This study looked at how physical activity can impact on the behaviour of “behaviourally highlighted” students, analysing whether pedagogical decisions can help aid students’ behaviour in school with pedagogy being defined by Alexander (2008) as encompassing the performance of teaching alongside the beliefs, policies, controversies and theories that inform and form it. These pedagogical decisions were linked to the level of physical activity used, as an energy releasing vessel to calm the students and improve their behaviour. The hope was that after the sessions, students in this study, who had been taken ‘out of class’ could potentially return to class as the energy they had released, would dramatically decrease their disruption levels. Hamre and Pianta (2006) stated that within middle and secondary schools, the relationships between students and teachers are fundamental to the importance of the students’ success in school and the type of behaviour they exhibit. Furthermore, relationships are built throughout the school year. As teachers interact with students on a daily basis, the relationships formed are important when managing a class as the teacher’s actions, directly influence student’s social, emotional, and academic experiences (Wilkins, 2014).

In an attempt to ‘calm’ behaviour, a game called ‘roundnet’ was introduced using a ‘Teaching Games for Understanding’ (TGfU) approach to engage the students. Roundnet is an innovative, ever growing sport that uses multiple skills some of which are similar to volleyball. The aim of the sport is to successfully hit a ball onto a circular net, past your opponent so the ball bounces on the floor. Similar to racket sports such as badminton or tennis; roundnet matches can be played in singles, doubles, although doubles are the more popular version of the sport. For this study, five sessions were delivered and the pedagogical decisions investigated.