Children who Run out of Class/School within Education
By Richard Kizis - Added 21st of December 2008Children who Run
Some children who are angry can be called ‘runners’, this can be fine if they stop on school grounds and teacher can see where they are, this coping strategy developed by individual children when they are angry, giving them time to calm down. For children who run out of the gates it’s a different story and all sorts of dangers become apparent. If this occurs most children will go to the gate and wait at the opening this could be due to a point of no return or they feel unsafe to go out the gate, nine times out of ten when an adult goes out to them they will walk through the gate as they feel safe to do so. The way I deal with this situation is when I approach the child I will always keep calm, talk quietly and never order a child to come over, this indicates to the child anger and could possibly cause the child to go out of the gate. I keep my distance no closer than ten yards to the child, ask them if they are you ready to talk, if I get an aggressive response they are not ready, proceeding at this point could make the child go through the gates, patience’s is the key. When the child is willing to talk walk back into school, avoid discussing the problems that caused the child to run off in the first place, this may trigger the child to run back to the gate and the whole process will have to start again. Wait until you are in school to discuss what had happened, when the child is calm this could be the next day; reiterate the dangers of going out of the school gate.