The Scottish Government

This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007

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Improving school discipline

02/10/2006

A joint action plan designed to continue tackling indiscipline in Scottish schools - signed by the Education Minister, teaching unions and other education leaders - is unveiled today.

The Discipline Stakeholder Group has been working since 2004 to improve behaviour in schools and the action plan is in response to the Behaviour in Scottish Schools Survey carried out by the National Foundation for Educational Research which builds on similar studies carried out in 1990, 1996 and 2004.

It is the most comprehensive survey to date, covering a wider range of questions about behaviour and including the perspectives of councils, headteachers, teachers, additional support staff, and pupils.

The key findings of the discipline survey include:

• On the whole, headteachers - and the majority of teachers, additional support staff and pupils - consider pupils to be well-behaved in the classroom and around the school
• The key behaviour issue for schools continues to be the 'drip drip' effect of low level indiscipline such as talking out of turn, making unnecessary noise and hindering other pupils
• Most schools cope well with this most of the time and the vast majority of teachers report confidence in dealing with indiscipline
• Bad behaviour has not increased since the 2004 survey, but significant improvement has yet to be seen overall. There is however some improvement in primary schools
• There are occasional, more serious, aggressive incidents and these are more likely to occur in corridors and playgrounds than the classroom
• Violence against teachers is rare. However, there is an indication that increasing numbers of very young children are entering the education system with behavioural problems
• There are differences of perception on the discipline issue between headteachers, teachers, additional support staff and pupils. Headteachers are more positive than teachers and additional support staff, while pupils have the most negative perception and tougher attitudes on discipline
• Additional support staff feel less included in school policies, development and training and all staff feel more positive about discipline where they are confident and supported
• Where current best practice is deployed, it works. This includes:

• Where there is good communication between headteachers, teachers and support staff - and all such staff are involved in discipline improvements in the school - all staff are more confident and effective
• A lot of good practice can be attributed to the implementation of the Better Behaviour - Better Learning agenda. Where good practice is in place, things are better and strong leadership is key to this
• There is not sufficient consistency in the application of the Better Behaviour - Better Learning agenda between schools

Under the action plan:

• The Positive Behaviour Team funded by the Scottish Executive will work with teachers, schools and councils to develop and sustain proven approaches to positive behaviour
• Every council and headteacher will be expected to use an appropriate mix of new approaches known to improve behaviour such as:

The Executive will do more to support quality improvement in on-site and off-site behaviour units by:

• creating a network for staff who deliver this provision to meet and share good practice and improve understanding of what works best
• publishing a good practice guide in relation to on-site and off-site provision for children showing behaviour difficulties
• The Executive will work with teaching unions, schools and councils to publish new practice guidance on better behaviour in corridors, playgrounds and around the school
• Councils will gear up their actions to ensure the strong local co-ordination and leadership that is required for effective and consistent implementation of Better Behaviour - Better Learning in their schools is provided. This means working with the Positive Behaviour Team to support their schools and provide extra training to ensure staff are confident in promoting positive behaviour
• Headteachers will be expected to show engagement with all staff on discipline issues. We know where this happens we get results. Headteachers must involve all members of the school community, including staff, parents and pupils, in developing and sustaining behaviour policies and a range of approaches to promoting positive behaviour in school. Councils will quality assure this and HMIe will continue to monitor the effectiveness of leadership as part of their inspections
• Additional support staff in schools need to be more fully valued as members of the whole school community, better integrated into school life and decision-making, and included in in-service training on behaviour issues. The Positive Behaviour Team will develop a training package tailored to the needs of these staff which the Executive will fund
• The Executive will step up its actions to explore the behaviour of very young children and ways to support them entering mainstream education, including 'Nurture Group' demonstration projects, pre-school services for vulnerable two-year-olds and new research on behaviour in the early years
• HMIe will continue to monitor responses of schools and councils to Better Behaviour Better Learning, paying particular attention to evaluating the extent to which policies and strategies already developed and identified feed through into real impact on the experience of teachers and pupils in schools and classrooms

Education Minister Peter Peacock said:

"This is the most comprehensive survey of discipline in Scottish schools ever carried out. The survey was jointly designed and commissioned by the Executive and the teachers unions, headteachers associations and local authorities.

"I am determined to work with teachers, headteachers and councils to drive up behaviour standards in our schools. Violence is, fortunately, still rare but always unacceptable. Today's survey suggests that the modern interventions we have been promoting in schools - such as staged intervention and restorative practices - do work and are key to promoting positive behaviour.

"The survey tells us there is not yet sufficient consistency in the implementation of Better Behaviour - Better Learning, and that must improve because we know where the policy is fully implemented it works. The best practice we see today must become standard practice everywhere.

"I am delighted that all our partners - teacher unions, headteachers, councils and school inspectors - are jointly signing up to make sure this happens. The positive behaviour experts the Executive is funding will drive the further changes we have agreed are needed and will bring better support to teachers and schools the length and breadth of Scotland.

"This survey provides a baseline which will be revisited every three years, allowing us to measure the progress being made in tackling indiscipline."

Sandy Fowler of the EIS's National Executive and Education Committee said:

"The EIS welcomes this research and endorses the findings. We believe that only through working together can a positive, well disciplined environment be created in Scotland's classrooms where pupils are able to learn and teachers are able to teach.

"The figures published today indicate that real problems related to pupil indiscipline continue in our schools. There is no short term fix and no single solution.

"The action plan published today recognises a range of solutions including off site provision, which are applicable to schools according to the circumstances of the school and the community.

"Above all teachers need to know that they have the full support of the management of their school and of the local authority in tackling instances of pupil indiscipline whenever and wherever they occur - including as a last resort, the right to exclude."

