A quick classroom guide for busy teachers

There is a particular kind of moment that most teachers know well. The lesson is moving along, and then, quickly, and sometimes without obvious warning, a pupil’s behaviour escalates. The room shifts. Every instinct kicks in at once. What do you do first?

The honest answer is that most of us were never explicitly taught how to handle these moments. Behaviour management training tends to focus on prevention, but the in-the-moment reality of a dysregulated child in front of you is a different skill set entirely. 

This guide from Actualise Academy walks through four practical stages for responding when behaviours of need escalate. It is based on our classroom infographic designed for busy teachers,  something you can refer back to quickly, and build on over time. Whether you are looking for classroom strategies to use tomorrow or a starting point for deeper learning around managing challenging behaviour, this is for you.

1. First priority: stay calm and reduce intensity

When behaviour escalates, your response matters more than the content of what you say. What students pick up on first is your tone, your body language, and your energy.

This is sometimes described as co-regulation, the idea that a calm adult nervous system can help stabilise a dysregulated child. It is a cornerstone of trauma-informed teaching strategies and one of the most immediately useful teaching strategies for students with autism, anxiety, or other additional needs. It is not about being passive or ignoring the behaviour. It is about being the steadiest person in the room, even briefly.

In the moment:

• Try to take a deep breath
• Slow your voice 
• Give the pupil a little space

“Your calm presence helps the situation settle, even if it does not feel like it straight away.”

2. What to say in the moment

Short, simple phrases are almost always more effective than long explanations. When a pupil is overwhelmed, the thinking part of the brain, the part that processes reasoning, consequences, and complex language,  is much less accessible. What lands in those moments is warmth, simplicity, and presence.

Try saying:

·       “I can see you’re upset/angry/frustrated.”

·       “You’re safe, I’m here.”

·       “Let’s take a minute.”

None of these phrases fixes the situation. That is not the point. The goal is to help the pupil feel safe enough to begin to regulate. 

3. What often makes things worse

This is possibly the most useful section for day-to-day practice, because it challenges some responses that feel completely natural in the moment. When a pupil’s behaviour escalates, it is instinctive to want to assert control, explain the rules, or ask what is going on. The difficulty is that all of those approaches can unintentionally escalate the situation further.

Try to avoid some of these:

·       Giving multiple instructions at once

·       Raising your voice or showing frustration

·       Asking lots of questions

When a pupil is overwhelmed, they are usually not able to process complex language or reasoning. Knowing this does not mean lowering your standards. It means choosing the right moment to uphold them.

4. After the moment has passed

Once things have settled, the temptation is to move on quickly,  the lesson is already disrupted, there are other pupils to think about, and revisiting the incident can feel like opening the door to more difficulty. But this stage is where some of the most important work happens.

Helpful next steps:

·       Keep the follow-up calm and low key

·       Reconnect with the pupil,  even briefly

·       Talk through what happened in simple terms

Pupils who experience behavioural difficulties often also carry a lot of shame around those moments. A calm, non-punitive reconnection can do more for a child’s sense of safety and trust than almost anything else. That trust is also what makes the next incident slightly easier to navigate.

“The relationship matters more than getting it perfect.”

A final word

Supporting pupils with behaviours of need is genuinely hard. It draws on emotional regulation, relationship skills, knowledge of child development, and the ability to think clearly under pressure. Most teachers develop this instinctively over the years in the classroom, but it develops faster with the right knowledge behind it.

Resources like this infographic are a starting point. They work best when they sit alongside a growing understanding of why children behave the way they do — and that kind of understanding is something every teacher can build, one small step at a time. If this has sparked your thinking, it might be worth exploring what CPD courses, EPV days, or summer teacher courses are available to you through Actualise Academy.

This blog is for teacher awareness only and is not psychological or medical advice. Any student displaying persistent or significant behaviours of need should be supported through the appropriate school channels.

