We know that low-level disruption can be hugely damaging to teaching and learning; and at one time or another, every teacher will have experienced the frustrations of having a very chatty class. But can you tackle this behaviour? Here, two teachers share their approaches.

Set the rules, and get them to sign up

Ross Fossard, a Year 6 teacher and mathematics leader in Bristol, says: 

In 2014, Ofsted published a report that told many teachers - both primary and secondary - what they already knew: persistent, low-level disruption seriously impacts learning. Such disruption increases stress among teachers and ultimately leads to reduced life chances for pupils.

When quoted, the first disruptive behaviour mentioned by teachers was “chatting”. More than half of teachers report the impact of such low-level disruption as “medium” or “high”. Tackling this behaviour isn’t easy, but here’s what I do. 

• Why we all need to be critical consumers of research
• Why teachers need more autonomy - and how to give it to them
• How to tackle the decline in children’s play skills

The first step is all about setting expectations: ideally, this should happen at the start of the year and be done in collaboration with the children. Have a whole-class discussion and make sure everyone understands why quiet is important; you could even ask everyone to sign a copy of the rules to emphasise their ownership of them.

I then introduce a one to five noise scale. This ensures students understand the expectations for a given situation. The library might be a “one” on the scale, for example, while the playground is a “five”.

Once you’ve established the rules, remember to always be consistent. Students are quick to notice when rules are not enforced and they will behave accordingly, so be sure to tell, not ask. Make it clear that the rules are a non-negotiable, minimum expectation: they are just what happens in this room.

To reinforce this, make sure you take time to seek out those who are setting a good example: although it might not seem like it, there will always be someone who is meeting the expectation. Praise these students loudly and enthusiastically by name to create a ripple effect: children always want to be publicly praised if others are. 

However, all of this isn’t to say that students should be silent at all times: much of the best student thinking comes from talking and listening to peers, so make sure that your lesson has plenty of opportunities for pupils to speak; this can be to a partner, group or the whole class. This will also make sitting quietly easier for the chattier ones, as they have regular windows to use their voice. 

Before starting quiet, independent work, check that the noise expectations are understood and put a digital timer on the board so students know how long they will need to sit quietly.

Implement a classroom economy

Jemma Anderson, a Year 5 teacher at Carluke Primary School, says:

This year, I inherited a class renowned for being hardworking, but chatty. In preparation for August, I spent some time in the summer term looking for an initiative that would engage them, while also reducing the amount of talk.

After looking at the options, I decided that setting up a “classroom economy” around behaviour would work best. I hoped that this would encourage children to reflect upon their actions and take responsibility for their chatter.

So how did it work? Usually, in a classroom economy, each student is given a specific job, but as a class, we decided that all jobs would be everyone’s responsibility. I decided they’d each be paid £10 a week for doing their “jobs”. Their pay was allocated on payslips with the name of our class bank on it.

There were some non-negotiables. I deducted rent for their desks at £5 and miscellaneous equipment at £2.50.

I gave out extra “money” as a reward if they made it onto the school-wide recognition board.

As a class, we discussed what we wanted our classroom environment to be like, and how we could achieve this. We decided that being safe was important and that swinging on chairs would come with a fine of £2.50. After an in-depth discussion about respect, we decided that talking over someone else would also result in a fine of £2.50, as would randomly shouting out. The class has responded well to these fines, and these good behaviours are now a habit.

I wanted to incentivise the children to look after our classroom and work hard. We discussed the importance of not spending money for the sake of it, and also saving money. I implemented a mortgage scheme, this meant that if they saved up the money for their desks, they wouldn’t pay any rent.

As a class, they came up with ways to earn money and, of course, spend it on things like extended break times, homework passes, movie afternoons and free play. Crucially, though, the methods for earning money had to improve communication, leadership and teamwork.

It didn’t take long to see the impact; the class were proud of their wage and wanted to earn more money. The level of chatter reduced dramatically and the class became consciously aware of shouting out and talking over someone.

Children even began correcting each other and warning them that their money was at risk if the noise continued at that level. The collective responsibility shone through and, as a class, they wanted to earn as much money as they could so they could afford to “buy” what they wanted together.