David Eaglesham, General Secretary of the Scottish Secondary Teachers' Association, said:

"SSTA members have consistently said that pupil indiscipline is the major impediment to effective learning and teaching in secondary schools and that action must be taken to remedy the problem.

"This survey is most helpful in its comprehensive analysis of the actual situation in schools and in giving clear pointers to how best to tackle issues highlighted.

"The SSTA is totally committed to seeing indiscipline, violence and lack of tolerance and respect being eliminated from our schools, and to replacing these with a positive culture in which learners and teachers are treated with respect.

"Our members will carefully monitor the impact of the proposed initiatives to see that outcomes are actually delivered, because only in this way will improvement occur. We welcome the progress which the survey represents."

Headteachers' Association Scotland General Secretary Bill McGregor said:

"HAS fully recognises the importance of this issue and is happy to endorse this initiative which finds consensus in all the major stakeholders in Scottish education today. It is good that the Minister and Scottish Executive have placed this emphasis on the need for good order in Scottish schools while maintaining an accurate perspective on the scale of the problem.

"HAS hopes that the resources and training required to drive this initiative will be placed directly into schools on a scale designed to achieve ultimate success."

Jim O'Neill, Professional Officer from the Professional Association of Teachers, said:

"The Professional Association of Teachers particularly welcomes this report and endorses its findings and recommendations, which are all the more valid because they are based on such a large number of respondents from all areas of school life.

"The report clearly shows that whilst behaviour in Scotland's schools is far from perfect it is nevertheless equally far from being the major problem which it is sometimes portrayed as.

"As the union representing the whole school team, both teachers and support staff, we particularly welcome the comments which reflect on the importance of engaging everyone in the development and implementation of Behaviour Management strategies and we note with approbation the statement that the provision of suitable training etc. for support staff will be funded by the Executive."

Pat O'Donnell of the National Association of Schoolmasters/Union of Women Teachers said:

"NASUWT welcomes the publication of the Survey on Behaviour in Scottish Schools. In particular, we are gratified that we at last have a sound statistical basis on which to plan for, and evaluate, improving behaviour in Scottish schools.

"NASUWT is pleased to note the Minister's intention to co-ordinate the good work already being undertaken by various authorities to address pupil indiscipline across Scotland. Lack of national co-ordination has undoubtedly been a major factor hindering the establishment of good practice across the board.

"If local authorities commit themselves whole-heartedly to the proposed action plan, there is no reason that pupil behaviour should not reach an acceptable level in every school in Scotland."

Association of Headteachers and Deputes in Scotland Vice-President Tom Burnett said:

"AHDS welcomes involvement in the Discipline Stakeholder Group and values the collaboration with all of the other stakeholders. AHDS recognises the Minister's desire to drive the changes necessary to ensure that our schools are places where teachers and pupils can work in an environment that is free of violence, aggression and disruption.

"There are many examples of very good practice throughout Scotland as illustrated in the discipline survey. AHDS looks forward to continued collaboration with the Scottish Executive and local authorities in order to ensure that all schools have access to additional resources in order to provide the high level of support necessary to sustain acceptable standards."

Councillor Charles Gray, CoSLA's education spokesperson, said:

"Reading this well researched report I was struck by its largely positive message. Parents can certainly be reassured that our schools are as orderly today as they were in 2004, and that a clear majority of Scotland young people are well behaved and keen to learn.

"I am also pleased that this survey has highlighted that the majority of local authorities have acted on the recommendations of Better Behaviour - Better Learning. Local authority good practice is clearly making a difference to the learning and teaching experience of pupils, teachers and support staff.

"Obviously we need to make further progress, but as a report card on Scottish education, the survey certainly makes encouraging reading."

Bryan Paterson of the Association of Directors in Education Scotland said:

"The 2006 discipline survey dispels the myth that there is widespread bad behaviour in our schools. The survey highlights the outcomes of good practice across authorities and emphasises the need to link behaviour to effective learning and effective teaching.

"ADES endorses the view that consistently applied whole school approaches are fundamental to promoting positive behaviour as part of a curriculum for excellence for all. For some, more specialist intervention and support may be required, and this may require to be delivered outwith the mainstream environment as part of a continuum of support for young people with additional needs.

"ADES supports the creation of networks within and across authorities to enable best practice and expertise to be shared and developed; and, joint working with partner agencies to deliver positive outcomes for children in need."

Matthew M MacIver, Chief Executive/Registrar of the GTCS said:

"It is of great significance that all of us who have been members of the Discipline Stakeholder Group are seen to be working together to improve school discipline throughout Scotland.

"I have no doubt that this will be a reassurance to all parents and to all other members of our communities who are interested in maintaining the highest standards in Scotland's schools. The GTCS welcomes this joint action plan in the hope that it will lead to the maintenance of the highest standards throughout Scotland."

The Discipline Stakeholder Group is made up of the Executive, teaching unions, the Association of Directors of Education in Scotland, General Teaching Council for Scotland and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, and advised by HM Inspectorate of Education

The Positive Behaviour Team is made up of nine staff from schools and education authorities, with wide-ranging experience of promoting positive behaviour. Each member works closely with three or four authorities and takes special responsibility for a positive behaviour initiative at national level. The Executive funds the team to provide training, resources and support to education authorities and schools so that they embed the proven positive behaviour initiatives. The team members are Maggie Fallon, Liz Harvey, Maureen Fairgrieve, Frank Reilly, George Marcinkiewicz, Lorraine Hunter, Yvonne Binks, Derrick Bruce and Jim Kane.

On-site and off-site provision: Provision is made for pupils with challenging behaviour both within schools and off-site. Provision in schools includes in-class support from additional support staff, 'time out' spaces and support bases, where children can be educated outwith the normal classroom environment (until reintegrated into class) or have specific input.