Tackling Pupil Indiscipline

teachers

Teachers’ views on pupil behaviour

Teachers cannot teach and pupils cannot learn in an environment where there is disruption and violence.

85%believe that there is a widespread problem with pupil behaviour in schools today

50% believe that there is a pupil behaviour problem in their school

88%believe that there is an issue of low-level disruptivebehaviour among the pupils they teach

Teachers’ top five causes of pupils’ poor behaviour

lack of parental support

lack of support from senior managers

lack of pupil readiness to learn

lack of support staff

Thanks to the hard work of teachers, the

vast majority of schools are relative havens of peace, security and

good order.

lack of early intervention

Teachers’ top five day-to-day behaviour problems

chatter in class

failure to complete work

pupils with irregular attendance

inability to follow rules Teachers captivate and

educate successfully every day youngsters

who in other circumstances the

public go out of their way to avoid.

backchat

Teachers report being subject, in the last 12 months, to the following by pupils…

26%Threats of physical assault

84%

Verbal abuse

Physical assault 21%

Abuse on social networks 68%

61% not feeling supported by senior managers

92%not always having access to external support when they need it

Teachers also reported…

The NASUWT supporting and empowering teachers

Teachers are expressing increasing concerns about

low-level disruption, such as constant challenges to authority, persistent failure to complete work or obey school rules,

and regular verbal abuse.

Serious violence and disruption remain

confined to a minority of pupils, in a small

number of schools.

Unchallenged, low-level disruption is corrosive, taking its toll on the health and wellbeing of teachers.

The education of all pupils is affected.

Hundreds of teaching hours can be lost each year dealing with such behaviour.

However, wherever violence and disruption occurs, it must be challenged. No teacher should go to work with the expectation that verbal and physical abuse are part of the job.

The NASUWT has a record second to none of supporting teachers where problems arise with pupil indiscipline.

Teachers have a right to expect:

• a safe environment in which to work;

• access to appropriate training;

• appropriate resources to enable them to respond to pupils’ behavioural needs at an early stage;

• access to external advice, support and specialist provision;

• parents to take responsibility for the behaviour of their child;

• effective school leadership, working in partnership with staff to maintain high standards of behaviour;

• respect for their professional opinion and any concerns they have to be taken seriously;

• the support of a non-discriminatory pupil-behaviour policy, drawn up in consultation with the NASUWT, which promotes acceptable standards of behaviour; and

• regular monitoring and review of data on pupil behaviour to ensure that the behaviour policy is working effectively.

Make sure your school is meeting these expectations

In brief – what to do if you are…

…physically assaulted …verbally abused and threatened

• Report the incident in accordance with the school’s behaviour policy.

• Make sure the incident is entered into the school’s accident/incident book.

• Keep a copy of any written report that you make.

• Seek advice and support from the NASUWT as soon as possible.

…abused on social media

• Keep a record of the incidents, including screen shots of any abusive or offensive material, to be used as evidence.

• Avoid retaliating to, or personally engaging with, the pupil posting the comments.

• Inform the headteacher of the incident and ask for action to betaken.

• Contact the NASUWT, at the earliest opportunity, for further advice and support.

• Summon assistance.••

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• Request that the headteacher and the NASUWT are contacted

immediately.

• In cases of serious assault, ask for the incident to be reported to the police.

• Medical advice should always be taken. In some cases it may be

appropriate for an ambulance to be called.

• Do not attempt to carry on teaching your lesson or carry outother duties.

• Request either to be allowed to go home or to sit quietly away

from pupils.

• As soon as you feel able, write down what you can remember, including the names of any witnesses.

Do not submit a written report to anyone or make a statement to the police without the advice and support of the NASUWT.

…for more detailed advice, go to www.nasuwt.org.uk/Behaviour

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Professional development and support

The NASUWT provides:

n professional development seminars on pupil behaviour management for all teachers. The seminars provide new teachers with practical advice. They also provide more experienced teachers with the opportunity to discuss and reflect on their practice. For more details, contact the NASUWT Scotland National Centre;

n advice and guidance on behaviour management, including top tips for teachers on maintaining high standards of pupil behaviour. Go to www.nasuwt.org.uk/Behaviour;

n in-school support – the NASUWT will arrange to meet with members, in their workplace or off-site, to discuss any concerns they have either on an individual or collective basis and identify strategies for dealing with any issues of pupil indiscipline members may be experiencing.

Where schools fail to act to address teachers’ concerns, the NASUWT, with the support of members, will ballot for members to refuse to teach and supervise the pupil(s) concerned, in order to protect members’ health and welfare.

What teachers say about the NASUWT behaviour management seminars

Practical, informative… In short, excellent

As a new teacher the practical advice was

really useful

I am an experienced teacher

but I found the opportunity to reflect on

my behaviour management practice

very useful

I have been on courses my school has paid for but they were nowhere near as good

as this

CASE STUDY

A secondary school pupil had a history of assaulting members of staff.

No effective action had been taken by the school to address the concerns.

The NASUWT met with members and agreed a strategy with them to address the problem.

Despite the headteacher being advised of members’ concerns, no effective action was taken.

The NASUWT, with the support of members, commenced a ballot, to enable members lawfully to refuse to teach or supervise the pupil. As a result of the ballot, the Local Authority held a review meeting with the pupil and his parents.

The pupil was moved to specialist provision, where his needs could be catered for.

Teachers no longer had to face a violent and disruptive pupil.

CASE STUDY

A P1 pupil was involved in a significant number of incidents including spitting, verbal abuse and physical assault. No appropriate action had been taken by the Employer.

The NASUWT met with members and agreed a strategy with them to address the problem.

The NASUWT met with the headteacher and also wrote to the Employer setting out members’ concerns and requesting action to address them.

With the support of members, a ballot for action to refuse to teach or supervise the pupil concerned was taken. The ballot secured some additional support for the pupil. However, the NASUWT felt more was needed to protect the teachers and to meet the needs of the pupil.

While negotiations continued, the NASUWT members had the full protection of the lawful action to refuse to teach or supervise the pupil.

Pupil behaviour problems in your school? Contact the NASUWT today for help, advice and support.

All contacts are treated confidentially.

Tel: 0131 226 8480 E-mail: rc-scotland@mail.nasuwt.org.uk

www.nasuwt.org.uk

The fastest growing teachers’ union in Scotland