Exclusion- A Look Beneath the Surface

Worryingly two thirds of teachers have been verbally or physically assaulted in the last year according to a survey by the University of Lancaster.

Violent and aggressive behaviour is increasingly part of everyday life in schools and this is reflected by current exclusion rates.

This graph shows a geographical breakdown of exclusion rates in Lancashire.

A report by the Conservatives criticised the current methods used to deal with violent children. Rules state that teachers can physically restrain a child only if the action “constitutes a proportionate punishment in the circumstances of the case”.

Teachers Feel Powerless

There is little agreement of the definition of the word “proportionate,” which has left most teachers feeling powerless to deal with aggressive children as they are scared of the legal repercussions.

Jeanette Smith*, a secondary school teacher from Bolton, said: “Most classroom teachers would never consider restraining a child because you’re putting yourself in a very difficult position legally. Usually the advice is that under no circumstances do you get involved in that way.”

The use of physical restraint is widely opposed as it does not address the root of the problem that is causing children to lash out. Dr Pamela Qualter, senior lecturer at the University of Central Lancashire, said: “Physical restraint really doesn’t address the problem and it doesn’t help at all in the long term.”

Bad Behaviour is a Result of a Bad Home Life

Dr Qualter said that the underlying issue behind aggressive behaviour is often severe anxieties and worries that children have about their lives and about the way they are supposed to behave in certain situations.

Mrs Smith supports this view point: “The kids nowadays can’t deal with things because there is so much stress on them from their home lives that they can just fly off the handle at tiny things.

“Classroom teachers don’t normally know anything about a child’s background but if you do hear about them you can understand why they can’t cope because some of them are just appalling.”

Mrs Smith continued that if teachers knew more about certain pupil’s background they would be in a better position to deal with them: “It would allow us to help and at least be more sympathetic, but without that information you just have to treat everybody the same.”

Preston’s cabinet member for schools, Vali Patel said: “A child’s home life is the biggest factor contributing to their state of mind... A dedicated teacher would try and find out the full information about a child’s home life and deal with them accordingly. That would be the best way forward.”

Empowerment

Last year teachers were given more powers to control children. They are now legally allowed to keep a child for a detention if the child has been given 24 hours notice: “Until last year if a kid didn’t do a detention there was absolutely nothing we could do about it. The new powers have made a big difference because the kids now know that they can’t just do whatever they want with no repercussions,” said Mrs Smith.

Similarly, teachers are now being trained to legally restrain violent children, earning teachers a lot more respect. Mrs Smith said that children know they can’t walk all over the teachers like they did before because now they know that certain teachers are allowed to restrain them if necessary and there is nothing they can do about it.

Restraint Will Make the Problem Worse

The issue of restraining children provokes many different opinions and Mr Les Turner, General Secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers in Lancashire thinks that it should not be used as it does not address the reason for a child’s bad behaviour.

Mr Turner thinks that it can actually make the problem worse: “I don’t think that restraining children is a solution to the problem. In many cases restraint can inflame a situation and cause the problem to escalate out of control rather than bring an end to it.”

Cllr Patel said: “We have come far in removing the possibility of exclusion but there is still a long way to go. We need to look for a long term solution to misbehaviour, and deal with it at a very early age. We should be starting at the root of the problem and working with the families.”

*Name changed upon request.

Picture courtesy of Flickr