NUT: Guidance for teachers to help improve discipline in schools

Monday, 11 July 2011 4:47 PM

Guidance for teachers to help improve discipline in schools

Commenting on the new Department for Education guidance, Christine Blower, General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers, the largest teachers’ union, said:

 “While we welcome the confirmation that teachers can be trusted to respond appropriately to difficult situations within the school, there is a danger that concentrating on the small minority of badly behaved pupils will bring about an unhelpful change in the schools’ culture if airport style security measures and frisking are seen as normal.

“Schools work hard to develop and maintain relationships of trust between pupils and teachers which heavy handed tactics, in response to a problem which is confined to the minority, may not always be the best solution and are more likely to escalate rather than defuse potentially difficult situations.

“Most behaviour problems are low level, and are best resolved on the spot by staff who believe they have the authority to enforce rules in the classroom and feel well supported in whole school behaviour policies by their head teacher and governing body, as well as parents and pupils. This is a view confirmed by the recent Education Select Committee Inquiry into behaviour and discipline and by Ofsted.

“Getting rid of the current guidance may actually be counterproductive. Although it was long, it was comprehensive and gave lots of practical examples which teachers and heads could choose to consult if they had a similar situation. By generalising the advice so much, schools may feel much less certain about what they could actually do in the best interests of both staff and pupils.

“Guidance on teachers having physical contact with pupils where it is the right and professional thing to do is useful. Many teachers have been frustrated that professional contact, such as how to do something in PE, dance, drama or music, could be open to interpretation. This is plainly ridiculous and it is good to have clarification.

“The NUT also welcomes the move to ensure anonymity for teachers facing allegations. It is also absolutely right that all false allegations are removed from teachers’ records. This will help ensure that innocent teachers are not hindered from developing their careers by allegations which have been shown to be erroneous or even malicious.”
 

Tags: