Behaviour and Standards (Speech: 31/07/07)

Speech on Behaviour and Standards to the Professional Association of Teacher's Annual Conference

Can I first of all take this opportunity to do what every politician, pundit and parent should do on each occasion they meet a teacher, and that is to thank you for all the hard work that you do on behalf of our children and young people.  I felt privileged and excited when I was appointed as a Minister to the new Department of Children, Schools and Families, but only equally as privileged and excited as I was 22 years ago when I was appointed to my first teaching post.  It is always a privilege to work with and on behalf of young people, and I know all of you here share that feeling.  Ed Balls, our new Secretary of State in the new Department for Children, Schools and Families has said that ours will be the ‘every child matters department’. If we are to realise that vision, and make sure that we really are giving every child the opportunity to fulfil their potential and achieve, we have to emphasise that all those who work with children matter too – whether teachers, classroom assistants or nannies. We have to invest in them if children are to reap the returns. That means constantly striving to improve standards right across the board.   I know that you as a union and professional body are very concerned about professionalism. That commitment has been invaluable to us in developing the new professional standards, and the revised performance management arrangements, which will be introduced in schools from September.    Any successful organisation values the expertise, commitment, and energy of its professionals, and to maintain that, any organisation worth its salt will invest in their training and development.  The strength of the social partnership has been absolutely critical to developing the standards and performance management arrangements. I want to thank the PAT for your involvement in that work, and for your continued commitment as we take it forward.  A school’s staff must be a team, each playing an essential role to make a good school. Like any good team, their performance increases dramatically with the quality of their training.   As a former teacher myself I am acutely aware of the importance of letting teachers get on with it, and giving them the space to make their own professional judgments.  We must support teachers, not stifle them; cut the red tape; and recognise that they can make a better judgment of their pupils specific needs than anyone sat in an office in Whitehall.  That principle lies at the heart of our curriculum reforms, which will allow teachers to focus on the traditional pillars of a good education, give young people the practical skills they need to succeed in further study or the workplace, and  broaden their knowledge of current affairs and the world around them.   All are essential components to moral, cultural, mental and physical development; in other words, rounded individuals.  Teachers will now have greater flexibility to make professional judgments about what, and how, to teach pupils, in order to get the very best out of them.  But quality teaching will always be undermined if discipline fails.   For teachers to be able to teach to the best of their ability, they need an environment where they feel safe, confident, and lessons which aren’t constantly disrupted by unruly pupils.   I know that managing pupils’ behaviour can be hard work and, at times, extremely wearing. The fact that behaviour is generally good in the vast majority of schools is a striking tribute to the professionalism and commitment of teachers and other school staff.   Unfortunately the only school where you can wave a magic wand to solve behaviour problems is Hogwarts. But there are practical things we can do to raise behavioural standards: we can promote better training for teachers to help them do their jobs, we can develop the curriculum to ensure that pupils learn respect for themselves and each other; and we can help schools to develop an effective behaviour policy, which is consistently applied.   I know that your General Secretary, Philip Parkin, has made an invaluable contribution to the behaviour agenda – both in contributing to the watershed report by Sir Alan Steer’s Practitioner Group, and more recently in representing your views on our Departmental group on behaviour and attendance. As the new chair of that group, I am looking forward to working with him over the coming months.   Provisions within the Education and Inspections Act – which came into force earlier this year – are instrumental in helping us to raise standards of behaviour in schools.  Through those powers, teachers are able to punish pupils on the way to and from school, not just within the school grounds; they can physically restrain pupils if they are in danger of causing harm to themselves or others, and they can confiscate inappropriate items such as mobile phones or music players. There is also a legal duty on schools to tackle all forms of bullying, and we have clarified the right for teachers to keep pupils in detention.  Those powers are invaluable as bullying continues to present itself in new guises. As more youngsters have access to the internet and camera phones, it has gone from a punch-up on the way home – which is serious enough – to a spectacle that is organised, recorded, and viewed by thousands over the internet.   No child – or teacher – should ever have to experience hurt and victimisation at the hands of bullies – in school or out. And those that post that these terrible ordeals on a website for a laugh or a bit of social standing should be thoroughly ashamed of themselves, and dealt with accordingly.   We expect heads to use the powers vested in them through the Education and Inspections Act to send out a strong message to those who use technology to bring misery on young people and teachers. It is unacceptable, and I condemn such cruelty in the strongest terms.  Addressing the bad behaviour at the root of the problem is crucial, to prevent these miserable situations occurring in the first place.   In September, my department will be publishing guidance on cyberbullying as part of our over-arching anti-bullying strategy.  Because cyberbullying extends beyond the school gates, so must its solution. Everyone must play their part in stamping it out.   

