ATL

All in a day's work?

The stress and strain of dealing with disruptive pupils is taking a severe toll on primary school staff, says ATL general secretary Mary Bousted

The results of ATL's primary pupil behaviour survey make disturbing reading. One in six ATL primary teacher members who responded to the survey reported that they had actually suffered physical harm as a result of dealing with a disruptive pupil.

Some teachers reported horrifying incidents; one wrote: "I have had a cricket bat thrown at me and a chair thrown by a five-year-old." Another described an event in which a pupil tried to throw a TV down the stairs; the same pupil also attempted to throw an upright fan through a first-floor window and then tried to open the window to jump out, saying that he was going to kill himself. Another gave a detailed account of being assaulted by a pupil, which ended up with the teacher being punched in the face.

Not surprisingly, such incidents take their toll. There was a high incidence reported of stress and mental health issues that were caused as a result of teachers trying to deal with pupil indiscipline. The threat of tantrums and assaults (either upon the teachers themselves or on other pupils) was found to be a constant drain upon teachers' energy levels. One reported: "It is energy-sapping; you feel frustration for the other children in the class and are constantly working at keeping very calm."

There was also an enormous amount of concern expressed for the well-behaved pupils whose learning was disrupted by the bad behaviour of one or two children: "It is more difficult to cover curriculum areas because of time wasted dealing with behaviour issues... It is very time-consuming dealing with disruptive children. No one is looking after the class while you are dealing with incidents. Lessons are spoiled for other children. Filling in forms, writing reports, talking to parents or outside agencies, dealing with complaints from other parents - this all adds up."

It does, indeed, add up. And despite recent legislation that has clarified and supported the teacher's right to discipline pupils within the remit of the whole-school discipline policy, too many teachers reported feeling insecure about what they could or could not do when trying to deal with disruptive behaviour. A typical response was: "I find situations more challenging nowadays because I am aware that my actions and decisions may be scrutinised with hindsight."

This concern echoes the findings of another recent ATL survey where one in four respondents reported that they had been the victim of a false allegation against them by pupils. In too many cases these allegations are made after a teacher has attempted to discipline the pupil. Teachers will not feel on safe and solid ground in establishing and maintaining good discipline if they fear the consequences of exercising their proper authority - a fact recognised in our survey, where 83 per cent said that the most important factor in maintaining effective discipline in schools was the implementation of an effective whole-school discipline policy.

A focus on discipline does not address the key issue, which is: why are children of younger and younger ages behaving so badly? Why are they becoming more aggressive to teachers and support staff? The answer lies beyond the gates of the school in the homes where these children learn no boundaries to their behaviour; when they come to school these children enact the behaviour they have learned from the adults around them, or from the inappropriate TV programmes that they have been allowed to watch.

With the right to a good education comes the responsibility to be in a fit state to be taught and to learn. Too many children are not in this state. Too many children are tired and frazzled when they come to school, unable to learn. Too many have not been taught how to make friends and the give and take that is required of true companionship.

These children are unable to socialise and behave appropriately beyond the sphere of the family. Unfortunately, the consequences of this neglectful parenting are visited upon all the other children whose learning is disrupted by the bad behaviour of the few. The fault lies not with the school or the individual teacher, but with a society that appears to be obsessed with parental rights rather than responsibilities.