Worsening pupils’ behaviour is ’never-ending battle'

Nearly one in five teachers in England has been hit by a pupil this year. Union says its members are reporting worsening violence and abuse from pupils. Department for Education says it has invested £10m in behaviour hubs to support schools. One teacher told BBC News behaviour was a “never-ending battle.

A greater proportion of primary and secondary teachers reported pupils fighting, pushing and shoving compared with two years ago. Using the survey tool Teacher Tapp, BBC News asked up to 9,000 teachers in England in February and March a series of questions about their experiences with behaviour in the classroom. St John Fisher Catholic Academy in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, is working hard to improve its behaviour. Ofsted inspectors found poor behaviour by pupils, including frequent fighting, made others feel unsafe.

There was a culture of bullying and an atmosphere of intimidation, says head teacher Karl Mackey. Corridors are closed off to stop children being able to wander the whole school if they leave a lesson. There are strict rules about going to the toilet during lessons and mobile phones are banned. He has also brought in more subjects including dance, drama and music.

Year 9 pupil Tamika was excluded from her previous school. She says pupils at St John Fisher have settled down since rule changes. School tries to avoid suspending children if possible. If they do, there will be steps in place for them to reflect on their behaviour - like going into isolation, or being sent home.

He says the whole school community, including local residents, have noticed children behaving better. This year you’ll see them in lessons every single day, not late, in perfect uniform, trying their hardest,” he added. 30% of all teachers said they had witnessed pupils fighting during the week they responded to the questions. 15% of secondary teachers have experienced sexual harassment from a pupil when working at school.

Former DfE behaviour adviser Tom Bennett said it had been a problem for decades. One in five respondents to the BBC’s survey said they had experienced online abuse from a parent or guardian since September. Head teachers union NAHT says some members are experiencing growing problems among a minority of parents. NAHT, which is running a local campaign to tackle abuse, says head teachers have had tyres slashed and been physically assaulted.

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