Core Components

The Incredible Years® Teacher Classroom Management programme is a school based prevention programme for teachers that teach children between 4-8 years old. This universal programme improves teachers’ classroom management for all the children in the classroom. Even in this context, teachers may choose students of focus (often more challenging students) and work on behaviour plans to support these children's behaviours in the whole classroom context.  This programme also promotes children social competence, emotional regulation and academic skills; enhances teacher abilities in encouraging and supporting parents with school involvement; and reduces classroom conduct problems.

The programme is delivered by trained group leaders to teachers in 6 full day workshops spread out monthly or bimonthly. It is important there is sufficient time between workshops to afford teachers the time to complete reading and practice assignments, practice and apply their new skills, and work on behaviour plans. Group leaders are equipped with a comprehensive leader manual, 7 DVDs, a teachers’ book, posters, laminated calm down card, and stickers. Training is delivered using video modelling, group discussions, self-reflective learning, role play practices, individualized behaviour planning, and classroom assignments. The programme focuses on building positive relationships with students and parents; preventing behaviour problems; teacher attention, academic, social, emotion and persistence coaching; praise and incentives to motivate students for difficult behaviours; reducing inappropriate behaviour; and teaching students emotional, self-regulation, social & problem solving skills.

Incredible Years® group leaders are encouraged to visit teachers’ classrooms between workshops to observe how teachers implement skills learned in prior workshops, and to support the teachers’ individual goals and behaviour plans. 

Fidelity

Incredible Years® provides a fidelity of implementation’ framework for sites.  The steps required to effectively replicate the programme and achieve good outcomes include use of (1) standardised intervention materials; (2) 3-day group leader training by accredited mentor or trainer; (3)teacher training programme deliver by accredited group leaders and participant workshop evaluations; (3) completion of bimonthly or monthly workshop protocols and participant evaluations; (4) ongoing group leader supervision, consultation and support by IY coaches or mentors; (5) fidelity monitoring using evidence-based measures and final summative evaluations and (6) agency organisational supports.

Modifiable Components 

The Incredible Years® Teacher Classroom Management programme is a universal prevention programme, but has been shown to be effective for children with behaviour problems when delivered as part of therapeutic intervention. This programme has been delivered to multiple cultural groups and has been translated into multiple languages.

Delivery of curriculum can be adjusted according to the developmental ages of the children in the classroom and teacher background and goals. Modification is achieved by varying the pacing of content covered according to background of teachers and selection of vignettes shown according to age and developmental status of children. Teacher educational backgrounds in day care or preschool settings can be different from primary school teachers and certainly the developmental level of language and cognitive abilities will differ and strategies and vignettes chosen will be adjusted accordingly.

Incredible Years® Inc. is based in Seattle and offers a series of inter-locking evidence-based programmes targeting parents, teachers and children. Incredible Years Teacher Classroom Management programme is one of the Incredible Years teacher training programmes. 

Implementation Support

Preparation for the Incredible Years® Teacher Classroom Management programme for an entire a school or agency starts at least 6 months before the actual training, to ensure that training needs are addressed. Incredible Years® have available an agency readiness questionnaire that helps agencies determine their readiness for implementing the programme.  Incredible Years® also have an implementation effectiveness questionnaire that helps agencies understand the organizational processes and implementation components required to deliver the programme. Incredible Years® mentors work with agencies to enhance agency understanding of the training, supervision and consultation needs of teachers and group leaders. Incredible Years® mentors also help agencies support teachers in adopting the Incredible Years Teacher Classroom Management programme, and provide advice to agencies regarding logistical details and administrative support needed to implement this programme. 

Licence Requirements 

There is no licensing requirement to deliver the Incredible Years® Programmes. However, a Brand License Agreement is needed for use of Incredible Years® materials on web sites.

Start-up Costs

Start-up costs include an upfront one-off purchase of the Incredible Years Teacher Classroom Management programme priced at $1,500. This programme includes a DVD set (7 discs), leader’s manual, incredible teachers book, laminated calm down poster, stickers, cards set and teacher pyramid magnet. 

Teacher/ practitioner training is highly recommended, and group leader training costs $690 for the 3-day training in Seattle. If an agency wants to train between 15 – 25 practitioners, Incredible Years® can send a trainer to the host agency at $1,730 – $2100 per day, for three days. Other costs include certification/ accreditation processing fee costs $600; additional video review (if required) costs $105/hr; phone consultation costs $210/hr; and in-person consultation day at Incredible Years site costs $230. 

Building Staff Competency

Qualifications Required

Educational backgrounds for group leaders include teaching, school counselling and psychology. Incredible Years parent group leader or child group leader accreditations are accepted. Background in child development, adult group leadership, cognitive social learning theory and student teaching experience are desired. 

Training Requirements

Incredible Years® offers a 3 day programme to equip group leaders with the ability to deliver the Teacher Classroom Management programme to teachers. The training is provided by an accredited mentor or trainer of group leaders. On training completion, trained group leaders can deliver the 6 full-day workshops to groups of teachers. The 3 day group leader training is also required if participants would like to apply for accreditation. Incredible Years have a training progression process which enables continued development and accreditation of group leaders across multiple levels. For example, accredited group leaders are eligible for peer coach and then for mentor training and accreditation. 

Group leader accreditation process requires the completion of the 3 day group leader training; completion of 2 group teacher training workshops (each workshop lasting the full 6 days, spread out in bimonthly or monthly workshops, with a minimum of 10 teachers per workshop); and obtaining satisfactory video review for conducted sessions. Details of training workshops conducted by group leader should be submitted to support accreditation application. With accreditation, participants are able to deliver the 3 day group leader teacher training. A training progression process enables continued development and accreditation of group leaders across multiple levels (from group leader to coach to mentor to trainer). Certification application is processed by Incredible Years certification/accreditation committee.

