How organisation’s policies affect behaviours in the Level 4 Certificate in Education and Training (CET)

Organisational Policies in the Level 4 Certificate in Education and Training

Organisational policies make a massive difference to managing learner behaviours. Within the Level 4 Certificate in Education and Training (CET) I don’t get many issues from learner behaviour other than learners potentially being late and sometimes talking too much and it’s a case of just reminding the, of their responsibilities and the ground rules that we establish on day 1. The biggest issue I find is learners not doing their work. I am not a parent, and I cannot make them do their work but at the same time it is my responsibility to motivate our learners to continue and this is one of the reasons we get a high completion rate.  

External influences in the Level 4 Certificate in Education and Training

Company policy are largely dictated by legislation and external influences such as requirements set by Ofqual or the awarding body. Legal compliance and external influences must be complied with in are policies. When I’m teaching the Level 4 Certificate in Education and Training (CET), I must ensure that I follow health and safety regulations. With this I must also ensure that learner behaviour doesn’t breach health and safety. For example, I also teach security qualifications and there is one unit which is physical intervention skills and if you are aware of the security industry these are skills needed by door staff in nightclubs and pubs and it is their responsibility to deal with aggression.

We practice these skills in the classroom therefore there is a risk that learners could get injured. I have a legal duty to ensure that I deal with danger in the classroom therefore if learners perform skills that are unsafe, it is my job to prevent this from happening. So being a laid back and relaxed teacher, I need to demonstrate more assertiveness and be on top of my learners to prevent them, from getting injured or hurting others. Our policies will state what I must do in those situations by must be in accordance with the law.  

Code of conduct in the Level 4 Certificate in Education and Training

As such we set our own code of conduct for our learners competing the Level 4 Certificate in Education and Training (CET) which sets out the ground rules and behaviours expected by our learners and what the organisation expects of learners in terms of behaviour making it clear what the penalties are if learners don’t comply. If we as teachers don’t apply these rules, we could be breaking the law but ultimately failing to deal with it gives all other learners a negative experience so we must deal with it.  

If learners fail to follow the code of conduct during the Level 4 Certificate in Education and Training (CET) then we are within our right to follow the disciplinary procedures. This is what will happen if behaviour is deemed unacceptable. The purpose is to create an environment where poor behaviour is not tolerated. It is essential that the training provider backs up the trainer to enforce the rules. 

Disciplinary procedures in the Level 4 Certificate in Education and Training

Within the Disciplinary Procedure there are typically two levels of challenging behaviour, unacceptable and gross misconduct. Unacceptable behaviour is normally handled within the class and includes areas such as mobile phone use, swearing and attendance. If this behaviour continues it should result in the learners being placed on a “cause for concern.” This provides a level of communication between teachers to ensure the behaviour is managed consistently but also may highlight potential issues the student may be facing, such as in the case of attendance. The second, and far more serious level of challenging behaviour, is gross misconduct such as drugs, abuse, racism, etc., this behaviour will be treated far more seriously and result in more severe levels of the conduct and disciplinary procedure and the involvement of more senior members of staff. 

Reporting of inappropriate behaviours is essential for trainers so that all the learners know that they will be punished for unacceptable behaviour irrespective of their age or disability. Set an example on the first strike so that the learners are careful. Adopt a 'traffic light' or flagging method to address any behavioural issue. Each light, i.e., red, yellow, and green corresponds to the behaviour a learner is showing or has. You can use the method of reward and punishment to stimulate a behaviour. In inclusive practice, all learners are given access to equal opportunity to use resources in order to acquire knowledge.