Will new powers help teachers?

11:03am Tuesday 3rd April 2007

Tough new powers for teachers to discipline unruly pupils will not see a return to corporal punishment, reports STEPHEN LEWIS. And they may not even be all that new.

WHEN your children go back to school in a couple of weeks, they may be in for a shock.

The days when they could lark about in class with impunity, knowing teachers could do nothing about it, will be gone.

Teachers have this week been given tough new powers to lay down the law - not only in the classroom, but on the way to and from school as well.

The new powers include:

* The legal right to use physical force to restrain or control disruptive pupils.

* Powers - including weekend detentions - to punish pupils for unacceptable behaviour in school and on the way to and from school.

* The legal right to confiscate mobile phones or iPods.

* A legal duty on schools to tackle all forms of bullying.

In addition, from September schools will be able to use parenting contracts to ensure parents crack down on their children's problem behaviour. Parents who flout these orders could face fines of up to £1,000.

Ministers seem to hope the new laws will put an end to the "you can't touch me" classroom culture, which has seen a growing problem of petty misbehaviour and minor disruption in classrooms.

"The vast majority of pupils are well behaved and hard working, so many schools may never feel the need to use these measures," said Education Secretary Alan Johnson.

"But it's important that a small minority of young people should not be allowed to disrupt lessons and undermine the authority of teachers.

"Heads have never had such a range of disciplinary and preventative measures at their disposal, along with clear guidance on how to use them. They will now be able to send out a strong message to trouble-makers that if they misbehave, they can expect to be punished."

It sounds like a back to basics' formula of strict classroom discipline and zero tolerance for bad behaviour.

Allowing teachers to use physical force to restrain or control pupils will not see a return to corporal punishment, however.

"We're talking here about the right to use reasonable force as a last resort to restrain or control pupils who are in danger of causing harm to themselves, other pupils or staff," a spokesman for the Department for Education and Skills said. "This does not include corporal punishment."

How have the measures been received?

SCHOOLS in York And North Yorkshire were on their Easter break this week.

Nevertheless, local teachers and educationists contacted by The Press broadly welcomed the measures, while pointing out they contained little that was new.

Brian Crosby, head teacher of Manor CE School, in west York, said the new measures clarified precisely what teachers could and could not do in order to maintain discipline.

Genuine conflict in the classroom in York schools was "extremely rare", he said. But the use of mobile phones and other electrical items such as iPods could be very disruptive.

Teachers already received training on how to deal with disruptive behaviour, Mr Crosby said.

"But we welcome the measures - not just in terms of reducing bad behaviour, but in order to clarify where teachers stand and what they can and cannot do. That is the real benefit, because there is some confusion at the moment."

Carol Runciman, the executive member for education on City of York Council, said it was true that there had been an increase in recent years in "minor classroom disruption".

That was not simply the result of pupils perceiving their teachers as being powerless to stop them misbehaving, she said. It was part of a wider social change. "We are not such a deferential society any more," she said. "We don't respect people just because of their status or position: they have to earn respect."

That applied to teachers as much as anybody else, she staid.

Coun Runciman welcomed the new measures, mainly for the clarity they brought to what teachers could and could not do.

She also welcomed the two-pronged approach, with teachers given more disciplinary powers and parents of problem children also being expected to do their part under parenting orders.

She was less impressed with the idea of fining parents who failed to discipline their children. Parents had to want to help their children, rather than be forced to by the threat of a £1,000 fine, she said.

Nick Seaton, of the York-based Campaign For Real Education, said the measures were long overdue. The balance had for too long been tipped in favour of the rights of the pupil over those of the teacher, he said. "Giving excessive rights to pupils has severely damaged discipline in schools. This is a step in the right direction."

Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Phil Willis, a former head teacher, said little was new in the measures. But he welcomed the fact that they made it much clearer how far teachers could go in controlling unruly pupils.

Discipline in classrooms was a serious issue, he said, and an unruly classroom was one in which learning was difficult.

But all good schools should already have in place measures to enable teachers to maintain control.

"You really have to have whole school programmes," he said.

"For example, systems of three praises to one blame control reinforcing good behaviour and emphasising good behaviour rather than bad behaviour. It's not rocket science. If it could work for me in Seacroft, Leeds when he was head of John Smeaton Community High School it can work in most of the schools in York and North Yorkshire."

Q&A: How will the new measures work?

1. The Department For Education And Skills:

Q: Why are the tougher new powers felt to be necessary? Because of a you can't tell me what to do?' classroom culture?A: Yes, we want to address this "You can't do anything to me" attitude that undermines teachers' authority and presents a barrier to effective discipline. The new laws give a clear statutory framework that will allow teachers to deal with bad behaviour with greater confidence.

Q: When will the measures come in?

A: Most came in as of last Sunday. The parenting orders come in from September.

Q: What will the "strong statutory powers to punish pupils" involve?

A: Teachers will have statutory rights to punish pupils for unacceptable behaviour not just in school, but also on the way to and from school. It means kids misbehaving on buses to and from school, or getting up to mischief outside the school gates at lunchtime or after school, can be punished by teachers as if they were in school.

They will also have a clear legal right to hold pupils in weekday and weekend detentions without gaining the parents' permission, and can reasonably confiscate items such as mobile phones and iPods, if they are being used in a disruptive or malicious way.

Q: The Act reaffirms the "legal power to use physical force to restrain or control pupils". Will this involve corporal punishment? If not, what kind of force? What kind of physical restraint is being talked about?

A: No, this does not include corporal punishment. We're talking here about the right to use reasonable force as a last resort to restrain or control pupils that are in danger of causing harm to themselves, other pupils or staff. The most obvious example is breaking up a fight to prevent pupils from injuring each other.

Q: What level of force will be deemed reasonable or appropriate?

A: What is reasonable depends entirely on the circumstances, but should be the minimum required to resolve the situation. We are publishing guidelines next week to give more practical examples of how the laws should be applied. But the legal definition of reasonable is something that can only be determined through case law.

Q: What protection will be available for teachers who use force to protect them or their school from legal action?

A: As long as they are applied appropriately, the new statutory powers will give teachers protection if any case is brought - though clearly no legislation can completely prevent legal action from being taken.

Q: What action will schools be able to take from September against parents who still fail to tackle their children's problem behaviour under a parenting contract?

A: Parents who flout Parenting Orders could receive a fine of up to £1,000 from the courts.

2. Jenny Vickers, assistant director for school improvement with City of York Council

Q: Does a "you can't tell me what to do" culture exist in the classroom? A: Some individuals have these attitudes, but it is a minority. Most schools are very orderly. There are signs of increasing behaviour problems with some young and very young children, usually emotional and behavioural problems which can be caused by many different reasons.

Q: What powers do teachers and schools have to discipline pupils at the moment?

A: The bottom line, used as a last resort, is permanent exclusion. But this would only be used after a hierarchy of strategies and solutions have been tried and have failed.

These would range from quite small sanctions, such as not being able to participate in particular activities, to time-outs and parents being called in. Detention can be used, but parents would have to be informed.

Communication between the school and parents and pupils, and making sure everybody knows what is expected, is the key.

Q: What training do teachers get in classroom discipline and control and restraint of pupils?

A: Training and support programs covering behaviour management and restraint of pupils if and when necessary are available for teachers and support staff.

Q: Are parenting contracts a good way of trying to ensure parents tackle problem behaviour?

A: No. They are not legally binding, for one thing. That is why communication between home and school is so important, to get parents to sign up to behaviour management policies with the school.