse to pretend I'm checking podcast analytics instead of just scrolling through Facebook."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":702.3100000000001,"endTime":705.0,"body":"I'll minimise the app the moment anyone comes into the office."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":705.16,"endTime":708.5600000000001,"body":"And don't forget, you can also grab our free Send Behaviour Handbook."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":708.5600000000001,"endTime":716.6800000000001,"body":"It is packed with guides about ADHD and autism and trauma, plus a behaviour analysis grid to help you link the classroom behaviours"},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":716.6800000000001,"endTime":719.32,"body":"you're seeing to possible underlying needs in your students."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":719.32,"endTime":725.64,"body":"It's not there for us as teachers or educationalists to try and make a lay diagnosis. It's not about that at all."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":725.64,"endTime":731.96,"body":"But it's helping us link what we're seeing in the classroom to possible underlying causes so we can get the right professionals"},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":731.96,"endTime":735.23,"body":"involved and we can start putting in place early intervention."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":735.62,"endTime":736.6,"body":"You will find the link in the show notes."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":737.1,"endTime":740.5400000000001,"body":"You can open up your podcast app and click on this episode and you'll see the link there."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":740.5400000000001,"endTime":744.1700000000001,"body":"Or you can go direct to beaconschoolsupport.co.uk/send-handbook. That's beaconschoolsupport.co.uk/send-handbook. So let's get practical."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":756.94,"endTime":759.78,"body":"How do you connect before you correct?"},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":759.78,"endTime":763.5400000000001,"body":"One of the simplest and most powerful tools for doing this is the PACE approach."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":763.78,"endTime":768.16,"body":"Playfulness, Acceptance, Curiosity and Empathy, developed by Dan Hughes."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":768.16,"endTime":776.36,"body":"And it's designed specifically to help children feel safe emotionally in moments of stress. So let's break it down. Playfulness first."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":776.36,"endTime":783.9200000000001,"body":"Playfulness is about warmth and lightness, and it doesn't mean cracking a joke during a child's meltdown or explosion."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":783.9200000000001,"endTime":791.28,"body":"But it does mean potentially playing the long game by backing off from talking about expectations and boundaries, which increase"},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":791.76,"endTime":800.86,"body":"the pressure in an interaction when the child obviously cannot cope with it, and using tone and micro humour as a release valve to signal safety."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":800.86,"endTime":805.9,"body":"To say, this situation you're in right now that you're finding difficult, that's giving you heightened emotions."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":805.9,"endTime":810.5400000000001,"body":"This situation is resolvable and it is not the end of the world."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":810.5400000000001,"endTime":820.22,"body":"So it's a half smile, a calm voice, maybe even a light comment, like after a student rips up their worksheet, say, yeah, I know. Trigonometry makes me furious too."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":820.3000000000001,"endTime":824.38,"body":"What you're saying in moments like that is, I'm not a threat."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":824.5400000000001,"endTime":827.5,"body":"It's not the end of the world. Let's lower the temperature here."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":827.58,"endTime":834.6800000000001,"body":"Acceptance is acceptance, as in, we're going to accept where the child is right now, whether we're comfortable with that or not."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":834.6800000000001,"endTime":839.0,"body":"And we're going to accept the emotion they're experiencing whether we agree with it or not."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":839.08,"endTime":841.72,"body":"It's acceptance, as in, this is where we are."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":841.72,"endTime":845.0,"body":"We are where we are right now and we need to deal with it effectively."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":845.08,"endTime":846.25,"body":"It is not acceptance, as in any behaviour goes,"},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":849.36,"endTime":851.4,"body":"any behaviour is okay, so it's saying things like, I can see you're angry right now."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":853.96,"endTime":855.52,"body":"That works far better than calm down or stop breaking the rules."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":857.4,"endTime":864.15,"body":"It gives the feeling permission to exist while keeping clear boundaries on the behaviour you're seeing in the room."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":864.15,"endTime":870.23,"body":"And what you're doing here is you're separating the child from their actions. So that's playfulness and acceptance."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":870.23,"endTime":878.23,"body":"Curiosity is replacing accusational speech and thoughts like, you know the school rules about speaking respectfully to me,"},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":878.23,"endTime":882.11,"body":"with wondering and being curious about what's driving that."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":882.11,"endTime":889.87,"body":"So saying things like, I wonder if it felt unfair when I told you you couldn't use the computers. Curiosity invites conversation."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":889.87,"endTime":894.5500000000001,"body":"It turns a confrontation, it pivots it into a collaborative discussion."