Behaviour issues in the press

[Mike Temple]

I'm going to add the daily updates I get from the BBC for you to take a look at and also to archive the information. Feel free to add and other press or new clips

TES articles

A third of schools bore their classes

'Air miles' scheme sees pupils rock

Points mean prizes in schools that are trialling a new electronic rewards card system

Burak’s family were surprised when the 13-year-old brought home an electric Stratocaster guitar. His mother faces an even bigger surprise next week.
“I’m buying her a pair of earrings,” Burak explains. “I’m going to leave the box out for her at home, so she finds it, with a note in Turkish telling her they’re a gift from me.”
Burak’s mother understands very little English, so, luckily, will not read about the surprise here.
But she does know about the reward system that allows Burak and the other 800 pupils at the Westminster Academy in London to buy themselves and their friends gifts.

Jan 09

Who faces more disruption and defiance: Sir or Miss?

Research shows that pupils give male teachers a harder time, but this is only half of the story

Do pupils behave differently towards male and female teachers?
On the face of it, a recent NUT survey seems to suggest that men have a tougher time from pupils.
The union asked 1,500 members what sort of poor behaviour they tackled each week. It found that 80 per cent of male staff said they were on the receiving end of backchat from pupils, but only 70 per cent of female teachers reported the same - a comparison that prompted many newspaper headlines last week.


Farm school keeps lads on the right track

A boys-only state secondary for boarders that operates a professional organic farm has proved a big success with pupils turned off by mainstream education. David Marley reports

All teachers are used to dealing with disruptions in class. But these rarely come in the form of a 600kg cow making a bid for freedom. As Paul Kingston, the farm manager at Brymore School, explains the difference between different cuts of meat, his subject has spotted a gate ajar and is making a break for it.
But the 15-year-old pupils are alert to such events and, with the use of some strong shoulder action and a few yells, they ease the animal back into its pen. Disruption over.


Sexual bullying 'has always gone on'

See the Panorama programme here

Trauma often misdiagnosed as ADHD'

US expert says better training would help teachers understand cause of pupils’ behavioural problems

Children traumatised by abuse and neglect often receive inappropriate treatment because they are misdiagnosed as suffering from attention deficit hyperactivity or bipolar disorders, says a US expert.
Children who have grown up in chaotic or threatening environments often show signs of fear even when there is no external threat, according to Bruce Perry of the Child Trauma Academy in Texas.


Mental health problems set to double over next decade

A government adviser predicts a huge rise in psychological disorders among children and warns that data fails to factor in special-needs pupils. And as William Stewart reports, the recession can only make a bad situation worse

The number of pupils with mental health disorders is set to double to a point where a fifth of five to 15-year-olds are affected, a government adviser has warned.
Professor Barry Carpenter, who chaired a major national inquiry into mental health, told The TES that the economic downturn would play a part in children’s emotional problems.

[Mike Temple]

Many violent pupils not expelled
Teacher writing
Decisions to exclude pupils are taken by head teachers

More than 340 children are suspended for violence against other pupils every school day in England, figures highlighted by the Tories show.

Official data shows 65,390 pupils were temporarily excluded for violence against their classmates in 2006-7.

Though not new, the figures may surprise some as violence is one of the few offences behaviour guidelines deem serious enough for immediate expulsion.

The government said teachers were using short, sharp shocks to control pupils.

The figures, published in June this year, showed that more than 2,200 children were excluded from school in England every school day, most temporarily.

Classroom control

The Conservatives are highlighting the fact that so many are served with temporary exclusions for violence.

They also point to large year-on-year increases in certain areas.

In England overall, the increase was 4.3% between 2005-6 and 2006-7, but in some pockets the rise was much greater.


Heads need the power to expel children who are violent to others without the possibility of seeing that child returned to the school
Michael Gove
Shadow children's minister

In one borough, Southwark, they rose by 110% from 166 to 348. This compares to a rise of 10% in London overall.

In Hartlepool exclusions for violence rose by 53% and in Middlesbrough by 50%.