Supervision Requirements

Consultation and coaching of leaders delivering the TCM program is highly recommended by Incredible Years® Inc. although not a requirement.  The process includes peer review and self-evaluation of videotapes utilising process checklists, review of videotape feedback by an Incredible Years® mentor, review of evaluations, consultations once or twice per year with an Incredible Years® trainer and monthly telephone consultations.  The cost of consultations with Incredible Years® mentors or trainers is $210 per hour.   

When group leaders become accredited / certified group leaders, it is highly recommended they continue to participate in fidelity checks which could be in form of video review of workshops they deliver, consultations with accredited mentor, or coaching sessions with accredited coach.

Theory of Change 

The Incredible Years® Teachers Classroom Management programme is guided by cognitive social learning and developmental theories. In particular, the coercion theory – the theory of development of antisocial behaviour in children. The coercion theory describes how teachers or parents inadvertently reinforce negative behaviours in children, resulting in a cycle of negative responses from teacher/ parent and child. This theory encourages paying more attention to positive than negative behaviours, and utilising problem solving and discipline to manage negative behaviour. As teachers promote positivity and create positive relationship with children, emotional self-regulation in children is strengthened, social skills are enhanced, and aggressive behaviours reduced. This is reflected in the Incredible Years® Teachers Classroom Management curriculum.  

Values 

The Incredible Years® Teachers Classroom Management programme is a preventive programme. It aims to strengthen teacher classroom management strategies; enhance teacher abilities in encouraging and supporting parents with school involvement; promote children social competence and academic skills; and reduce classroom conduct problems.

• Does this align with the priorities of your organisation?

Priorities

• Is working with teachers to enhance their classroom management skills a priority for your organization?
• Are enhancing children prosocial conduct and reducing classroom behaviour problems also priorities for your organization?
• After the programme, will teachers implement their new skills on the entire classroom, or will teachers focus on challenging students within the whole classroom context?
• If focus will be on challenging students, would a targeted therapeutic programme be more beneficial?

Existing Initiatives 

• Does your agency already provide similar programmes to strengthen teacher classroom management strategies and enhance children prosocial behaviours?
• Does your agency already provide similar programmes to reduce behaviour problems and promote academic success?
• Are the existing initiatives effective in addressing your organisations’ needs, and do the existing initiatives fit your current and anticipated future requirements?
• Are there components within the Incredible Years® Teachers Classroom Management programme that are not met by existing programmes?
• Will your organisation be implementing the Incredible Years® Teachers Classroom Management programme with another Incredible Years programme?

Workforce

Educational backgrounds for practitioners of the Incredible Years® Teachers Classroom Management programme include teaching, school counselling and psychology. Incredible Years parent group leader or child group leader certifications are accepted. Background in child development, cognitive social learning theory and adult group leadership, as well as children teaching experience are desired. After the 3 days group leader training, group leaders can offer the 6 full day workshop to groups of teachers in their own schools. Each of the 6 full-day workshops can be delivered monthly or bimonthly. Incredible Years recommend training at least 2 group leaders for any programme to be implemented. 

• Does your organisation have practitioners with the educational degree or certification who are interested in learning and delivering this programme?
• How important does your organization believe it is for practitioners to become certified/ accredited in the Incredible Years® Teachers Classroom Management programme?
• Is your organisation committed to supporting practitioner training and accreditation?

Technology Support 

This programme includes videotape modelling. For accreditation, group leaders are required to present videos of their group sessions for peer review and feedback from Incredible Years mentor or trainer. 

• Does your organisation have the technology to support practitioners in delivering this programme (DVD/ USB, TV, computer, projector)?
• To support practitioner certification and progression, is there technology to record videos for review, and technology to consult with Incredible Years mentor or trainer?

Administrative Support

Administrative support is required to conduct workshops, for evaluations, feedback, and for video recording and storage. 

• Does your organisation have enough administrative capacity and systems to meet these administrative needs?
• Are there policies and procedures in place regarding the video recording and storing of these recordings?

Financial Support

Start-up costs include purchase of the programme at $1,500; group leader training at $690 per person in Seattle; or as part of a 15-25 person cohort on site at $1730-2100 per day (for 3 days). Other costs include certification/ accreditation processing fee at $600 per person for each level (certification as group leader or coach or mentor or trainer); additional video review billed at $105 per hour; phone consultations at $210/hr; and in-person consultation at Incredible Years site in Seattle at $230.

• How many practitioners would your agency like to train? Do you have the finances to train these practitioners in the Incredible Years® Teachers Classroom Management programme?
• Would onsite training be more cost effective for your agency?
• Is your organisation interested in continued training and accreditation of practitioners in this programme? Can this be supported financially?
• Does your organisation have the technology needed for programme implementation? If not, can the technology be purchased?

Comparable Population 

Incredible Years® Teachers Classroom Management programme is a group programme for teachers that teach children between 3-8 years old.  This programme is designed to strengthen teacher classroom management strategies. 

• Is this comparable to the population your organisation intends delivering this programme to?
• Is there demand from teachers to gain further classroom management skills?
• Do teachers in your organisation need to strengthen their ability to collaborate with parents for home-school consistency?

Desired Outcome

The desired outcomes for the Incredible Years® Teachers Classroom Management programme are; a) strengthened teachers’ classroom management strategies; b) improved children’s prosocial behaviour, school preparedness, and reduced children’s aggressive behaviour; and c) enhanced teacher abilities in encouraging and supporting parents with school involvement to promote home-school consistency.

• Are the above outcomes priorities for your organisation?
• Does your organisation have other systems in place that effectively and efficiency address the above outcomes?