Positive Behaviour Support Policy

What is positive behaviour support?

Positive behaviour support, or PBS, is a framework for understanding behaviour that challenges by looking at its social, physical and personal context. Its main goal is a better quality of life for the person, and under CQC's guidance it should also reduce restrictive practices. The service acts early to prevent distress and treats behaviour as a way of communicating a need or a feeling. Punishment has no place in it.

Do you need a PBS policy?

Specialist supported living services for autistic people and people with a learning disability must send CQC a PBS policy. This template is written for those services and follows CQC's statutory guidance, "Right support, right care, right culture". It applies to people the service supports who are autistic, have a learning disability, or may show distress in ways that put themselves or others at risk.

From assessment to a written plan

The procedure runs in stages:

1. Before support starts, gather referral information and record any restrictive practices already in use as a baseline.

2. The PBS lead arranges a functional assessment, a step-by-step look at when, where, how and why the behaviour happens, sized to the need.

3. Write the behaviour support plan with the person and those who know them well.

4. Train staff in the plan before they support the person.

5. Record incidents on the same shift and review the data regularly.

6. After an incident, check the person is well, offer support and a debrief, and review the plan.

Most of the plan should be proactive strategies, meaning support that makes distress less likely, such as better activities and new communication skills. Reactive strategies stay a small part of it. Staff use only those written in the plan, choosing the least restrictive option for the shortest time.

Training, closed cultures and review

All staff complete PBS training before they support someone with a plan, plus learning disability and autism training at the right level. CQC lists poor supervision, no time for debriefs and a lack of autism or learning disability training as warning signs of a closed culture, so the policy builds in supervision and reflective practice.

Before you use it, name your PBS lead and training provider, and add your review timescales and local safeguarding contacts. CQC expects your documents not to contradict each other, so check this policy lines up with your restrictive practice, safeguarding and complaints policies.

Any restrictive intervention in a plan must first go through the Restrictive Practice Policy & Procedure. Any concern of abuse or neglect follows the Safeguarding Policy & Procedure (Supported Living).