Former prime minister Tony Blair’s think tank says teachers should be given new powers to force parents to engage when their child is behaving disruptively.
Tackling the Behaviour Challenge in England’s Schools, a report by the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change (TBI), calls on the government to fix poor behaviour in schools “as a national priority”, warning that otherwise the situation will undermine attempts to address the “urgent challenges of teacher recruitment and retention”.
The report says the government must “shift the balance of authority in favour of teachers”, giving them statutory power to force parents to engage, as a way of tackling an “epidemic” of poor behaviour.
It also advises that lack of parent engagement should be treated as a 51 issue.
Teachers ‘need a stronger hand’ on behaviour
“Schools should be given the power to compel families to come to the table and agree an action plan when a pupil’s behaviour becomes severely disruptive,” the report states.
“Where families refuse to engage, teachers need to be dealt a stronger hand. If parents fail to attend disciplinary meetings or engage with an action plan, schools should be able to escalate concerns to other authorities on 51 grounds.”
The government should also consider whether legal powers similar to those used to address repeated pupil absence should apply when parents refuse to cooperate repeatedly, the TBI report recommends.
In addition, schools should be given a stronger statutory role in driving multi-agency working, with powers to convene, coordinate and lead meetings where appropriate.
However, school leaders’ bodies have rejected the proposals.
Paul Whiteman, general secretary of the NAHT school leaders’ union, said that “whilst no doubt well-meaning, many of the recommendations presented in this report are misguided and unworkable”.
He added that “some of the alarmist language used is unhelpful - we must not lose sight of the fact that the large majority of children are well behaved and engage with school positively.”
Mr Whiteman said: “When it comes to talking about such important and sensitive issues, it is important that we are precise with our language and our diagnosis of the problem.”
Pepe Di’Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “The idea of giving teachers a statutory authority to force parents to engage is certainly novel, but we would be concerned that such a policy would create a significant additional burden on schools and exacerbate tensions with parents.”
He preferred the creation of conditions “that allow schools to work together constructively with parents”.
Financial barriers to pastoral support
Mr Di’lasio added: “The solutions to behavioural issues lie in improving access to specialist support so that problems can be dealt with at an early stage before they escalate. To ensure this happens, schools need to be funded sufficiently so that they can afford the level of pastoral support required.”
The TBI report calls for a “national behaviour challenge” run by the Department for Education that would aim to “cut classroom disruption by half and improve measures of wellbeing”. It should regularly collect data on behaviour “via survey and integration with school-management tools to build…an accurate present-time picture of behaviour and wellbeing”.
Alexander Iosad, TBI director of government innovation, said: “We have heard time and time again about the challenges of teacher retention, yet almost nothing about the hidden crisis driving their exit.
“Today’s report shows that teachers are powerless and unsupported to tackle a rising epidemic of disruptive and dangerous behaviour. We must shift the balance of authority back in favour of teachers and give them the support they need.”
While he described the first step as “consistent, effective and enforced behaviour strategies”, Mr Iosad stressed that “behaviour issues often have their roots outside of the classroom, and teachers often find themselves powerless to effect change”.
He added: “Let’s be clear; this is not just a challenge; it is a 51 issue. Schools should therefore become statutory partners in 51 and should have the authority to compel parents and other agencies like the police, NHS and social services to come together and agree an action plan.”
A Department for Education spokesperson said: “The surge in challenging behaviour in schools has been left to spiral out of control, leading to countless days of lost learning and devastating children’s life chances.”
They said the department’s Plan for Change would tackle the root causes of poor behaviour.
“We’ve already announced a significant £1 billion investment in SEND, committed to providing access to specialist mental health professionals in every school, and set out plans for new regional improvement teams, which will work with schools to ensure the highest standards of behaviour across our classrooms.”
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