We have established a cyberbullying taskforce to bring together internet service providers, law enforcement, children’s charities, teacher professional associations, and the relevant government departments, to tackle this problem on all fronts.

 I welcome the fact that the industry – including YouTube, who are represented on the taskforce – is taking this problem very seriously. They are fully participating in the work to eradicate this pernicious activity, and are contributing to some of the costs.   Some of these sites are run by very large companies and host advertising from some of the best known brands. All have a moral obligation and corporate responsibility to tackle this problem by speedily removing any offensive content and identify those who post it.  But legislation, guidance, and government taskforces will only solve part of the problem. We need a culture change, and that depends on everyone taking responsibility, including pupils themselves.   In addition to our forthcoming guidance on cyberbullying, Childnet is also preparing a digital information campaign for schools – including a cyberbullying DVD – which will help to change some of the behaviours and attitudes of young people.  We have also pledged £13.7m to introduce the Social, Emotional Aspects of Learning programme into secondary schools.   That programme has already been hugely successful in primary schools, and will now help secondary aged pupils to learn the skills and behaviours they need to become a responsible, caring citizen – such as managing conflict, respecting others, and working cooperatively. Improving pupils’ emotional intelligence will help to improve their academic intelligence and attainment in the classroom.  Those skills are valuable in all areas of life – in work, study, and personal relationships – and will stand young people in good stead for the challenges of adulthood.  I always believed as a teacher that most pupils want the opportunity to learn.  Only a minority seek to disrupt, and they often are motivated by other problems.    But without the starting point of a quiet, orderly environment, the majority cannot learn so managing behaviour is vital, and giving teachers, pupils and parents the tools to do the job is essential. Every parent, and indeed every politician, needs to remember that discipline begins at home.  It’s particularly important that parents get the information, advice and support that they need, and that they work in partnership with schools.    I recently launched the Parent Know-How programme, which will improve our communication channels with parents, and ensure that those channels are convenient, responsive, and work both ways – with providers both advising, and listening to their concerns.  Many schools are already doing excellent work in exploring new channels – for instance, online reports – to give parents even more of a role in their child’s progress. This is something I wholeheartedly encourage.  But the flip side of the coin is that we want to back schools and give them real power to intervene when parents are obstructive or failing in their responsibilities.  In these cases, a parenting contract may help to ensure consistency between home and school, setting out the appropriate standard of behaviour. 

 

 Following the Practitioner Group’s recommendations, from September 1st schools will be able to introduce contracts sooner, to prevent bad behaviour from escalating to the point where exclusion is necessary.    And from September 1st, new provisions come into force relating to those times when exclusion is necessary: parents must take responsibility for their child during the first five days of an exclusion – and the local authority or school must arrange suitable provision for the remaining period.    There can also be a role in those 5 days for school partners to take on pupils who have been excluded, so that they still receive a structured programme away from their own school.  Exclusion is a serious punishment, and we must send a strong signal to the minority of parents who do let their children lapse into exclusion that it will not be tolerated. Parenting orders – also available for schools to apply for from 1st September – will ensure that they live up to those responsibilities.  Raising the bar on behaviour will help pupils make the grade in the classroom. And it will help them lead successful, happy, and fulfilling lives. Teachers themselves tell us that the are not satisfied with behaviour that is sometimes classified as satisfactory.  I want to give schools the tools to aim higher, so that a ‘satisfactory’ rating for behaviour is a true measure of satisfaction felt within the school – by teachers, pupils, and parents. And we want to assist schools to do even better, and help them get beyond ‘satisfactory’ to ‘good’.  Improving behaviour is a challenge for us all. But it is a challenge that we should all want to tackle. If government, local authorities, heads, teachers, pupils, parents, and inspectors work together we can succeed – and if we do, the benefits will be in higher standards across the board.   I know that we are all committed to playing our part to make sure that children achieve success, and professionals can help them get there. We need to renew that commitment as we look to the coming academic year.  The past few weeks have been an exciting period of change. The new Department for Children, Schools and Families has risen out of the dust of the government reshuffle, and, with it, we have sharpened our focus on raising outcomes for all learners. And we have renewed the drive on standards, to give all professionals who work with children, young people and their families the resources, support and time to do their jobs to their fullest effect. I thank the PAT for your support, and I look forward to working with you in the future to raise achievement for all.Thank you.