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Press release: Unsatisfactory behaviour best tackled as part of a whole-school improvement programme

The most successful approach to combating unsatisfactory behaviour in schools is to tackle it as part of a coherent school improvement programme rather than dealing with it in isolation.

According to Improving Behaviour, published by the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted) today, schools are reducing low-level disruption by improving teaching, making learning more enjoyable and providing wider choice within the curriculum, alongside ensuring that all staff understand and consistently implement procedures for managing behaviour.

Schools succeeding in tackling unsatisfactory behaviour spell out what is considered to be unacceptable behaviour and its consequences, make good use of monitoring and celebrate good behaviour. They seek students’ views about each stage of the improvement process.

In consultation with their local authorities, schools held their nerve when exclusion rates rose as firmer and more consistent disciplinary arrangements bedded down. Some used internal exclusion rooms rather than excluding students from the school site. This meant that students’ work was supervised and less time was lost from learning.

As low level disruption reduces, any deep-seated behavioural problems are unmasked.

Successful schools identify vulnerable students, including those at risk of permanent exclusion, and provide one-to-one mentoring to discuss issues and work on solutions.

Staff review meetings, closer links with parents and use of external support including educational welfare officers and social workers was also important, and learning support units (LSUs) played a key role in the support provided by the most successful schools.

Miriam Rosen, Director of Education, said:

“Strategies for managing low-level disruption should be understood and implemented consistently by all staff, while strategies for managing behaviours that staff find very challenging should be based on a thorough analysis of issues, focus on ways forward for each individual, and blend the range of available expertise into a coherent, phased programme of support.”

Barriers to improvement included recruitment and retention of staff, some senior managers being distracted by other priorities and schools feeling overwhelmed by the task ahead.

In all 12 LSUs visited when gathering evidence for Evaluation of the impact of learning support units, disaffected students were being re-engaged in education and exclusions were being reduced. The most effective units provided a good balance between teaching and curriculum programmes, which helped improve achievement, and high quality care.

The quality of teaching and the curriculum was satisfactory or better in ten of the LSUs, but two had no teaching programmes which undermined their effectiveness. The more effective provision involved whole-group teaching to aid re-integration, and paid close attention to improving literacy and developing alternative curricular programmes at Key Stage 4.

In the eleven LSUs that catered for Key Stage 4 students, alternative curricular programmes were organised for individuals and groups of pupils, enabling them to undertake more vocationally based activities. Wider choices of courses, including vocational and work-based learning, were also provided for students at Key Stage 4 in the schools with poor behaviour.

LSUs played an important role in implementing their own school’s behaviour and discipline policies. All of them set targets, but the quality of this process was variable. In almost half of the LSUs reintegration of students to mainstream classes within the school was not always successful, because students had not learnt to cope or mainstream teachers did not have strategies to manage their reintegration effectively.

Mrs Rosen said:

“Schools with learning support units should ensure that strategies for improving achievement and standards are given equal weight to those for improving students’ behaviour and attendance. They should also ensure that teaching and curriculum programmes help pupils develop their literacy skills.”

Her Majesty’s Inspectors visited 35 schools in special measures, 13 schools with serious weaknesses and 23 schools with poor behaviour as an isolated weakness for Improving Behaviour. By the time of the first HMI monitoring visit behaviour had been turned around in 21 of the 35 special measures schools, 11 of the 13 serious weaknesses schools and 15 of the 23 schools where poor behaviour was an isolated problem. By the time of the second visit behaviour had improved in all but four of the special measures schools and all but one of the schools where poor behaviour was an isolated problem.

Inspectors visited 12 learning support units in secondary schools for Evaluation of the impact of learning support units. Overall effectiveness was good in nine out of 12 LSUs.

Related Links

• Read publication 1
• Read publication 2

Notes For Editors

1. Improving Behaviour and Evaluation of the impact of learning support units are available on the Ofsted website at www.ofsted.gov.uk today. Evidence for the reports was gathered during the 2005/06 academic year.

2. Since May 2005, HMI have been monitored the progress of all secondary schools where behaviour is judged unsatisfactory. HMI monitoring visits give feedback on the school’s progress to the senior managers, governors, local authority and the Department for Education and Skills, and pick out any crucial priorities for further improvement.

3. Ofsted is a non-ministerial government department established under the Education (Schools) Act 1992 to take responsibility for the inspection of all schools in England. Its role also includes the inspection of further education, local authority children’s services, teacher training institutions and some independent schools. During 2001, Ofsted became responsible for inspecting all 16-19 education and for the regulation of early years childcare, including childminders.

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