Behaviour in good schools is not a serious problem but overall it remains a big concern for parents. Evidence shows there is much to do. For instance:
- Nearly 1,000 children are suspended from school for abuse and assault every school day.
- Persistent disruptive behaviour accounts for nearly a third of all cases of permanent exclusions in secondary schools.
- Major assaults on staff have reached a five-year high with 44 having to be rushed to hospital with serious injuries last year.
- False allegations have been made against one-in-four school staff by a pupil. One-in-six have had an allegation made by a member of a pupil’s family.
- Two thirds of teachers say bad behaviour is driving professionals out of the classroom.
- Previous behaviour and search guidance was more than 600 pages long. It left teachers confused about their powers under the law. It also made it much harder for schools to have clear and effective discipline policies.
The Government’s new guidance is 50 pages long. It clearly sets out the roles and responsibilities for governing bodies, headteachers and teachers regarding behaviour and discipline. It unequivocally restores adult authority to the classroom.
The new guidance clarifies teachers’ powers. It makes clear the following:
- Schools should not have a ‘no touch’ policy. It is often necessary or desirable for a teacher to touch a child (e.g. dealing with accidents or teaching musical instruments).
- Teachers have a legal power to use reasonable force. They can use force to remove a pupil who is disrupting a lesson or to prevent a child leaving a classroom.
- Heads can search for an extended list of items including alcohol, illegal drugs and stolen property.
- Heads have the power to discipline pupils who misbehave outside the schools premises and outside schools hours.
The guidance also protects teachers from malicious allegations and strengthens their authority in the classroom. It makes clear:
- Heads can temporarily or permanently exclude pupils who make false allegations. In extreme circumstances they may even press criminal charges against the pupil.
- The default position should be to assume the teacher has behaved reasonably unless a complainant can show that a teacher has behaved unreasonably.
- Schools should not automatically suspend teachers accused of using force unreasonably.
- All but the tiny number of the most complex cases should be resolved within three months and the vast majority should be resolved in four weeks.
- Malicious allegations should not be included in employment records.
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