Behaviour and Discipline in Schools

Memorandum submitted by the Association of Teachers and Lecturers

1. ATL – leading education union

ATL represents teachers, support staff, lecturers and leaders. We believe that teachers as professionals must be recognised for their knowledge, expertise and judgement, at the level of the individual pupil and in articulating the role of education in facilitating social justice. Schools should be supported to work collaboratively to offer excellent teaching and learning, and to support pupils’ well-being, across a local area. Accountability mechanisms should be developed so that there is a proper balance of accountability to national government, parents and the local community, which supports collaboration rather than competition.

2. How to support and reinforce positive behaviour in schools

Despite much negative coverage in the media, 66% of respondents in a recent ATL member [1] survey found that positive behaviour is supported and reinforced effectively in their schools. Based on our members’ experiences, we outline the key factors vital for this support.

3. Strong Leadership

As with any initiative or activity in schools, the support of a strong leadership team is key to success. This strong leadership must translate into active support for school staff in terms of:

i) having clear and concise guidelines on behaviour for all pupils, and an insistence on their being consistently applied,

ii) having similarly clear and concise guidelines on classroom/behaviour management for all staff with appropriate support structures in place,

iii) ensuring that staff have appropriate peer or leadership support in relation to their practice around behaviour management, eg. mentoring, training, and

iv) having a belief in teacher professionalism which supports teacher flexibility to deviate from prescribed practices in order to meet the needs of their pupils, where necessary.

4. Whole-school behaviour policy

A consistent factor in promoting positive behaviour in schools is a whole-school behaviour policy, with expectations throughout the school team, at all levels, that it be consistently applied. Member experience observes that for this policy to be effective, it needs to be backed up with behaviour management plans and risk assessments for persistent and challenging cases. Positive and proactive measures are emphasised with clear reward systems highlighted and where sanctions are necessary they are proportional, clear and effective. All measures must be consistently applied.

5. As staff turnover in schools may vary, it is important that school leadership ensures that all staff know and understand the policy, and that there are regular opportunities for training and review of practice in the light of the policy and vice versa, which includes all staff, short- or long-term. Consistency is vital and clear reporting and recording procedures play a key role in ensuring that it is achieved across all staff.

6. School culture and ethos

The whole-school approach embraces the school culture, staff-pupil and pupil-pupil relationships and vigilance around group tensions and bullying. School behaviour policies need to include explicit references to specific forms of bullying, such as racist, sexual/sexist and homophobic bullying and again, should be backed by clear action plans (e.g. the use of homophobic language is not simply stopped, as part of behaviour policy, but also challenged with regard to underlying cultural assumptions). [2]

7. ATL’s members have also found that a positive ethos in the school of praise, responsibility, support and peer leadership supports and reinforces positive behaviour. This includes countering prejudicial and stereotypical assumptions about particular groups and having an inclusive ethos, promoting positive images of LGBT pupils, BME pupils (including Gypsy, Roma and Traveller pupils). Schools use mentoring/buddying systems between pupils to combat bullying and ignorance and to ensure that difference is understood. Core values for all – staff and students – are embedded in everyday discussions, circle times and problem solving situations. The whole school knows the expectations, from the children to the teaching staff, support staff and midday supervisors.

8. Staff initial training and professional development

It is not just important that staff know the school’s behaviour policy and work to demonstrate the values that underpin it; they need to understand child development and human behaviour in order that they can promote behaviours which enable classroom relationships to ensure learning and fulfilment of potential. There is no doubt that the current offer of initial and continuing professional training is not sufficient, leaving an understanding and knowledge gap. This is exacerbated by a similar lack of training about Special Educational Needs, needs, which if unidentified and unmet, can result in pupil disaffection and alienation from learning, often manifesting in challenging classroom behaviours. ATL’s excellent and oversubscribed Behaviour Management training course and related publications [3] attempt to meet the professional need caused by this deficit but it is vital that a solution is developed at a broader systemic/structural level.

