Page 11 - Course Handbook 2022 2023
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Unit 2: Brain Control
What skills do we need to do well in learning & play?
What should I practise now?
SKILLS TO PRACTISE / STRENGTHEN RAG
1 Teach children Executive Function Skills – spend time teaching and practising each of the Executive
Function Skills. Help all children to really understand them, know the steps to success in getting great at
them and track their own progress. See our separate Top Tips on how to teach each Executive Function Skill.
2 Use terms ‘helpful’ and unhelpful’ rather than good or bad e.g. Quick-switching attention is helpful when
playing a game of basketball but not so helpful when reading important information; rigidity is helpful
when saying no to bullying but not so helpful when needing to compromise when working as a team.
3 Give children lots of opportunity for rehearsal so they can make good decisions automatically. This will
mean they do not have to rely on their Executive Function skills at times when they are experiencing
stressors and these skills are likely to be compromised. E.g. If a child finds it hard to manage when they
think they cannot do well at a task, recreate the experience and guide them through it – helping them to
develop strategies to manage at each stage; repeat this over and over again until the strategies become
automatic. Or, if a child often gets aggressive when things don’t go their way, help them to decide how they
would like to respond and try to recreate similar situations and rehearse this over and over again.
4 Always Prep4Best before tasks. Help children think through what may go wrong (predict to prevent) and
how it could go right (plan to succeed). Prep4Best and rehearsal gives people a better chance to do well,
even when emotions are high.
5 Help children to think about the Executive Function Skills needed BEFORE starting something:
E.g. “You will be with other children for this activity. It will need lots of Flexible Thinking to take turns, listen
to the ideas of others and go along with the ideas of most people in the group, even if you disagree. What
support do you need to do well in this teamwork?” (If children cannot think of anything, make suggestions).
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