Last week saw the latest race-to-the-bottom between the two main parties over the issue of school discipline. Which party would crack down hardest on the "persistent minority" and their "low-level disruptive behaviour"?
For political parties the formula is simple: identify an undisputable enemy (the naughty children), align yourself with the obvious majority (decent, hard-working families), and devise suitably swift and stringent solutions. Headlines are grabbed, charges of weakness neutralised, and the focus moves on. But does it make for good policy?
Alongside attempting to win votes, national political debate does reflect and articulate, at least in part, genuine aspirations and concerns. And creating a context in the classroom where all children are able to succeed is a central issue for every parent.
While the media focus on this issue will be transitory, the Government has invested time and resources in equipping schools and local education authorities with a range of options and support structures to deal with challenging behaviour, within the context of the inclusion agenda.
Behaviour improvement programmes, behaviour education and support teams, on-site learning support units, and a growth in learning mentors and other non-teaching assistants are all aimed at keeping children within mainstream education.
Where this is not possible the Government has increased the number of places in pupil referral units from 7,000 to 13,000.
Within this national framework, schools have developed their own behaviour management policies, often linking with other strategies to address attendance, curriculum pathways and the provision of wider school activities. Local education authorities in Liverpool and Manchester have piloted the use of behaviour education and support teams to tackle discipline problems. At Lampton School in Middlesex, admin support assistants have been empowered to take a leading role in enforcing the behaviour management policy.
Dramatic cases, such as violence towards teachers, and the contentious issue of expulsions, tend to mask the reality that poor behaviour is a symptom of an often complex set of issues. Schools, supported by parents, need to deploy a menu of options, including rewards and sanctions, within a clearly understood and rigorously applied behaviour management policy.
Focusing on how to promote positive behaviour, through an engaging school curriculum offering children options as they progress, alongside the provision of wider extended activities, is likely to be the most effective, if politically mundane, way ahead.
