Consequential Understanding

Provision and/or strategies: approaches, adjustments and specific interventions expected to be made by settings according to the ages and stages of the CYP

Universal

• Pre-teach expectations and possible consequences to support understanding before situations arise.
• Teach explicit cause-and-effect relationships using visual frameworks (e.g. "choice → behaviour → consequence" charts) to make these links concrete.
• Apply clear and consistent shared language across adults to describe actions and outcomes, making cause and effect explicit.
• Model expectations through shared experiences and guided practice.
• Explore cause and effect through natural, meaningful experiences.
• Provide opportunities for CYP to practise making alternative, more positive choices.
• Reinforce positive behaviours explicitly to strengthen understanding of beneficial outcomes.
• Ensure consistent adult responses to behaviour to support clear and predictable understanding of consequences.
• Support reflection through structured discussion and dialogue.
• Use visual self-reflection tools (e.g. "What did I do? What happened next?" prompts) to consolidate learning.
• Allocate dedicated time for adults to support CYP in reflecting on the impact of their actions.
• Revisit experiences to reinforce understanding of consequences over time.
• Support CYP to understand how their actions affect others, including feelings, relationships and outcomes, using restorative approaches to repair relationships and deepen this understanding.
• Scaffold support to gradually build independence in decision-making.
• Support CYP to apply and internalise understanding of consequences across different contexts and situations, reducing reliance on adult prompts over time.

Targeted

• Provide targeted pre-teaching and preparation for situations where difficulties with consequential understanding are likely to arise.
• Use social stories, comic strip conversations and scenario-based learning to explicitly and safely illustrate the consequences of different behaviours.
• Use adult modelling in real or simulated situations to demonstrate decision-making and understanding of consequences.
• Teach self-monitoring strategies (e.g. checklists, "stop-think-act" prompts) to develop awareness of actions and their impact.
• Scaffold reflection through adult-guided questioning (e.g. "What choice did you make?" "What happened next?" "What could you do differently next time?").
• Provide opportunities for discreet and private signalling to support CYP in recognising and adjusting behaviour choices.
• Use restorative approaches to support CYP in taking responsibility, including structured conversations about harm, repair, and future choices.
• Provide graduated support, reducing reliance on adult prompts over time, while supporting CYP to apply and generalise understanding of consequences across different contexts, activities and adults.
• Deliver targeted interventions to develop executive functioning and self-regulation skills.