According to the BBC it is. We look at why this might be the case, and what we can do about it.
Of the 9,000 teachers in the research conducted by the BBC, 20% reported they had been hit by a student this year. 20%.
Whether this is the knock-on effect of COVID, a lack of effective behaviour management training during teacher training, a generational shift in norms and behaviours, austerity, or other contributing factors is not clear.
In the BBC story, former DfE behaviour adviser Tom Bennett says it has been a problem for "decades" after being "brushed under the carpet".
"Up until about five or six years ago there wasn't much by way of [teacher] training in behaviour management, which would probably astonish a lot of people," he said. "We need to make sure schools are looking at teaching the behaviour they need, having boundaries and having consequences — a fairly simple structure but quite hard to put into practice."
Tom Bennett, former DfE behaviour adviser
Bennett conducted an independent review of behaviour in UK schools in 2017. This enlightening read offered the following features of schools with strong behaviour cultures:
- committed, highly visible school leaders, with ambitious goals, supported by a strong leadership team
- effectively communicated, realistic, detailed expectations understood clearly by all members of the school
- highly consistent working practices throughout the school
- a clear understanding of what the school culture is — "this is how we do things around here, and these are the values we hold"
- high levels of staff and parental commitment to the school vision and strategies
- high levels of support between leadership and staff, for example, staff training
- attention to detail and thoroughness in the execution of school policies and strategies
- high expectations of all students and staff, and a belief that all students matter equally
The report also lists the obstacles to developing good behaviour.
It's unsurprising that the effects of negative student behaviours are far reaching — from poor mental health outcomes for those affected, as well as higher rates of bullying, poor attendance, alcohol and drug use. It's also unsurprising that academic achievement is affected, given the 50 minutes per day in lost learning time due to poor behaviour (Department for Education National Behaviour Report, 2021).
Behaviour matters. This is why we placed developing a positive learning climate at the very beginning of our online teacher professional development programme, Setting The Standard.