Bad behaviour by pupils in secondary schools is increasing, according to a report issued by the Chief Inspector of Schools. There are numerous stories of pupils and teachers being verbally and even physically assaulted by youngsters. But faced with violent pupils, very often teachers are limited in their response.
| The teacher asked me to get up and I wouldn’t so she opened the door to a store cupboard and said ‘Go in there now.’ |
The case of Welsh headteacher Marjorie Evans, now back in post after being acquitted on appeal of slapping a pupil, has highlighted the confusion over appropriate ways to handle unruly behaviour in the classroom. Now both teachers and pupils are calling for clearer guidelines and improved training on the use of physical restraint amid growing concern about classroom discipline.
One teaching union leader in Birmingham claims many training colleges do not tackle the issue at all - a view backed by teachers. Guidelines from the Department for Education and Employment state that teachers may use 'reasonable force' in certain circumstances. But they do not spell out what reasonable force is.
'Reasonable'
Roger King, general secretary of the Birmingham branch of the National Union of Teachers, said: "There is an issue about the word 'reasonable' because reasonable can mean different things to different people. The problem is nobody wants to bit the bullet and say 'here is the limit'.
"The problem is not all teachers have been trained in what is considered to be appropriate reasonable force. Teacher training on this issue is not adequate. On this area probably most teacher training colleges do nothing at all."
The NUT and other teaching unions say teachers must be able to use reasonable force when necessary without worrying about being taken to court.
Roger says: "In many cases where false allegations are made it destroys the teacher's career. Sometimes there is a criminal investigation which lead to a court case and that very much destroys the teacher's confidence and quite often leads to them never returning to teaching again - even when the case is thrown out."
Mr King would like to see more Government money made available to train teachers in restraint techniques and says that re-establishing people's respect for teachers is vital if better discipline is to be restored.
"It is partly about how teachers are respected by their own pupils and partly about how teachers are regarded generally, which I don't believe is in the same esteem as they were some years ago."
Teachers, too, feel they do not receive enough training in controlling troublesome pupils.
| | Keeping within the rules | | The Education Act 1996 forbids corporal punishment. But guidelines from the Department for Education and Employment state that teachers may use 'reasonable force' to prevent pupils from: | | committing a criminal offence whether or not the pupil concerned has reached the age of criminal responsibility; | | injuring themselves or others; | | damaging property, including their own property, and behaving in a manner likely to disrupt good order and discipline. | |
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Sally Hurlston, who is in her second year of teaching at Bournville School in Birmingham, says: "To be honest, I don't even know what the law is. I know our school's policy, but the only time it was ever mentioned at teacher training college was when it was suggested that we shouldn't touch pupils at all if we could avoid it."
Miss Hurlston said many teachers were unsure about what they could and couldn't do. "I remember one incident being related to us at college where a teacher grabbed hold of somebody's coat to pull them back because they were running out of the room. That teacher got in trouble for physically assaulting the pupil.
"I think there needs to be far more information for people training to be teachers on what is acceptable and what isn't acceptable. People need to know where they stand, and that applies to both teachers and pupils."
Pupils acknowledge that sometimes false allegations are made by pupils, perhaps to get back at an unpopular teacher. But they also know of occasions where they feel teachers overstepped the mark.
Laura Jacobs, aged 15, of Selly Oak, said: "I was misbehaving in a lesson and diving under a table. The teacher asked me to get up and I wouldn't so she opened the door to a store cupboard and said 'Go in there now.'
"She used a slight amount of pressure on my shoulder, so there was physical restraint there, then she closed the door and locked me in for about five minutes."
However, many pupils say they feel it is important that teachers should be able to use reasonable force in certain circumstances.
Hannah Welsh, aged 14, of Edgbaston, says: "I think that is a teacher is standing in front of a pupil so they cannot move past, then it is okay. If the teacher is grabbing onto them, that shouldn't be allowed. But if some big kid was threatening to knock my head off, I would like the teacher to be able to stop him."
Lewis Bray, aged 15, of Kings Heath, says there needs to be flexibility. "I think physical restraint is necessary in case teachers are threatened. There has got to be something the teacher can do to stop the pupils hurting them. They should be able to hold them back," he says.
About the team
This article was produced by Samantha Hunt, 13, Lara Huckfield, 16, Matthew Dent, 12 and Andrew Hopkins, 13. A version of it was published in the Birmingham Evening Mail.
