Behaviour management in further education colleges is most successful when staff are supported by senior managers, but teachers can still make a difference in the classroom, according to FE lecturer Tom Starkey. 

Writing in today’s issue of TES, Starkey says the best colleges recognise the need for “robust and explicit” behaviour management policies. After all, he adds, while their students are older than most, they can still step out of line - sometimes seriously.

In these colleges staff are supported by “strong and visible” management teams when dealing with the tricky issue of behavior.

However, some colleges make the mistake of assuming that because students are older, they are automatically more mature and sensible. Such institutions therefore conclude that there’s no real need to draw up something as “difficult and time-consuming” as a detailed behaviour management policy.

So, if you are unlucky enough to work at one of these colleges, what can you do to make a difference? Find out by reading the full article.

Read the full article in the 10 October edition of TES on your tablet or phone or by downloading the TES Reader app for Android or iOS. Or pick it up at all good newsagents.