Memorandum submitted by Dr David L Moore
CBE
MANAGING BEHAVIOUR
Most teachers manage the majority of pupils
well most of the time. Statistical information on exclusions and
schools internal documentation support this.
Permanent exclusions from school are around
10,000 per year out of a pupil population of over eight million.
They constitute less than one-quarter of one percent of the total
school population. Boys make up the majority of permanent and
fix term exclusions from primary and secondary schools. They are
four times more likely to be excluded than girls.
The most common reasons for exclusions have
not changed since the publication of Exclusions from secondary
schools 1995-96, they are:
— Violence to other pupils.
— Persistently breaking school rules.
— Criminal offences, usually theft or substance
abuse.
There are over 4,000 secondary schools in England
of which some 1,500 have not permanently, or fix term excluded
any pupils in the last five to 10 years. Some 10-15% of all permanent
exclusions come from about 100 schools.
Fix term exclusion is used by many schools of
a way of indicating to the pupil and parents that behaviour is
declining. In nearly two thirds of such exclusions lasting between
one and three days it is effective ensuring the pupil does not
reoffend in the following twelve months. Some schools use of fix
term exclusion is promiscuous. For example, some continue to exclude
for pupils not wearing correct uniform.
A fact not published in the 1996-97 HMI Report
as it was lost in the editing process was that two-thirds of all
pupils excluded from schools visited had reading ages between
8.5 and 10 years. HM Chief Inspector of Prisons note in a report
issued around the same time, that two-thirds of prisoners on remand
had poor reading ages usually ten years or less.
While girls are less likely to be excluded,
often the offenses they commit are often of a higher level than
boy's, for example sustained and intense bullying and acts of
sustained violence.
Assaults on teachers generally occur when a
pupil attempts to leave a classroom and the teacher moves to stop
them. Normally the pupil pushes the teacher away which is reported
as assault. There are however, as unions will testify occasions
when violence towards teachers occurs though it is not as commonplace
as sections of the media would have their readers believe.
Both the Elton and Steer reports on behaviour
in schools noted and inspection evidence concurs that the behaviours
that concern teachers the most are low level disturbance, which
groups around:
— General buoyancy as pupils move around
the school and enter and leave classrooms.
— Idle chatter during lessons.
— Not following expected classroom routines,
for example calling out and interrupting others including the
teacher.
— Pupils coming off task and interfering
with their peers who are trying to work.
— Inappropriate social behaviours such
as "answering teachers back", attempting to have the
last word and displaying an acute disregard for the adults status.
Teachers have little training in managing behaviour.
Since Kenneth Baker was Secretary of State for Education 3 year
teacher training courses have limited Child Development and Psychology
programmes and for students taking the PGCE courses they are lucky
to receive between an hour to two hours on classroom and pupil
management. Some professional associations for example the NASUWT
organise training for newly qualified teachers at summer schools
before they begin at their schools which helps prepare them for
the challenges of managing young people.
The over-all lack of understanding about child
development and psychology disadvantages our teachers and as a
result many struggle to distinguish between what are termed "received"
behaviour, that which has been learnt at home and not modified
to function in different settings and behaviours that indicate
disturbance and illness.
Clear and consistent classroom routines, linked
to engaging teaching which takes into account the range of reading
ages and offers tasks that support and yet challenge at the same
time help most pupils to maintain good behaviour. Pace of lesson
gives a sense of urgency and helps maintain pupils focus. Inconsistency
creates opportunities for pupils to come off task. Where teachers
do not settle classes well, the social chatter and group dynamics
takes control so that teaching becomes an interruption to the
social discourse of the pupils.
The introduction initially through the Excellence
in Cities Programme and Behaviour Improvement Programme of Learning
Mentors and In School Support Centres has been effective in preventing
exclusion and improving behaviour. Increasingly schools outside
of the programmes funding streams have from within their own budgets
employed staff to take on these roles. Often these staff come
from outside the teaching profession. Primary schools have used
support programmes such as Quality Circle Time, Nurture Group
Programmes and more therapeutic approaches such as A quiet Place
and Place to be. All such programmes have their place, but cannot
compensate for weak or inappropriate classroom organisation or
teaching.
Most schools provide a safe haven for pupils;
however, they are only as strong as their weakest teachers. Head
teachers report that some staff do not follow expectations identified
in the schools behaviour policy. They expect senior staff to sort
out classroom difficulties and abdicate responsibility for what
goes on in their classroom or teaching area. Evidence from visits
indicates that where senior staff have worked with weaker staff
there is generally an improvement in classroom organisation and
teaching. As a result staff become more self confident and manage
pupils better. Some staff however continue despite support, to
struggle.
Effective links between home and school are
pivotal in helping pupils to understand that the expectations
are the same irrespective of the setting and that the child cannot
play one off against the other. However, there are a large number
of parents for who school was not a pleasant experience and these
are the ones who tend to challenge the schools if they perceive
their child is being victimised by the school. Managing these
situations is not easy, but some schools using Pupil, Parent Support
Workers have found that earlier intervention where parents are
approached and don't feel blamed for their child's behaviour are
beginning to change attitudes to schools and teachers for the
better.
There are however, behaviours and attitudes
that test schools and all the adults that work within them. Some
pupils have a limited understanding of personal danger, social
convention and their role as a child. Often they challenge their
parents and others in authority such as the police. They do test
the support systems of schools and staff tolerance. Currently
too few schools seek training for staff in managing or working
with other schools for joint training. Some schools have a handful
of such pupils while others, usually serving very poor communities
many have a higher number. They are not the majority causing chaos
in our schools but the impact of this minority can be significant
in influencing how teachers view behaviour over-all in theirs
and other schools.
October 2010
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