Miss, I Don?t Give a Sh*t : Engaging With Challenging Behaviour in Schools

Do you want to be an inspiring teacher for everyone you teach, even the trickier cherubs in your class? Or maybe you just want to get through a lesson without a desk flying at you or a blazer being set alight?

In this down-to-earth book Adele Bates shares practical approaches, strategies and tips from the classroom on how to help pupils with behavioural needs thrive with their education. Packed full of real-life classroom scenarios, student voice and relevant theory, every chapter offers an Action Box helping you to implement these strategies – next lesson, next week and long term. 

From relationship building and teaching self-regulation, to fostering inclusivity, paying attention to your own self-care and schoolwide approaches, Adele Bates unpicks some of the most difficult aspects of being a teacher and empowers you to grow as a confident classroom professional.

Adele Bates is a Behaviour and Education Specialist who supports school leaders, classroom teachers, homeschooling carers, and parents to empower pupils with behavioural needs and SEMH to thrive in their education. As well as enabling these pupils to learn their timetables or get an extra GCSE, her main ambition is to help these, often misunderstood, young people to be a part of positive social change. Part of that is advocating on their behalf in wider society, creating platforms for their voices to be heard and to be part of building an inclusive education system for all – hence why she’s written this book.

She has nearly 20 years’ teaching experience in a variety of settings: mainstream primary and secondary, Pupil Referral Units, Alternative Provision and Special Schools. She trains and mentors teachers and trainees and is a Behavioural Consultant for senior leaders and local authorities, advising on whole school approaches to supporting pupils with behavioural needs and SEMH.

In 2019, Adele was awarded a grant to carry out an educational research trip in Finland to observe, teach, interview and learn about the Finnish Education System’s inclusive approach to education. This has informed her approaches since. Adele is a TEDx speaker 2020 and has delivered training and keynotes for educational events and organisations across Europe, including the National Education Union and Amnesty International Education. She is the Educational Associate for Trauma Inform and an Associate on Behaviour with Independent Thinking.

Adele is a contributing writer for education books: For Flourishing’s Sake, Big Gay Adventures in Education, Square Peg and The Big Book of Whole School Wellbeing and hosts her own radio show Teenagers! on Teacher Hug Radio. She has a First-Class undergraduate degree, a Master’s degree and a PGCE.

For Adele’s tips, resources and to work with her further, visit her website at adelebateseducation.co.uk where you can also become a part of her community of Inspiring Educators. You can catch her on Twitter @adelebatesZ

Adele is originally from Burton-on-Trent, now based in Brighton (and sometimes Bulgaria) where she lives with her wife Elitsa, and her brother Adam is usually floating around in her life too. Adele is a trained opera singer, she enjoys knitting, yoga, meditation, forests and never stops reading.