Challenging schools lack shared positive culture, report reveals

A survey by Teach First of 225 of the high-achieving graduates it recruits to teach in challenging schools, found schools suffered without such a clear sense of direction.

Those surveyed believed a clear set of rules, such as respecting each other, would help combat bad behaviour and boost grades through creating a better environment to learn.

However, three-quarters of teachers believed head teachers were not even interested in promoting a positive culture in schools.

The survey is included in a report, Ethos and Culture in Schools in Challenging Circumstances, by Teach First Ambassadors, which is made up of graduates who have completed the organisation's two-year school leadership course.

It recommends that head teachers have a strong visible presence around school rather than spend all day in their office.

It is also calling on the government to reorganise term times so that school days are longer and holidays shorter. The extra time in school should be spent on trips and extra-curricular clubs.

Split timetables, where pupils are taught the same subject by different teachers, should be scrapped.

The report's editor Daisy Christodoulou said: "Our experiences from the frontline and the insights gained in the classroom underpin our argument that great schools can get great results in challenging circumstances.

"Schools such as these are engines of social mobility, transforming the lives of pupils and transforming society at the same time. We think that one of the main ways they do this is through ethos and culture."