__________

Actualise Academy offers expertly crafted resources developed by professionals in psychology, neuroscience and education, designed to support your teaching success! Browse our EPV courses for teachers at actualiseacademy.com 

If you’re a primary teacher in Ireland searching for EPV days, approved EPV courses, or how to maximise your paid leave, this complete guide brings everything together in one clear, practical place. It explains how EPV days work, how to earn them, and most importantly how to choose courses that actually make a difference in your classroom.

What are EPV Days?

EPV (Extra Personal Vacation) days are additional paid leave days that primary school teachers in Ireland can earn by completing Department of Education-approved summer courses. Instead of being automatic, EPV days reward teachers for engaging in continuing professional development (CPD).

In simple terms: you invest time in your professional learning during the summer, and in return, you gain extra time off during the school year.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Choosing a course not DES-approved
• Leaving booking too late (popular ones fill fast)
• Assuming you can take days anytime (school rules matter)
• Picking random “easy” courses that don’t help your career

Make the most of your EPV days!

Choosing the Right EPV course:

Not all EPV courses offer the same value. The most beneficial courses are those that directly improve your day-to-day teaching practice and respond to the realities of modern classrooms.

High-impact areas include:

• Special Educational Needs (SEN)
• Autism and ADHD
• Classroom strategies
• Student and teacher wellbeing
• Inclusive and differentiated teaching approaches

These areas are increasingly essential within Irish schools.

How Many EPV Days Can I Earn?

The number of EPV days you receive depends on how many approved courses you complete:

• 1 course earns 3 EPV days
• 2 courses earn 4 EPV days
• 3 courses earn 5 EPV days (maximum)

This means teachers can gain up to a full working week of additional leave each year.

Who Can Get EPV Days?

EPV days are available to primary school teachers in Ireland who complete Department of Education-approved courses. EPV leave must be approved by their principal or the Board of Management

When Can EPV Days be Taken?

While policies vary between schools, some common restrictions may be:

• Limited availability in September and June
• Limits on how many staff can be absent on the same day
• Advance planning required

Because of this, forward planning is essential if you want to use your days effectively.

What are EPV Courses Like?

Most EPV courses are completed during the summer months and are designed to be  manageable alongside time off. These are some features of Actualise Academy online courses:

• Around 20 hours in duration
• Delivered online and self-paced
• Structured through videos, short tasks, and a final assignment

While many courses meet the minimum requirement, their quality and usefulness can vary significantly.

Why Actualise Academy EPV Courses Stand Out

With so many providers available, the key difference lies in how useful a course actually is once you return to the classroom. This is where Actualise Academy distinguishes itself.

Rather than offering generic or purely theoretical content, Actualise Academy focuses on the real challenges teachers face every day.

A Focus on Real Classroom Needs

Our courses centre on practical issues such as behaviour, anxiety, autism, and emotional wellbeing. These are areas that teachers regularly encounter, making the learning immediately relevant and applicable.

Evidence Based Approach

Actualise Academy integrates educational psychology, neuroscience, and behavioural science into its content. This means teachers not only learn strategies, but also understand the reasoning behind them, leading to more confident and effective application.

Alignment with School Priorities

Irish schools are placing increasing emphasis on inclusion, wellbeing, and positive behaviour. Courses that support these priorities are particularly valuable, both for classroom practice and whole-school development.

Practical and Actionable Learning

A major strength of Actualise courses is their focus on usable strategies. Teachers finish with clear, realistic approaches they can implement immediately, rather than abstract ideas that are difficult to apply.

Flexible and Manageable Structure

The courses are fully online and designed to fit around the summer period. The workload is structured and achievable, allowing teachers to balance professional development with rest.

Are EPV Courses Worth it?

EPV courses are absolutely worthwhile! But only when chosen carefully. Some courses are designed simply to meet requirements, offering minimal long-term benefit. Others, however, can significantly improve your teaching, confidence, and ability to support students. The difference comes down to selecting courses that are relevant, practical, and aligned with the needs of today’s classrooms.

EPV days provide a valuable opportunity: not just for additional leave, but for meaningful professional growth. While many providers will allow you to earn the required days, the real benefit comes from choosing courses that enhance your teaching and support your students. If you are planning your EPV courses this year, the goal should not simply be to gain days off but to invest in learning that genuinely improves your classroom experience.

