Ofsted blames poor classroom behaviour on 'casual' school leadership

In its Below the Radar: Low-level Disruption in the Country’s Classrooms, the inspectorate warns that senior school leaders are failing to identify and tackle examples of poor behaviour, which include talking unnecessarily and attention seeking.

The report, based on 3,000 school inspections and a YouGov survey of parents and teachers, claims that up to an hour of learning is lost every day – the equivalent of 38 days per year – while teachers deal with disruption.

The report shows that teachers blame ineffective senior leadership for contributing to the problem.

It states: “These teachers believed that some leaders are not high-profile enough around the school or do not ensure that the school’s behaviour policies are applied consistently.

“Too often, teachers complained that their senior leaders did not assert their authority.”

Chief inspector Sir Michael Wilshaw said that many school leaders are also losing the respect of their pupils by “blurring the lines” between friendliness and familiarity, with some allowing pupils to call them by their first name.

He said: “If we are going to continue to improve our education system to compete at the highest levels, we need to tackle the casual acceptance of this behaviour that persists in too many schools.

“Classroom teachers must have the support of their senior leaders to tackle these problems.”

Dr Mary Bousted, general secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, has rejected Wilshaw’s comments and accused Ofsted of being “narrow-minded”.

She said: “Its failure to identify systemic issues weakens a system, which is already creaking under huge cuts to local support services for schools, particularly for the most vulnerable and often challenging students.

“We know that consistency of approach and support is key to achieving high-quality pupil learning and behaviour in schools, but Ofsted’s rhetoric rings hollow based on the inconsistency of its own practices.

“Calling for zero tolerance and stricter approaches doesn’t reflect the evidence of what actually works in excellent classrooms.”

Similarly, Chris Keates, general secretary of teaching union Nasuwt, said Wilshaw’s suggestion that teachers accept poor behaviour is “nonsense”.

She said: “This survey shows that teachers are working hard to maintain high standards of behaviour but, in too many cases, are not being supported appropriately.

“Teachers need to be backed by school management, but regrettably too many school leaders have not taught for years and have lost touch with the day-to-day realities of the classroom.

“What teachers want is resources and clear, consistent support so that valuable teaching time is not wasted getting pupils ready to learn.”