Behaviour management

[Sata]

I am a part-time experienced teacher and have recently started teaching a year 6 class one day a week. I was apprehensive about accepting this position because I had not taught this year group in class for some time and am naturally highly strung.
I have worked at the school for some time but not as a class teacher. Four students in the class are persistently rude, disruptive and disrespectful. I have tried encouragement and positive praise when appropriate, but this has had a somewhat limited effect. The school's behaviour policy is well-structured and consistent, but the students concerned are not bothered by it.
The year group leader is a young teacher who is confident but could be more approachable. The students concerned have sometimes spent time in her class, which they dislike, but the impact is short-lived. I have spoken to the class teacher but feel uncomfortable and that the problem is not his. He finds these students difficult, but they do not misbehave with him.
The problem is affecting my mental health, and I feel that I ought to be able to manage things better. As I become anxious, I cannot focus and teach well, and I start to make mistakes and feel flustered.
Students in the class who usually are well-behaved are aware of the disruption, and their behaviour deteriorates too.
I want to keep going in this role as I like many aspects of the school, and the class is generally reasonable. I am learning a lot and becoming more familiar and confident with the curriculum. The planning is demanding but excellent.
I cannot escape feeling nervous, sleeping poorly the night before I teach this class and feeling like a failure. When the students concerned are rude to me, I know I am mishandling it, but I don't know where to go with the answering back and rudeness.
When I reread this, it sounds mild, but its effect on me is not. I would appreciate any ideas on what I can do.

You need to talk to someone else such as the Assistant Head or the person responsible for arranging staff training. Also, look at your union’s website for help, support and advice. I think the class teacher could be helping you by taking the 4 pupils out and making them work in silence elsewhere. Do you have a TA in the room?

I can really empathise. I'm in a similar position but luckily am leaving anyway at the end of term so have kind of checked out. It's hard when you're part time and dont have the opportunity to build relationships with those challenging students and they see you as an easy target. It has such a knock on effect on the rest of your teaching and confidence in general. Is there a member of SLT whose behaviour management style you admire and think might work who you could ask to come and do some shared teaching with you, so you can see some strategies modelled which might work?

I cannot emphasise enough that 1) it’s not a reflection of your performance and 2) get support from others staff.

It’s absolutely normal for kids to test you, it’s not a reflection on you personally. But if you start to brush it under the carpet, or try to go alone, it will make your position weaker. By letting these children know now that how they behave for you WILL be known by the other class teacher/headteacher/key stage manager etc, and your school will deal with poor behaviour as a school, this has a far better chance of improvement. Teaching can be very isolating. By hiding this problem or trying to deal with it alone, it’s no wonder it’s affecting your mental health.