The figures also showed that students from disadvantaged areas were more likely to be given exclusions.

Shadow children's minister Michael Gove said: "This is further evidence of the lack of discipline in our schools. It is vital that teachers are given control over the classroom so they can deal with bad behaviour before it escalates into violence.

"We will change the law to give teachers unequivocal powers to maintain discipline.

"Heads need the power to expel children who are violent to others without the possibility of seeing that child returned to the school."

His party has repeatedly pledged to end parents' right of appeal over expulsions, but it seems some head teachers are not making full use of the powers available to them.

Violence or threatened violence, along with sexual assault, supplying drugs and carrying weapons, is named in the government's behaviour guidelines as an offence that could warrant, in the head teacher's judgement, permanent exclusion for a first "one-off" offence.

A spokeswoman for the Department for Children, Schools and Families said: "These figures show that teachers are using the powers we have given them to give short, sharp shocks to control discipline."

The percentage of permanent exclusions overturned on appeal is very small.

[Elona Hartjes]

"The only solution to the problem of disruptive pupils and bullies is to get them right out of mainstream schools"

As a special education behaviour specialist working with disruptive students or students that bully others, I'm not sure this is the best approach. Everyone needs to learn to live together in mainstream society. I think that disruptive students and bullies need support within the mainstream school. A disruptive student or a student who bullies others is really crying out for help. I think the help these students need is best gotten in mainstream schools where with support they can feel they are part of school society and not alienated from it.

[Mike Temple]

I do agree entirely with what you say. Our troubled students really do need on-demand help with the issues they have and need to be allowed to bring them into school and find ways of resolving them. I have always used this approach and have found that students of all ages are very receptive to being helped to build emotional literacy, self-resolution, resilience and anger management tools. Poor choices and mistakes in judgement should be part of the education process and gives us an opportunity to do some coaching - isn't that what we're here for? The challenge in mainstream comes from those who think 'these children' should be elsewhere. Given the chance, they can all do well enough to be seen as well balanced, pleasant adults and we should take pride in being able to help them achieve that - I certainly got lots from the process and felt very proud of children who have managed this.

[Mike Temple]

Coping with the classroom devils

It would appear that there are large issues in the press in Ireland. Secondary exclusions are 20x higher than primaries!

Read the article here

[Ed Whittaker]

"Points mean prizes in schools that are trialling a new electronic rewards card system"

There are some of (my now ex) colleagues who believe that good behaviour should be just expected as normal and should not be rewarded as something special. Well, there is something in the idea that doing something good has its own, intrinsic reward - and for most of us that's indeed enough. Some teachers I know also seem to think that good behaviour is 'genetic' , that it is the 'default option'; that if we do nothing to make it bad, then good behaviour will just happen.
Let's take these points one at a time: yes, it would be nice if being good was its own reward. But we are dealing with children and children are, by definition, neither emotionally nor intellectually mature so a little extrinsic motivation is perfectly reasonable in my view. As for the second point; all behaviour, good and bad, learned. It follows, then, that if we want good behaviour we have to teach it. How does an animal trainer train a dog to do tricks? Does he do it by beating the dog every time it does it wrong, or by rewarding it when it does it right? I'm not suggesting that we treat children like animals, but the principle applies - we need to reward positive behaviour in order to encourage more of it.

So, rewards are good for children. But what form should the reward take? A word of praise, round of applause, postcard home to mum, a certificate are all good rewards. However, children today seem to want, indeed expect, more material rewards for good behaviour. This is where I get a little bit ambivalent. Is it good that Barak can go home with a Stratocaster guitar (value around £100) rather than a certificate and £5 book token? I organised a reward system and shop at my school. Pupils got rewards in lessons and could 'spend' them in the shop. However it was limited to fluffy pencil cases, novelty rubbers (sorry, 'erasers' for our American colleagues - I understand rubber has a different connotation over the pond!) and the like. No mountain bikes nor electric guitars I'm afraid. If we can give geometry sets as prizes what, in principle, is the difference between that and an iPod? How does this affect those pupils who will never achieve sufficient rewards to get a big prize?
Still not sure how I stand on all of this. Any other thoughts?