_______________

_{^{Actualise Academy offers expertly crafted resources developed by seasoned professionals in psychology and education, designed to support your teaching success, completely free of charge!}}

_{^{Found this Resource useful? Check out our EPV Summer courses here.}}

There is far more discussion now about anxiety in classrooms, but along with it comes language that can feel clinical, dense, and simply hard to pin down. Teachers may hear terms like ‘graded exposure’ in conversations with parents, therapists, school staff, or outside services and wonder what they actually mean in practice. What do these words mean and how do we find out?

Knowing all terms is impossible, and the speed at which a classroom changes makes it even harder. But understanding the basic terminology and, more importantly, the importance of the terminology can be very helpful to educators. Terminology matters because it helps the school support line up with what a child may already be receiving elsewhere. School supports matching up with evidence-based can help liaise better with specialist services and even parents.

Language becomes less mysterious and more usable. Instead of a blur of jargon, it becomes a practical menu of approaches.

It really is about curiosity- when you come across someone facing issues, are you going out of your way to understand why, or how you can help them? Or understand the help they are getting? It is increasingly helpful for teachers to have a basic awareness of common intervention terminology, such as CBT, mindfulness, relaxation strategies, graded exposure, and guided self-help, because that shared language makes it easier to understand reports and work in teams with many disciplines.

This blog is for teacher awareness only and is not psychological or medical advice. Any student experiencing anxiety should be encouraged to seek support through the school and, where needed, from qualified professionals.

Guidance from all Departments for Education all point in the same direction: schools play an important role in supporting children’s mental health- teachers should be able to recognise pupils’ needs and understand the wider support around them. The classroom adjustments, such as structure, workload flexibility, relaxation techniques, and breaks, can all help help. In practice, teacher awareness of anxiety intervention language matters a great deal, while full specialist knowledge does not- to make classroom anxiety support more joined up, more confident, and more effective.

With more awareness comes confidence- you can ask better questions and make the school feel more understandable and less overwhelming.

_______________

_{^{Actualise Academy offers expertly crafted resources developed by seasoned professionals in psychology and education, designed to support your teaching success, completely free of charge!}}

_{^{Found this Resource useful? Check out our EPV Summer courses here.}}

For many teachers, the Easter break does not begin with rest. It begins with exhaustion. In 2024, the average teacher is said to have worked about 59 hours a week- much more than an average worker! After a long term of lesson planning, marking, behaviour management, meetings, emails, and more emails… many teachers reach the holidays too drained to enjoy them.

The wider wellbeing picture is just as serious. Education Support’s Teacher Wellbeing Index 2025 found that 76% of education staff are stressed, while 77% experience symptoms of poor mental health due to work. Their summary is blunt: the well-being of the education workforce is now at crisis point.

That is why the old assumption that “teachers get loads of holiday” misses the point completely (Seriously, how is it still acceptable to say that!). Time away from school is not always the same as recovery. In fact, recovery from exhaustion is often incomplete by the time the term starts again.

Some studies put 85% of teachers working during the holidays, but what mattered even more was not just the work itself. It was the inability to switch off mentally. At Actualise Academy, we believe school breaks should not just be time off. It should be a real chance to recover, reset, and return with more energy than you left with.

That is why we created the Teacher Easter Recovery Plan. It is a small, simple resource with four practical tips to help teachers make their Easter break more rejuvenating, more realistic, more relaxing, and more genuinely restful. It is designed for real teachers with real lives, not for an ideal version of rest that only works on paper. We made the resources with teachers who have experienced this kind of burnout – firsthand!

Great teaching is not sustained by effort alone. It also needs recovery.

Most importantly, it helps to protect at least part of the holiday from school thinking. Teachers often cannot avoid every task, and that is real life. But if the whole break becomes planning, catching up, and low-level worrying, it stops doing the one thing it is supposed to do: help you recover.

For many teachers, the first step is accepting! The first few days may simply be for decompression- and that is all okay! You may sleep more, feel flat, feel emotional, or do less than you expected. That is not laziness. That is your system coming down from sustained pressure.

