Working in a PRU..any advice on getting the kids to respect me?

Are you familiar with the PACE approach? This is what we follow in our setting

Not everyone can deal with PRU kids. Doesn't sound like you can, but I take my hat off to the unlucky few who can.
Only advice I can give you is get the hell out for your own safety

Teaching challenging individuals who don't want to be there is brilliant, actually. I had lots of contact with a PRU for some years, and taught basic functional skills in prison, sadly seeing some of my PRU kids coming through the prison system. You have to be consistent, and straight with them, but show them that you are genuinely interested in them and their lives.

Try not to be too horrified about their drug use and being sexually active. These kids from a world you barely know, it's rarely a good place. They desperately need reliable adults around them, even if they think they don't.

I would have died of boredom teaching in a naice school.

I went for the mum role.

So I'd tell them about how annoying my teens and or husband were - also talk about my cats. Start to build a relationship basically.

Most kids like pets and are quite amendable to listening to you talk about neutral subjects like pets, your hobbies if you have any.

Friends of mine used to talk about his singing and how he was getting on.

Just makes you a bit more of a person.

Then listen to what they say. Do they have pets? Do they have things they do?

Then you can start to have conversations based on that.

You still need to accept that sometimes they'll work and sometimes they won't. Much more than other students, they are emotionally driven and it's a complex skill to be able to help them control the emotions,

I taught one child once who liked green. I always collected green things - if any description - to show her as it made her day.

Not the same but I have some reaaaaallly challenging groups at the school I teach at, (very tough inner city comp) and have to manage some of those with the most difficult behaviour.
Stay calm, show no fear, be friendly and build relationships. Ask their advice about something low stakes, but that they’ll be interested in (kfc or McDonald’s is a good place to start!) have you seen that x has opened in town, have any of you been there yet? Ask questions as you’re giving things out, so you can speak one to one instead of always to the whole group. Kids more likely to talk then.

Create harmless silly in-jokes or routines, I have a kid who loves wordsearches, I print one for him every lesson. Takes me 15 seconds, means he remains engaged and participates and has learnt some key words. At the beginning of the year he wouldn’t even make eye contact with me or answer his name in the register, now he’s chosen to sit in the front row and says hi whenever he sees me in the corridors.

initially ignore swearing that happens in passing, but always challenge swearing that is at you and sanction accordingly. Once you feel more confident, then challenge the casual swearing in a non confrontational way. I always just say ‘LANGUAGE’ in a mock outraged tone without even looking at the student. They invariably say ‘oh sorry miss’ and we move on. If you shout at them, they’ll shout back. I taught a group yesterday and we learnt about Romeo and Juliet for an hour, and there was not a single swear word uttered in the whole lesson and everyone stayed in their seats throughout. That’s taken me since September with this particular class. Every child has either an EHCP or significant behavioural issues and we’ve had some lessons where I’ve just wanted to hide in a cave 😂😂😂

Would be a lot more rewarding working with smart and engaged kids who actually want to learn, rather than being abused by little shits all day

Disagree. These kids really need a grown up to show that they care, because they probably feel like no one else gives a shit, so the OPs job is really meaningful.

@Lemur98 I second getting to know them. Find out what they like, try and make their learning relevant! I've worked with some really challenging kids in a state school and explaining things using what they already know makes it seem less of a barrier to learning. There will productive days and awful days.

These kids rarely hear anything nice about themselves. Try and find something you like about them or compliment something you have done and tell them. It shows you value and respect them and have “seen” them. Always worked for me and i’ve worked in children’s homes etc.

Just get a different job tbh, life is too short to waste on stuff like this. You arent Michelle Pfieffer in Dangerous Minds

Consistency and time.

The PRU should have a fairly robust disciplinary policy. Stick with that - they will be looking for any gaps/deviations between teachers to exploit.

Respect is at different levels. A basic level that allows you to actually teach is necessary and should be created by SLT/ supported by disciplinary policy. It might not be quite the level you expect.

Otherwise it will take time to build relationships. These are often young people that have poor role models and do not trust adults, many for good reasons. You need to be an adult that is calm, consistent and caring and in time they may come to respect you.

Talk to the other teachers in the PRU - use their experience. I would hope there is strong support in place for you to help with difficult situations.

You need to spend some time getting to know them. Adapt lesson plans and takes so that they can share things about themselves and let them get to know you as well - obviously in an appropriate way - but you need to establish a bond with them first and foremost.

I don't teach in a PRU but I teach some really tricky kids and I've found a combination of friendly chat, along with one on one help with tasks that are related to their lives, has really helped to improve things with them. Praise and reward for when they put in effort - but don't go overboard or it'll lose its significance.

Good luck OP and keep at it! It might take a while before they start to come round, but when they do, it'll make everything so much easier.

Relationship based approach, Oxytocin is the antidote to cortisol. They need to feel loved and safe to be more compliant x