Poor pupil behaviour targeted in new proposals

The government has supported a range of new proposals aimed at strengthening teachers’ rights to tackle badly behaved pupils.

A report by the government’s school discipline and behaviour task force recommended giving teachers the right to discipline and physically restrain badly behaved children.

The report’s recommendations also included extending the use of parenting contracts; making parents responsible for the supervision of excluded pupils by fining them if their child is found out on the streets during school hours; the development of a National Behaviour Charter; and the monitoring of pupils’ behaviour via the education watchdog Ofsted.

Sir Alan Steer, leader of the taskforce, said that schools needed to take “firm and consistent action” to deal with bad behaviour and stressed that parental cooperation was also essential.

Sir Alan said: "Contrary to what is often said, most schools are orderly places that for some children provide the stability and security they don't have in the rest of their lives. But we also know that a small minority of unruly pupils can make life very difficult for teachers and do real damage to the learning and attainment of other pupils in a class.

"The changes that we have recommended strengthen the authority of schools, giving them the confidence to take action and send a clear message to parents and pupils that they also have a responsibility in dealing with the problem."

Education Secretary Ruth Kelly accepted the recommendations and the government would implement them “as soon as possible”. She said: "The Government has made tackling poor behaviour a major priority, providing increased powers and resources.

"Ofsted also tell us that behaviour is good in most schools most of the time. But some schools still face real discipline challenges because there is too little consistency in dealing with poor behaviour. There is still too much low-level disruption to lessons - backchat, rudeness, calling out in class - that makes teaching and learning more difficult.

"These proposals can help bring change not just to the rules but to the culture reaffirming respect in classrooms and putting teachers firmly in charge.

Commenting on the report, Mick Brookes, NAHT General Secretary, said: “The Government must ensure that the demands on schools are reduced in order to maintain the positive practice described in this report. It is obvious that school leaders under pressure to implement an unending plethora of initiatives are finding it much harder to react in a timely and effective manner to challenging behaviour.”

(KMcA/SP)