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":894.5500000000001,"endTime":898.4300000000001,"body":"And when you get curious, you engage the thinking brain."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":898.83,"endTime":901.149,"body":"Rather than firing up the defensive one."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":901.149,"endTime":904.99,"body":"It leads you to the underlying problem that's causing the behaviour."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":904.99,"endTime":910.47,"body":"Rather than just focusing on the surface level behaviour itself, it leads you to better answers as an adult."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":910.47,"endTime":913.19,"body":"And then finally, we've got E for empathy."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":913.19,"endTime":918.39,"body":"Show that you feel with them, not for them. Because empathy is different to sympathy."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":918.47,"endTime":922.99,"body":"So saying things like \"that sounds tough I used to do trigonometry in school."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":922.99,"endTime":924.94,"body":"I found it really hard and I got frustrated too\". Sharing shared experiences."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":927.989,"endTime":930.75,"body":"Empathy tells the child that they're not alone."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":930.75,"endTime":934.5500000000001,"body":"Because when you're on your own, that's a lonely, difficult, scary place to be."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":934.63,"endTime":938.0500000000001,"body":"That simple act helps quiet the child's amygdala, their alarm, and it starts bringing the prefrontal cortex back online. And remember,"},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":944.0500000000001,"endTime":949.0600000000001,"body":"empathy means connecting and acknowledging the causes for their actions and their perceptions, rather than agreeing with what the child says or condoning them. It's about listening and connecting."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":954.61,"endTime":963.33,"body":"Because after we've used the PACE approach and we've got things calm, then we'll move into problem solving and putting limits on behaviour and so on."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":963.41,"endTime":969.01,"body":"So PACE gets the child into an emotional state where we can then deal with the underlying problem."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":969.09,"endTime":971.89,"body":"When you use pace, you're not being soft."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":971.97,"endTime":974.53,"body":"What you're actually doing is you're being strategic."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":974.61,"endTime":981.87,"body":"You're creating the where correction can actually work and be effective and lead to change in the future, rather than a child"},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":981.87,"endTime":987.71,"body":"just going around and around and around, stuck in a pattern of behaviour because they're not learning or growing, they're"},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":987.71,"endTime":994.03,"body":"not gaining the tools to deal with the situation that they're out of their depth in, which fueled their emotions. So here's your takeaway."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":994.03,"endTime":998.11,"body":"Correction only works when the brain feels safe enough to learn."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":998.11,"endTime":1003.6700000000001,"body":"Connection isn't the reward for good behaviour, it's the route to achieving it."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":1003.6700000000001,"endTime":1012.5400000000001,"body":"So this week, try picking one student who struggles to trust adults, who becomes dysregulated focus on connecting before correcting."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":1012.5400000000001,"endTime":1018.86,"body":"A calm tone, a curious question, a small act of empathy, and watch what happens."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":1018.86,"endTime":1020.33,"body":"And bear in mind, I did say this approach built trust gram by gram."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":1024.58,"endTime":1028.82,"body":"So you're thinking about the long term, not whether it works in a single day."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":1028.8999999999999,"endTime":1032.29,"body":"Because for a child carrying stress or carrying trauma, your calm presence isn't just nice to have it's their nervous system safety net."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":1038.1,"endTime":1045.96,"body":"You become external regulator, the safety valve that helps them find their internal regulation. And that's where real change begins."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":1045.96,"endTime":1051.96,"body":"If today's episode gave you something useful, something practical you can actually use in your classroom, please remember"},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":1051.96,"endTime":1058.04,"body":"to hit subscribe so you never miss the next one and potentially share it with another colleague or two who'd find it useful."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":1058.04,"endTime":1062.04,"body":"Your podcast app makes sharing an episode really easy to do."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":1062.04,"endTime":1068.2,"body":"All you have to do is hit the share button just like you do on social media, and you can send them a direct link to this episode."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":1068.2,"endTime":1074.19,"body":"And while you've got the app open, I would really appreciate it if you could support me on the podcast and leave a rating"},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":1074.19,"endTime":1078.79,"body":"and review, because that tells the algorithm the podcast is worth highlighting to other listeners."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":1078.79,"endTime":1083.74,"body":"That helps us grow, but it also helps us spread these techniques to teachers and school leaders who really need to hear them. That's it for today. That's all I've got for you. My name's Simon Currigan."},{"speaker":"Simon Currigan","startTime":1088.75,"endTime":1092.67,"body":"Thank you for listening and I'll see you next time on School Behaviour Secrets."}]}