9. Support staff

The use of teaching assistants has been invaluable in schools particularly where SLTs have been encouraging of their development, often into areas of behaviour and SEN. TAs have been vital in establishing strong and supportive relationships with pupils who find learning / social aspects of education difficult, in working with their families and also in working with other agencies.

10. Collaborations, including extended services

Schools who have positive experiences of behaviour have often promoted close working relationships between their staff and other schools nearby, including the local PRU, and other professional agencies, eg education psychologist, social care and health professionals. [4] They work with parents and the local community to help change potentially negative attitudes to education there. Many members feel that the existence of Sure Start has been very helpful, in making parents feel more involved in the school, tackling distrust and fear, helping parents understand better their own responsibilities and receive support to deal with any parenting challenges they face.

11. Systemic challenges

High-stakes accountability and assessment system

"Each year is started with good intentions but as pressure for results mounts the focus switches." This quote from an ATL member encapsulates the tension between the current high-stakes testing systems and broader strategies of inclusion which underpin the most effective behaviour policies. We know from research [5] that a focus on learning rather than performance yields excellent results, in terms of pupil engagement and behaviour and also on academic outcomes. However, under the current high-stakes system, under the heavy hand of Ofsted, many school leaders find it risky to change their strategy.

12. Funding for staff

As funding in schools is becoming increasingly stretched, ATL is concerned about the impact on staffing levels. Any cut in teacher numbers will be disastrous as our existing teaching workforce is already stretched, teaching large classes and with excessive workloads. We are also concerned that any cuts in support staff numbers will have a massive impact on overall staff workload and on current positive strategies of behaviour management – in many schools, TAs are essential to offering dedicated support to individual pupils and their families, proactively tackling challenging classroom behaviours and supporting teaching.

13. Diversification of the school system

ATL believes that the ever-growing diversification of the school system, and the move by many individual institutions away from the local authority structure will undercut behaviour and attendance partnerships and across-school working, despite such collaborations offering solutions around managed moves, staff mentoring and professional sharing of key information.

14. The nature and level of challenging behaviour and its impact

Nature and level of challenging behaviour

ATL members typically experience low-level disruption and lack of compliance with expectations/ rules. This kind of behaviour interferes with teaching and learning and causes stress on a daily basis.

15. A big challenge to school staff is also entrenched behaviour based on stereotypes and cultural prejudice i.e. homophobia and transphobia, Islamophobia, sexism and towards vulnerable groups such as those in care or with learning difficulties.

16. Verbal abuse of teachers, in terms of insults, threats and derogatory comments, is distressingly common: 51% of ATL members surveyed [1] reported that they had experienced this. A significant proportion of ATL respondents also reported being subject to intimidation such as threats, shouting, being sworn at (38.6%) and physical aggression (28.5%). Violence is also a concern with 25.9% of ATL survey respondents experiencing violence directed at staff. In the main, violence by pupils is directed at other pupils, in the experience of 87.3% of respondents. These figures are important and concerning but it is vital that responses engage with individual incidences and causes, whilst ensuring that staff are protected and supported and future risks minimised.

17. Impact on staff

The impact on staff who experience challenging classroom behaviour is huge. Members cite effects including chronic stress, depression, voice loss, loss of confidence, illness resulting in time off work, negative impact on home/family life. Many experience huge frustration in facing problems which are beyond the school’s capacity to change, or in facing challenges without good support from the senior leadership team. When these frustrations and negative effects become overwhelming, many lose their faith in the education system with the result that a significant proportion leave – 36.8% of our respondents considered changing profession because of poor behaviour by pupils.

18. Impact on school

The impact at school-level of disengaged and challenging pupil behaviour is disruption of learning and the increasing disengagement of pupils. Staff absence increases as dealing with daily challenges takes its toll, and staff morale in general dips. The community of the school is undermined, and cohesion becomes more difficult to maintain. A supportive and pro-active senior leadership team with whole-school policies on behaviour which emphasise engagement of pupils can do much to minimise the negative impact on school, staff and pupils of any challenging behaviour that occurs.

