Schools will not have to adopt “zero-tolerance” policies to be praised for how they manage behaviour under new school inspections, Ofsted has indicated.

The inspectorate is placing greater importance on pupil behaviour under its plan for a new inspection framework, following concerns raised by parents.

Ofsted is planning to split pupils’ behaviour and their personal development into separate inspection judgements to recognise the importance of both issues.

There have been reports that Ofsted would praise schools that use zero-tolerance policies when it launches its new framework from September.

However, Sean Harford, Ofsted’s national director for education, said schools would be judged on whether their approach works.

When asked whether Ofsted was looking for schools using a zero-tolerance approach on behaviour, he said: “We will look at how the school is achieving what it is achieving. If it’s effective and working for youngsters then they will get judged well.

 “If [zero tolerance] is done well and it works, then yes, but I have been to plenty of schools which don’t do that and also have great behaviour. It’s about the situation.”

Ofsted under fire on behaviour

The announcement comes with Ofsted facing criticism for praising behaviour policies at a school that uses silent corridors and had excluded a “relatively high” numbers of pupils.

The issue was highlighted as a concern at a Commons Education Select Committee hearing yesterday by Callum Wetherill, pastoral leader at a West Yorkshire school.

He suggested that Ofsted was “actively encouraging high exclusion rates.”

Ofsted’s consultation for the inspection framework says: “Creating a sufficiently disciplined environment is a prerequisite to any learning taking place.

“If behaviour is not managed effectively and learners are not instilled with positive attitudes to learning, nothing much will be learned.”

Mr Harford said: “We want to really update the profile of behaviour.

“It is my personal opinion that if every child behaved in school then the standard would rocket up.”

Luke Tryl, Ofsted’s director of corporate strategy, said that behaviour and bullying were among the top concerns raised by parents to Ofsted

Mr Harford added: “The problem now is more one about low-level disruption - swinging on chairs, tapping when the teacher is talking, passing notes, whispering, mobile phones; you know, getting distracted by electronic devices, etc.

“That kind of thing is what has been on the rise, and is the bane of teachers’ lives.”

The separate behaviour judgement will assess whether schools are creating a calm, well-managed environment free from bullying.

Ofsted is launching a consultation on its new inspection framework today, which will last 12 weeks.