What Does Take-Up Time Look Like in our Settings?

One of our primary aims in education and health and social care is to empower children, young people, and adults to understand how to regulate their emotions, and take control of their behaviour. When we give individuals the tools they need to recognise how they feel, they can begin to redirect behaviours themselves, and prevent situations from escalating.

That’s where ‘take-up time’ comes in. Take-up time creates a ‘pause’, presenting individuals and, indeed, staff, with an imaginary crossroads, where they can decide the best way forward. In that moment, the response of both parties can either escalate or de-escalate a situation, depending on the choices they make.

So, what does take-up time look like, both for the individuals in our settings, and for us as professionals?

Take-up time as a regulation strategy

For clarity, take-up time is not a forced intervention; rather, it’s the creation of a space where the individual can regain control, and feel confident enough to take ownership of the outcome.

We can all expect to encounter challenging situations in our settings at some point. These can develop quickly in response to a known trigger, or build up slowly over time. While knowledge of individuals can help us understand how certain behaviours can escalate – for example, small cues, such as fidgeting followed by pacing, can indicate that the individual is experiencing heightened stress and anxiety – we cannot always defuse or de-escalate situations before crisis stage is reached.

While we cannot control someone else’s behaviour, we can support them in using ‘take-up time’ to understand how they feel, make their own choices, and move themselves towards re-regulation.

How to encourage take-up time

There are many ways we can encourage take-up time, depending on the nature of our settings and the individuals we support:

1: Consider communication

We need to think about how we are presenting ourselves to the individual. Our body language should reflect calmness and a sense of ease, with an open, relaxed stance. Positioning our body sideways, rather than square on, reassures an individual that there is a safe exit, should they wish to leave. By maintaining a ‘soft’ and neutral expression, and keeping verbal interactions to a minimum, we reduce the likelihood of confrontation or escalation.

If the individual feels safe and supported in our presence, they are more likely to pick up on and emulate our stance, gestures, and verbal patterns, enabling them to calm themselves down with minimal intervention (a process known as ‘mirroring’).

2: Make use of quiet spaces

Where possible, it may be appropriate to guide an individual to a calm, quiet space with fewer distractions. The very act of moving to a new environment creates take-up time, in and of itself, and gives the child, young person, or adult a new perspective, physically and, potentially, emotionally. This type of transition may be helpful in reducing the impact of any triggers.