Behaviour: a quiet revolution

As debate continues to rage in the wake of the August riots – pushing young peoples’ behaviour to the top of the agenda once again – Jeremy Sutcliffe talks to the schools quietly ushering in a revolution in behaviour management.

The August riots caused much soul-searching and debate as politicians, the media and community leaders sought to draw lessons from the biggest outbreak of mass lawlessness across England for 30 years.  

The disturbances also touched many school communities across the country – and underlined the importance of school leaders working in close partnership with parents and their communities to promote positive behaviour and to create an environment in which pupils want to learn and do well.

But while the riots have – rightly or wrongly – put school discipline under the national spotlight, a quiet revolution has been taking place at school level where leaders have been making huge efforts to develop effective strategies to encourage positive behaviour.

Typical is Darran Lee, headteacher of Mills Hill Primary School in Oldham and executive principal of a federation of local primary schools. He has implemented a behaviour strategy called Conscious Discipline which has, in only its first year of operation, “increased co-operation, teaching time and learner achievement whilst decreasing behaviour issues and aggressive acts and creating a positive learning culture”.

“Through Conscious Discipline the school team develops the core discipline skills of composure, encouragement, assertiveness, choices, positive intent, empathy and consequences,” Darran says.

“These seven skills often require just subtle shifts in staff behaviour and the language they use. Such changes are not always easily achieved and leaders need to secure effective and sustained implementation and change. Once achieved, such an approach will result in profound changes in culture, climate and behaviour in a school.”

Roy Halford, headteacher of Hawkley High School, an 11-16 comprehensive in Wigan, is another leader who has made developing positive behaviour a key priority. Like Darran, he is a national leader of education and his school helps comprehensives across the Greater Manchester area develop effective behaviour and attendance policies.

“There is no one single thing that works. It is the relentless pursuit of high expectations and that has to be applied consistently by all staff. Those expectations have to be very clearly articulated so all staff, students, parents and governors know what they are. In the end we have a relatively few school rules based on those expectations and you draw those rules up with the staff and students together.

“Certain things come through strongly – students and staff want the school to be calm, safe, purposeful and happy, a place where people can learn.  You also have to have some consequences, but again those are relatively few. The important thing is they must be applied fairly and consistently.  

“Underpinning all of that is mutual respect. Students and staff must respect each other. The staff and older students must model the behaviours we expect. They must be calm in their approach, not belittle each other and there must be no hurtful sarcasm.

“There also needs to be a comprehensive rewards system to reward effort, achievement, attendance and punctuality. You reward not just the best but those who are trying hard as well.  There must be an inclusive system for children of all abilities and backgrounds and children who are vulnerable need support mechanisms in school to help them meet expectations.”

In addition, students need to be engaged by a curriculum that is both challenging and interesting. Parents and students need to be fully involved in behaviour policies. There must be mechanisms to for listening to students’ views and staff must be willing to enter into dialogue with them.

Another Wigan leader with a well-defined behaviour policy is Lindsay Apps, headteacher of Hindsford Primary. “My school is Church of England and our approach is based on a Christian moral code. We have zero tolerance and high expectations. Our strategy is clear, simple and consistently applied by all staff. It is equitable, with no favourites or outcasts and it is positive, with rewards for good behaviour. We also have a family, caring ethos and we try to make the school fun, engaging and irresistible so that children look forward to coming to school.

“The other aspect is dealing with children with behaviour problems. We identify them early and have an intervention programme. We have invested heavily in pastoral care with two members of staff working full-time on the programme to help children improve their behaviour.”

As a tutor and online facilitator for the National College’s National Professional Qualification for Headship (NPQH), Lindsay Apps has developed a new three-week online course on behaviour management for acting and trainee heads. The course begins with press coverage of the recent riots and looks at popular beliefs about the causes of bad behaviour. It also looks at “mood management” for leaders – encouraging them to consider whether they are treating staff fairly and setting the right tone – and successful strategies that link behaviour with learning.

These successful strategies are endorsed by Charlie Taylor, the government’s new behaviour adviser, who since his appointment in April has been on a whistle-stop tour of schools to look at their approach to discipline.

“I have seen lots of schools. In most schools behaviour is very good but there are still some schools where low expectations of behaviour are tolerated and this has an impact on teachers’ ability to teach and children’s ability to learn,” he says.

He believes the new Ofsted framework, which addresses behaviour and safety issues in detail, will help to tackle these concerns and “raise the bar higher in terms or what is expected”.

“Schools need to have absolute clarity about behaviour policies, devised by staff, fully understood by parents and pupils. They need clear systems of rewards and sanctions. If a pupil is given a detention for example, you have to have systems in place to make sure that detention is carried out. That is often not the case at the moment.

“It is really fundamental that headteachers and senior leaders ‘walk the walk’; that they are a visible presence in the school in the morning, at lesson changes, lunchtimes, at the end of the school day, in the playground and in the local area,” Charlie Taylor says.

“Leaders need to ensure everybody on the staff follows the behaviour policy consistently and they need to deal with any poor or ineffective practice. The school should set a very clear message about the standards of behaviour it expects in class, around the school, in the playground and outside the school.

“Headteachers should manage their own behaviour and see themselves as important role models to their pupils and staff. Schools should celebrate good behaviour rather than merely criticise bad behaviour.

“Schools should also have a Plan B for children who are getting into difficulties. This needs to be firm, clear and responsive in order to break down patterns of challenging behaviour.  Schools should also seek to engage with parents, make them feel welcome and give them an opportunity to voice opinions. Above all, leaders need to be single-minded about standards of behaviour and relentless in ensuring that staff and pupils meet those standards.”

Meanwhile, a major review of research studies for the National College by Professor Philip Garner of the University of Northampton has identified four key characteristics shared by headteachers and principals who are particularly effective at promoting positive behaviour. These leaders encourage, trust and value colleagues to do well; are overt and directed in their use of praise and encouragement; lead by example, especially in teaching and learning; and are secure in self-knowledge, recognising areas they need to develop.

Professor Garner also identifies four institutional leadership characteristics that appear to be significantly present in schools that promote positive behaviour. Firstly, leaders in these schools distribute leadership by offering regular opportunities for all staff to take greater responsibility and help build leadership teams. Secondly, they encourage all staff to engage in professionally focused learning. Thirdly, they encourage ‘calculated risk-taking’ by allowing members of the school community to use their initiative in support of the school. Fourthly, they redefine pupil discipline by encouraging approaches that connect behaviour and learning.