Relational Approaches Skills Building Programme

How to be attuned to support engagement?

Supporting practitioners to understand and address barriers to learning
Informed Level

For Scotland's learners, with Scotland's educators

Do luchd-ionnsachaidh na h-Alba, le luchd-foghlaim Alba
For Scotland's learners, with Scotland's educators
Do luchd-ionnsachaidh na h-Alba, le luchd-foghlaim Alba
How to be attuned to support engagement?

For Scotland's learners, with Scotland's educators

Do luchd-ionnsachaidh na h-Alba, le luchd-foghlaim Alba
What do children and young people say?

Behaviour in Scottish Schools Research (2016)

‘If a teacher is kind, it
Pupils highlighted the following aspects of teachers’ manner travels across the class
and demeanour as important : and puts everyone in a
•‘the teacher being happy’
•‘the teacher smiling when you come in to class’
good mood’
• ‘when the teacher is enthusiastic’ - Pupil in Children in
• using ‘humour’ Scotland study
• ‘being calm’
• ‘not shouting’.

For Scotland's learners, with Scotland's educators

Do luchd-ionnsachaidh na h-Alba, le luchd-foghlaim Alba
 Empathy

Supportive
and healing
relationships

Attunement

Empathy and attunement feed into each other.

For Scotland's learners, with Scotland's educators

Do luchd-ionnsachaidh na h-Alba, le luchd-foghlaim Alba
What is attunement, and what do we need to know about it?
Attunement:
• describes how we recognise and respond to another persons emotional needs and moods
• is the process by which we form relationships

Dr. Dan Siegel says, "Children need attunement to feel secure and to develop
well, and throughout our lives we need attunement to feel close and connected.”

When working with children, attunement comes across as:

• genuinely caring about them
• truly listening to them and caring about their response
• noticing when a they are in a mood, or when they’re unusually quiet, or when they’re struggling

For Scotland's learners, with Scotland's educators

Do luchd-ionnsachaidh na h-Alba, le luchd-foghlaim Alba
 Principles of attunement: the what and the why?
(Based on Biemens Contact Principles)

Positive Relationships

What we do How it makes

Deepening Discussion Helped to manage and learn
to be attuned the other
Open to learning and new ideas with person feel
Guiding & Supporting
support

Becoming Attuned Together Engaged in enjoyable and equal interactions

Receiving You have been listened to - someone is interested

in you and what you have to say

The other person is interested in what you think an you are

Encouraging
encouraged to offer your own ideas

Being Attentive Feel recognised and important

For Scotland's learners, with Scotland's educators

Do luchd-ionnsachaidh na h-Alba, le luchd-foghlaim Alba
Attunement principles (first 5)
Schematic produced by:

For Scotland's learners, with Scotland's educators

Do luchd-ionnsachaidh na h-Alba, le luchd-foghlaim Alba
What do we mean by being attentive?

• Turning towards someone

• Looking at someone
• Making eye contact
• Using friendly intonations
• Using friendly facial expressions https://youtu.be/7TvoblpMv4I
• Using friendly postures

For Scotland's learners, with Scotland's educators

Do luchd-ionnsachaidh na h-Alba, le luchd-foghlaim Alba
The importance of non-verbal communication
Square (or slightly angled)

Open
Lean forward
Eye contact (appropriate)
Relaxed
Also consider personal space, sitting down if
appropriate, and using non-threatening gestures

For Scotland's learners, with Scotland's educators

Do luchd-ionnsachaidh na h-Alba, le luchd-foghlaim Alba
What do we mean by encouraging?

• Waiting
• Listening actively
• Showing emotional warmth through intonation
• Naming positively what you see, think or feel
• Using friendly and/or playful intonation
• Saying what they are doing
• Looking for initiatives
For Scotland's learners, with Scotland's educators
Do luchd-ionnsachaidh na h-Alba, le luchd-foghlaim Alba
What do we mean by receiving?

• Showing you have heard, noticed the other’s initiative

• Receiving with body language, matching or mirroring
• Being friendly and/or playful as appropriate
• Returning eye contact, smiling, nodding in response
• Receiving what the other is saying or doing in words
https://youtu.be/e-dOGlhP6-0
• Repeating/using the other’s words or phrases
• Wondering aloud
For Scotland's learners, with Scotland's educators
Do luchd-ionnsachaidh na h-Alba, le luchd-foghlaim Alba
What do we mean by being attuned together?

• To and fro - receiving and then responding - contributing equally

• Checking the other is understanding you
• Waiting attentively for your turn
• Having fun
• Giving a second and further turn on the same topic
• Giving and taking short turns
• Cooperating – helping each other
For Scotland's learners, with Scotland's educators
Do luchd-ionnsachaidh na h-Alba, le luchd-foghlaim Alba
What do we mean by guiding and supporting?

• Scaffolding (for example, engage, simplify, problem solve, model enthusiasm)

• Extending, building on the others response
• Judging the amount of support required and adjusting
• Giving information when needed
• Providing help when needed
• Offering choices that the other can understand
• Making suggestions that the other can follow https://youtu.be/nGYyEuyEaYc

For Scotland's learners, with Scotland's educators

Do luchd-ionnsachaidh na h-Alba, le luchd-foghlaim Alba
What do we mean by deepening discussion (sixth principle)

• Asking activating questions

• Receiving their opinion
• Giving your opinion on what they have said
• Responding with own opinion and question
• Naming difference in opinion
• Checking for reception of your opinion

For Scotland's learners, with Scotland's educators

Do luchd-ionnsachaidh na h-Alba, le luchd-foghlaim Alba
How can I use attunement to support engagement?

Reflection Activity (individually or as a group): Deepening Discussion

Guiding & Supporting

• How do I know when: Someone gets me? Someone
Becoming Attuned Together
cares about me? Someone thinks about me? How
does it make me feel? Receiving

Encouraging
• How could I develop attuned practice in my setting
particularly for children and young people who have Being Attentive
experienced adversity and trauma?
For Scotland's learners, with Scotland's educators
Do luchd-ionnsachaidh na h-Alba, le luchd-foghlaim Alba
Further reading – Attunement Information Note

For Scotland's learners, with Scotland's educators

Do luchd-ionnsachaidh na h-Alba, le luchd-foghlaim Alba
Education Scotland
Denholm House
Almondvale Business Park
Almondvale Way
Livingston EH54 6GA

T +44 (0)131 244 5000

E enquiries@educationscotland.gsi.gov.uk
 

For Scotland's learners, with Scotland's educators

For Scotland's learners, with Scotland's educators
Do luchd-ionnsachaidh na h-Alba, le luchd-foghlaim Alba