Things started to fall apart about a month into the school year.

I had one student who wasn’t talking to anyone, while half the girls were struggling with a new girl joining their friendship group. 

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The others were engaging in “mean girl” behaviour while the boys who played football were constantly fighting. 

A solid class management plan, consistently delivered, still wasn’t solving the underlying problem.

It took a couple of well-timed interventions to finally figure out what was going on. The cause was transition - both of those who had arrived and those who had stayed behind while old friends had left.

Transition pains

Transition comes with a lot of loss and grief. There’s also uncertainty and fear, no matter how exciting the next move will be.

Any of these feelings can manifest in class as challenging behaviour. 

Students need more support around transition than we might realise. Understanding that behaviour signals an unmet need requires us to address the need as well as the issue at hand. 

A good first step is to provide students with outlets for their thoughts and feelings.

1. Touch base with new students regularly in their first month

Even a couple minutes makes a huge difference. Ask them about their old school, their previous life or old friends.

Many students have never had their losses from this process recognised, and these conversations can make a difference

2. Provide a Raft 

The Raft (reconciliation, affirmation, farewell and think destination) approach can help to prepare students for leaving. Students sometimes start arguments in order to avoid having to say goodbye, and the Raft technique can preempt unnecessary conflicts and misbehaviour

3. Address the language barrier

Reduce language barrier frustrations by providing extra lessons in the main language of the school.

Building a community

From here, it then becomes a case of fostering a sense of belonging in the new setting.

Choose activities that build community in the classroom, enabling students to come as they are, knowing that their voices and experiences matter.

4. Daily morning meetings

This provides a way to build a community. For example, include greetings in different languages, a cooperative game and share information about a social, emotional and mental health (SEMH) topic, class concern or success.

5. ‘What I wish my teacher knew’ letters

After modelling a letter, I get the class to write down three things they want their teacher to know that would help them to feel more understood. This is a confidential piece of written work (I give students the option to draw and speak in private) which provides insight into the challenges each young person faces and how best to support them

6. Gratitude line

This is an activity that involves splitting the class into two lines facing each other. Choose one student and get everyone else to say one thing about them that they are grateful for.

Each week a new student goes through the line and hears what they bring to the class and why they matter.

Fostering friendships

Lastly, you then need to try and find subtle but meaningful ways for the children to build relationships with one another.

This can be hard in an international setting where friendships can end abruptly, but it’s still hugely worthwhile.

7. Intervene

Encourage more play dates/meet-ups among students in your classes. Meeting outside of school can help to strengthen connections.

8. Get creative

Build in regular opportunities for creative group projects and teach group working skills.

When you have people from different cultures and backgrounds working together, it helps students to consider the way they communicate to ensure everyone feels respected and can get involved.

Testing times

Moving is one of the most stressful events that people go through at all ages of life. As such there’s no reason it should be different for students.

Resilience is not something that all children just possess - they must be supported to develop it.

Some of our students need more support in building their resilience than others and that is often revealed through their behaviour.

Sandra Vanhoekelen has taught internationally for more than 16 years. She currently supports English as an additional language (EAL) learners at International Community School in London, and consults on neurodiversity and student wellbeing at international schools