It also helps to build in activities that feel restorative rather than merely productive. That could be walking, getting outside in daylight, reading something unrelated to school, spending time with people who help you relax, doing something creative, or setting aside a day where school work is completely off limits. Easter is also a good time for gentle structure: enough rhythm to feel grounded, but not so much that the break starts to feel like another timetable.

Because Easter break should do more than fill time.

It should give teachers something back.

_______________

_{^{Actualise Academy offers expertly crafted resources developed by seasoned professionals in psychology and education, designed to support your teaching success, completely free of charge!}}

_{^{Found this Resource useful? Check out our EPV Summer courses here.}}

While made for students, anyone can use it for self-discovery.

We also share teaching tools and self-care tips for educators on our blog—because looking after yourself is essential.

————

_{^{Actualise Academy offers expertly crafted resources developed by seasoned professionals in psychology and education, designed to support your teaching success, completely free of charge!}}

_{^{Found this Resource useful? Check out our EPV Summer courses here.}}

Through simple storytelling, drawing, and discussion, students learn what happens when the downstairs brain takes over (cue the tantrums!) and how the upstairs brain can step in to help. It’s an accessible, visual way to introduce emotional regulation and coping skills in a language kids really get.

Perfect for SPHE, wellbeing lessons, or circle time—it’s light-hearted, evidence-informed, and fun to teach. Bonus: you can wrap it all up with a movie like Inside Out to reinforce the learning.

————

_{^{Actualise Academy offers expertly crafted resources developed by seasoned professionals in psychology and education, designed to support your teaching success, completely free of charge!}}

_{^{Found this Resource useful? Check out our EPV Summer courses here.}}

Whether integrated into social-emotional learning lessons or used informally, the Emotions Wheel can be a simple yet powerful way to promote emotional well-being in schools.

In a classroom setting, it can be used during daily check-ins, writing exercises, group discussions, or even conflict resolution moments to build students’ emotional vocabulary and self-awareness. For younger students, it can even be a way to increase their emotional quotient by providing fun and interesting ways to navigate the wheel and hence learn vocabulary.

By encouraging learners to identify their emotions beyond broad categories like “happy” or “sad,” the wheel fosters deeper reflection and communication. This not only supports students’ social-emotional development but also creates a more empathetic and emotionally supportive classroom environment.

————

_{^{Actualise Academy offers expertly crafted resources developed by seasoned professionals in psychology and education, designed to support your teaching success, completely free of charge!}}

_{^{Found this Resource useful? Check out our EPV Summer courses here.}}

To support your wellbeing this summer, the Actualise Academy team has developed the ‘Summer Self-Care Workbook for Teachers’. Thoughtfully designed by educators, it offers a space to reflect, recharge, and plan for a summer that truly restores. If you need some solitude and peace of mind or if you want to really gear up and focus in on your summer goals,

————

_{^{Actualise Academy offers expertly crafted resources developed by seasoned professionals in psychology and education, designed to support your teaching success, completely free of charge!}}

_{^{Found this Resource useful? Check out our EPV Summer courses here.}}

Use this great resource to remind students how to be respectful in every school setting!

This resource provides examples of positive behaviours for children to follow in the classroom, hallway, playground, cafeteria, bus and the health room so that they are responding and acting properly in order to maintain a positive behaviour system in the school environment.

Implement this resource in your class by printing and posting it on a wall for students to see, or even as a handout for them to have on them at all times to remind them of how they should behave. This resource sets clear expectations and rules for children to follow to help make the school environment safe and positive for everyone!

————

_{^{Actualise Academy offers expertly crafted resources developed by seasoned professionals in psychology and education, designed to support your teaching success, completely free of charge!}}

_{^{Found this Resource useful? Check out our EPV Summer courses here.}}

We’ve put together a free printable (and customisable!) End of year Checklist designed by our team of experienced teachers and psychologists. 

————

_{^{Actualise Academy offers expertly crafted resources developed by seasoned professionals in psychology and education, designed to support your teaching success, completely free of charge!}}

_{^{Found this Resource useful? Check out our EPV Summer courses here.}}