More than a third of teachers and leaders think student behaviour will be worse this year, and concerns are growing about the impact of poor student conduct in schools, a poll shows.
Some 37 per cent of teachers and leaders who responded to a YouGov survey expect student behaviour to be worse this year compared with the previous academic year, with 11 per cent saying they expect behaviour to be much worse.
Department for Education minister Stephen Morgan previously described the recent record rise in suspensions as “shocking” and a “wake-up call”.
Meanwhile, in the survey of more than 1,000 teachers and leaders across the UK, almost six in 10 respondents said they had last year seen an increase in complaints from parents about the school’s behaviour policy and rules.
Poor behaviour and rising parent complaints
Commenting on the findings, Sir Michael Wilshaw, a former Ofsted chief inspector, said school leaders “must not be intimidated by unsupportive and sometimes aggressive parents”.
The poll comes after a Tes investigation found that more than eight in 10 school leaders had seen an increase in vexatious complaints, with concerns that some complaints had become “personal” and were “targeting individual members of staff”.
In the survey, commissioned by education technology exhibition Bett, more than a quarter of respondents said they were likely to leave the teaching profession within the next two years because of student behaviour.
Sir Michael said poor behaviour “corrodes the learning culture in schools and contributes to the already serious crisis of teacher recruitment and retention”.
Three-quarters of teachers said pupil misbehaviour had a negative impact on their health and wellbeing last year, according to government data.
Sir Michael said teachers “will not stay in the profession if they’re confronted by disruptive and unruly students on a regular basis”.
“Leaders must not be intimidated by unsupportive and sometimes aggressive parents who have often failed in their duty to teach their children the importance of respect and simple good manners,” he added.
‘Never be afraid to tell a parent they’re a bad parent and a bad example to their children.”
Almost all of those in the YouGov survey said that inappropriate or inconsistent boundaries at home caused poor behaviour at school to some extent.
More than a third of respondents were concerned that it would take longer for classroom behaviour to settle down to manageable levels this year, compared with last year.
And almost half said they received more questions from parents about the school’s behaviour policy last year compared with previous years.
Asked what top three measures would have the most impact on improving student behaviour at their school, 57 per cent said reducing class sizes, while half said increased support for students with behavioural challenges and consistent application of the school’s behaviour policy by all staff members.
The Department for Education has been contacted for comment.
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