19. Approaches to address challenging behaviour

Schools and local authorities have built up a range of strategies to respond to challenging behaviour. The following are some of the approaches observed by members:

§ Managed moves between schools – these have worked very well in some areas, based on collaboration between schools, support by the local authority, giving pupils another chance in a different environment. [1]

§ Increase of communication with parents – this is particularly effective where school staff have established supportive relationships with parents, often involving a team relationship with external services. These can include, where appropriate, contracts or agreements between parents/carers, students and senior staff.

§ Dedicated inclusion teams with particular strategies eg: time out; key workers; groups which focus on communication skills, anger management etc; inclusion rooms; a ‘seclusion’ system; a behaviour card system; and restorative justice.

§ Where removal from lessons seems to be required, it can be replaced with a part-time timetable in secure personalised learning centre/behaviour unit on-site.

§ Positive strategies such as nurture groups. Also, mentoring by older pupils.

§ Zero tolerance approaches to unacceptable behaviours. Use of sanctions such as removal of privileges. Also, fixed-term exclusions.

§ Differentiated policy in relation to need, eg SEN.

20. Engaging parents and carers

Our members report that building relationships with parents is a key way of engaging them positively in managing their children’s behaviour. Some schools have a dedicated staff member for parent-community relations which has achieved much in this area, particularly reaching parents who have been previously difficult to engage; some offer parenting classes. Early involvement of parents, clear communication of difficulties and consequences and behaviour agreements (some do this in the form of ‘contracts’) are very effective. There needs to be a basis of regular communication with parents for ‘good’ as well as ‘bad’ reasons. Tools such as the Individual Education Plan (IEP) are also useful. Extended services can play a key role in this; it is vital that school staff liaise with specialists outside the school, highlighting specialist support to parents, ie around domestic violence, LGBT equality etc.

21. Difficulties:

Evidence/information plays a vital role in these relationships and this can be undermined by insufficient logging of incidents. This will be further damaged by the currently considered abolition of duty to record and report bullying incidents and racist incidents. Staff can be vulnerable to pupils/parents making allegations against them, as a form of defence – logging of incidents helps to defuse these allegations earlier.

22. Some parents distrust or fear institutions such as schools, and indeed the supportive extended services around them. This is very challenging for schools and LAs to overcome. These fears and resentments are often reinforced by deprivation and socioeconomic inequalities. Time- and staff-intensive interventions including a dedicated Parent Liaison worker are needed to meet this level of need.

23. Some schools and areas face the challenge of a geographically dispersed parent body where communication with parents is stymied by distance. Email, phone and notes via student bag/book methods can be effective but are limited, particularly when sensitivity of issue dictates a face-to-face approach. Where language can be a barrier, it is vital that there are language support services available and indeed, access for families to EAL services.

24. A significant proportion of parents feel unable or disinclined to set boundaries for their children. In some cases, it reflects a lack of confidence or knowledge, needs which can be met with early parenting interventions like Sure Start. There are parents who present strongly challenging behaviour themselves, being aggressive towards the school and in some cases, their children. In these cases, it is vital that schools use extended services and proactive approaches.

25. Special educational needs

SEN can best be recognised in schools’ behaviour and discipline policies through an underpinning broad inclusion policy and an openness to a broad range of interventions, according to pupil need and situation. This kind of broad strategy emphasises early identification of SEN, recognises different needs and therefore affords flexible options for staff to use ie pupils with special learning/ behavioural needs being able to spend time in the Learning Suite, TA support, one-to-one tuition, individualised/differentiated learning, behaviour support plans.

26. It is vital that schools have expertise and experience in SEN; many use a Learning Support Worker/Team to ensure the identification of, and organisation of support for, special needs of pupils. Staff need to be given access to this SEN expertise, whether through internal/external CPD, mentoring by the SENCO, peer support. Schools need to link with external agencies to have access to expertise and to support their SEN provision.

27. Current challenges

SEN can be seen as an add-on, with behaviour management policies not allowing for differentiation. This can be exacerbated by inadequate internal communication with SEN dept; members report cases where support staff are given little input and information on current behaviour or SEN policies. There is a lack of general workforce knowledge of specific SEN issues, leaving them ill-prepared to encounter/identify the related needs.

