The ‘Improving Behaviour’ report found successful schools followed certain strategies. They:
* TACKLED poor behaviour as part of improvements to the whole school, boosted the quality of teaching and made the curriculum more varied, including vocational courses at key stage 4.
* MADE sure teachers followed the same rules and standards in dealing with low level disruption
* IDENTIFIED children with acute needs and used external help to plan support programmes
* MONITORED students’ achievements, allowing them to set goals and celebrate success
* ANALYSED attendance and punctuality more closely
* WORKED together as a team and did not blame members of staff or particular groups of pupils for their problems
* IMPROVED links with parents and held discussions between pupils and teachers
* USED learning support units to provide a calm environment to help children re-engage with learning
* USED outside help from local authorities where it was needed, including seeking advice from experts in behaviour management.
The main problems for schools with bad behaviour included:
* GAPS in staffing and problems recruiting and retaining teachers
* PUPILS fed up with temporary teachers who did not know them or how school worked
* HEADTEACHERS absorbed by other priorities, including developing bids for specialist status and planning new buildings under the Private Finance Initiative
* STAFF feeling overwhelmed by the scale of the problem and not knowing which area to tackle first.
* DISAFFECTED pupils were re-engaged in education and the number of permanent exclusions was cut
* THE quality of teaching was satisfactory or better in three-quarters of the schools visited
* OLDER pupils responded well to alternative lessons and a curriculum that included work experience
* MONITORING and evaluation was weak in a number of schools
* REINTEGRATING pupils to mainstream classes was a problem in almost half the schools visited, with pupils not learning how to cope with regular lessons