Coalition plans will 'undermine' school discipline

5 October 2011

NASUWT General Secretary Chris Keates has attacked the Government for “undermining” high standards of school discipline, including the “narrowing” of the curriculum under the English Baccalaureate.

Ms Keates also said much of the education policy of the Coalition Government was undermining high discipline standards.

At a fringe event organised by the NASUWT on discipline and behaviour in schools, she said teachers were not necessarily concerned with extra powers to enforce discipline, but actually wanted to be supported by their senior management in using powers that already existed.

She stressed that violence and serious disruption were rare in the classroom but that low-level disruption was a much more common occurrence.

Speaking on a panel alongside Education Secretary Michael Gove, Ms Keates said: “When you hear teachers raising issues about discipline what they are often articulating is that they are finding it harder to maintain discipline, not that they are failing to maintain discipline.”

The low-level disruption which concerned NASUWT members included back chat, inability to follow rules, failing to complete homework and failure to bring equipment to class.

She added: “We have also got to make sure…that we don't disaggregate the issue of discipline in schools from Government policy.

“A number of the Coalition's education policies are on course to undermine high standards of school discipline.

“These include the narrowing of the curriculum under the English Baccalaureate, the limitation of vocational courses and the removal of a broad and balanced curriculum.

“These are all things that over the years have helped schools maintain discipline.”

Ms Keates went on: "The Education Bill has some serious provisions that were designed, and I'm sure the motivation was correct, to try and support teachers in maintaining high standards of discipline.

"But we are actually concerned it is going to do quite the opposite.

"We believe that the provisions in that Bill are not based on evidence of what works, we are concerned that they will disempower parents and expose teachers to risk of litigation.

"We think that they will undermine the rights of children and young people, particularly around the powers to search, and we don't believe that they will do anything to enhance the quality of education provision."

Mr Gove told the meeting: "There has been a slow erosion of adult authority during all of our lifetimes.

"There has been a tendency to regard adult authority figures that are seeking to impose order as somehow individuals who it is legitimate to undermine, whose authority can be ignored and whom, for a variety of reasons, we seek to fetter when they are exercising that authority.

"That is why when I gave a speech about discipline and behaviour earlier this summer I emphasised that teachers were there to be listened to and respected and to be obeyed."

Mr Gove claimed he was giving teachers the tools they needed to “keep order” and also praised comprehensive schools, telling the meeting: “I think it is important to recognise with comprehensive schools that it is not just the case that they can succeed but they are succeeding.

“Some of the most successful schools in this country are comprehensives.”

Brian Lightman, General Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said: "I worry about headlines that say David Cameron is going to restore school discipline because I know, as someone who was a school leader for 16 years, that that is not an accurate picture of our schools today.

"It's actually very damaging because when messages like that go out then they actually undermine good discipline, they don't help it, they undermine it."

He called on the Government to be more supportive, adding: "We aren't the problem we are the solution to this and so are the staff in our schools."

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