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BETTER BEHAVIOUR: PROMOTING POSITIVE BEHAVIOUR IN SCOTTISH SCHOOLS
Teachers make the difference
Peter Peacock, Minister for Education and Young People, takes stock
TEACHERS ARE CENTRAL TO THE POSITIVE EHOS OF THE SCHOOL AND CLASSROOM, WHICH SETS THE EXPECTATIONS OF RESPECT AND CONSIDERATION FOR EVERYONE IN THE SCHOOL. THESE ASPECTS OF EDUCATION ARE THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF ACHIEVEMENT IN SCHOOL AND OF CITIZENSHIP IN THE WIDER COMMUNITY
Taking stock after a year as Minister for Education and Young People, I want to emphasise again the excellent work that is going on in Scottish schools and to pay tribute to the commitment and energy of the teachers that makes Scottish education something for the nation to be proud of.
I make those comments sincerely after spending time visiting schools, talking to teachers and headteachers and seeing first hand the hard work that goes into creating positive and caring learning environments up and down the country. Where truly excellent practice happens, we see spectacular results for our young people - high self esteem, confidence, ambition, sound values and increasing attainment. Part of my task is to allow the best that exists to inform the practice of those yet to reach the standards of the best.
When I first came into this post in May 2003, I made a commitment that discipline would be a top priority and that action would be taken to address the concerns of teachers, pupils and the wider public. This magazine reports on the action that has been taken, but what has impressed me most over the last year is what difference individual teachers make through their daily work to the life chances of the children they encounter.
Teachers have the power to liberate and nurture children's talent, develop their character, and to create for children the treasured memories that many of us have of the people that helped us while at school. Teachers are central to the positive ethos of the school and classroom, which sets the expectations of respect and consideration for everyone in the school. These aspects of education are the building blocks of achievement in school and of citizenship in the wider community.
The action taken over the last year by the Scottish Executive is all about providing teachers and headteachers with the support they need to continue to develop their schools. Education authorities have been enabled to do more to support staff and schools with ongoing funding for Better Behaviour - Better Learning implementation, renewed commitment for funding staff training and developing staff support through Staged Intervention. The partnership approach between schools, authorities and the Executive is leading to exciting initiatives helping to pilot work in Scotland, and I am pleased to see new ideas being embraced, tested and re-shaped so that we can all learn and build on what works.
I am far from complacent about discipline in schools, and I do believe we must continue to work on problems together. But we must also overcome our traditional reticence and get better at recognising what we do well. Teachers, parents and pupils can be confident that safe and happy schools remain high on my agenda and indeed that safe and happy schools are in the majority in Scotland.
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