[Mike Temple]

Hi Ed

I take on board the issues around rewards and their value for some students. I think the heirarchy of reward systems can go some way towards unravelling the process. For our most disaffected, perhaps emotionally disabled or even mentally challenged young people, the sticker sometimes just doesn't do it for them. I refer back to Sir Alan Steer's recent report in which he states

"...schools to have regard to the need to take steps to meet disabled people's needs, even if this requires more favourable treatment"

and in this group, he refers to the emotionally disabled.

For many of the most challenging and disabled of our young people, they need very strong rewards programmes even if they seem to be treated more fairly than others with less disability. And here is where the problem lies - many folks think this is simply unfair.

"Why are we rewarding pupils with bad behaviur?"
"If they can have this reward, why can't my child?"

So I refer to this hierarchy to help the understanding

Money – financial
Activity – trips out
Celebration, token
Social
Intrinsic

From the 'most' reward for the most disaffected at the top to the 'least' reward at the bottom.

It's all about differentiation and as it's a really emotional issue, many people will disagree with this, especially if you look at it from a 'fairness' standpoint.
My comparison is that someone who comes into school requiring a wheelchair or crutches in order to walk and participate shouldn't mean that all students should be able to have the same facility for themselves, whether or not they need it.
Simplistic, you might suggest, but in reality, this is similar to how people see the unfairness of rewarding different students differently.

Rewards should be awarded in context and given to encourage the next step - the aim being to build up the student's self-image and emotional resilience to a point where they begin to progress for rewards further 'down' the scale and eventually for the intrinsic reward of just doing it. I've seen this progression take place with very challenging students in my own special school as they have developed very strong and trusting relationships with adults who have tolerated many years of challenging behaviour, but have applied the principles of positive expectations consistently - even doggedly, despite the struggles that the pupil offers.

It's only when you've really seen the change take place that you can understand how this system works, and it does woek.

[Ed Whittaker]

I agree with everything you say, except for one thing; I really do baulk at the idea of giving money as a reward. If someone does a job for me I am happy to pay them for their time - people pay me money for my time, after all.
However, good work or good behaviour ultimately only benefits the child. Acknowledging their efforts or success with a token (however expensive) is fine, but paying them cash just doesn't sit right with me. It just one step too near to encouraging a materialistic, 'what's in it for me' attitude.
But that's just my opinion and I am coming from a mainstream background.

[Mike Temple]

Yes, I see where you're coming from. It also sits awkwardly for me too.

As an example, my head was extremely innovative in his ways of managing the most challenging students and would use this technique sparingly. One incident really stuck in my mind.

Tommy was a strong willed traveller and the head had built up a special relationship with the family, such that they would happily bring in their trotting horses and traps on family fun day and take the folks for a ride - highly unusual, I can assure you, even for a special school.
As Tommy began flexing his muscles and causing some difficulties for us as teachers, I recall taking Tommy to have a chat with the head, to try and resolve an incident. During the discussion, the head said

"I agreed with your dad that I would pay your pony club fees if you stayed in school 'till year 9, and your behaviour ....."

I didn't really hear the rest of the conversation because I had to face up to the fact that the head was paying this pupil to stay in school (as agreed.)
Now you may take exception to this, but I realised the head was working in the best interest of Tommy and his family and indeed he did stay until year 9 and then went off to work full-time

So financial does not have to be cash in hand, it can be tokenised for exchange or it can be contributory.

All the same, it does exist in the heirarchy, whether it sits well or not

[Mike Temple]

25,000 teens 'drop out of school'

As many as 25,000 teenagers disappear from school rolls in England when they are 14, a leading educationist says.

Sir Mike Tomlinson, a former chief inspector of schools and head of Hackney Learning Trust, says they feel school "has nothing to offer them".

read more form the BBC