28. Funding is perceived to be an issue in the lack/delay of statements for pupils with SEN with the potential conflict of interest represented by the funding body as provider of statements. However, it is vital that alternative options being considered take into account factors such as the current shortage of education psychologists.

29. Alternative provision

Currently, alternative provision is patchy in terms of access and quality across the country. Members observe that getting access can be slow and difficult, even impossible. Where alternative provision settings have worked well, members have strongly praised services they offer pupils, such as skills centres, and outreach services which are helpful in building up support for those pupils. They are seen as being very effective with behaviour management, and many members are fearful for the future of these centres in relation to funding cuts as they feel that they offer a vital opportunity for pupils who have struggled with mainstream education.

30. Re-integration into the mainstream school environment is an area of concern for our members – it is vital that there is good communication between the school and the alternative provision setting so that there is a clear strategy to prevent a recurrence of previous issues.

31. Members report that managed moves, if supported by parents, have worked well for many pupils, providing the opportunity for a fresh start within mainstream education, without the stigma of permanent exclusion.

32. Links between attendance and behaviour

As with behaviour, strong leadership and a flexible curriculum has impact on attendance in schools as observed by Ofsted in 2007 [1] . Non-attendance is a challenging behaviour and as with classroom disruption, it can be an expression of alienation and disengagement with school, learning and the curriculum. It can also be an expression of broader socioeconomic issues, chaotic home lives or pressures on children as carers. As with behaviour, it requires understanding of individual cases and individualised responses.

33. Government’s proposals

ATL members expressed concern about the impact of Government proposals on relationships with pupils and parents, for example:

34. Powers to search

There are already powers to search for teachers; extending and continuing to emphasise these powers undermines teachers’ role as educators, putting them increasingly into a policing role. Members feel that these risk alienating pupils and parents, perhaps even resulting in civil claims and could precipitate challenge and confrontation with a negative impact on learning. Some members observed that these measures are suitable to schools as ‘grade-factories’ but are debatable if schools’ function is also to shape "well-rounded individuals". Any powers to search must be accompanied by clear guidance with the aim of protecting staff and pupils alike.

35. Detentions notice requirements

ATL members believe that this will be detrimental to relationships with some parents who, without notice, will not know where their children are, giving them cause for a reasonable complaint against the school. It also raises concerns where pupils need school transport and there are no alternative transport options available. While it can make detention more efficient by the fact of its immediacy, our members are unsure that this advantage outweighs the disadvantages noted above. They observe that lunchtime detentions can be as effective and not as problematic. They also state that the use of any such sanctions should be included in regular communication with parents.

36. Conclusion

ATL members are clear that while challenging pupil behaviour is a significant issue in schools, there are positive developments that engage pupils in learning, minimizing disruption and providing support for staff in recognising pupil needs. Many of these developments come out of strong leadership, collaborative across-school working, local authority support and extended services. These are vital to continuing success in meeting the challenge as is a shift of emphasis away from the current narrow-target and high-stakes accountability system.

September 2010

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References

§ ‘Behaviour, Discipline and Attendance: ATL member survey’, Autumn 2010

§ ‘Doing Gender’: ATL survey report on aspects of sex/gender identity and homophobia, July 2007

§ ‘Managing Classroom Behaviour’, Watkins, ATL, 1997

§ ‘Learning: A Sense-Maker’s Guide’, Watkins, ATL, 2003

§ ‘Extended Services’, ATL Position Statement, March 2010

§ ‘Achievement for All’, ATL, 2002

§ ‘Challenging behaviour in schools: ATL member survey’, Spring 2010

§ ‘Managed Moves’, Abdelnoor, Gulbenkian Foundation, 2008

§ ‘Strategic Alternatives to Exclusion from School’, Parsons, 2009

§ ‘Recording and reporting incidents of bullying between pupils, and incidents of abuse against school staff’, ATL, March 2010

§ ‘Attendance in Secondary Schools’, Ofsted, 2007