Behaviour Behaviour Behaviour

Sir Alan Steer, former successful headmaster and current government behaviour tsar, has been all over the television, newspapers and internet during the past week since the initial publication of his report Learning behaviour: Lessons learned, which is a review of behaviour standards and practices in our schools. Although the final report is not due to be published until November, his initial findings have prompted comments from various corners of the media, including the bbc news website, Mortarboard, and of course other education blogs.

I did not read all 208 pages but I have read the vast majority of his findings and I certainly paid close attention to the 47 recommendations. Most people seem to have picked up on Steer's statement that behaviour in schools is very good and is improving. He has therefore been heavily criticised for being sorely out of touch with the realities faced by classroom teachers up and down the country. I cannot agree with his statement. Based on my current and previous experiences in several British schools, my opinion is that average student behaviour is in fact bad and getting worse. Also, I am annoyed and angered by the implication that disruptive behaviour is often the result of bad teaching. This myth has been wrongly fuelled for far too long and needs to be quashed, not encouraged.

However, I would like to say that I have respect for Steer's previous accomplishments as a highly successful headmaster and I do agree with and take heart from much of what he has written. Granted, some of his suggestions are rather obvious: All teachers must have seating plans; codes of conduct must be clearly displayed on walls; senior staff must be a visible and effective presence in corridors between and during lessons. These ideas are not exactly revolutionary, yet it needs to be said that even these simple things are far from commonplace in too many schools and classrooms. Such negligence fuels disruption, creates further, unnecessary problems, and is symptomatic of the rot at the core of the education system.
In addition to his finding that general behaviour is good, Steer does concede that "much remains to be done to raise standards" and that there is definite "scope for further improvment." This fills me with hope that he is not as out of touch with the current climate as others believe.
Three further comments that also fill me wth hope are as follows: Steer suggests that "effective early intervention" is critical. I have long since been an advocate of dealing with potential troublemakers at the earliest opportunity rather than giving them too many opportunities to effect a change that is unlikely. In addition to this, he comments that "parents and teachers should work ...with mutual regard." This is certainly a crucial point as it has been my experience that links between schools and the wider community, particularly parents, are not as strong as they could be. Immediate, significant changes are needed in this regard. Lastly, Steer calls for widespread "recognition of well-behaved students and supportive parents." This is absolutely spot-on because far too much time and resources are regularly given over to dealing with the negatives and not enough credit is given to well-behaved students and to the parents who encourage them to learn and to behave well. More praise is needed.

Finally, I am greatly encouraged by Steer's conviction that "poor behaviour cannot be tolerated as it is the right of pupils to learn and teachers to teach." This will strike a chord with everyone who has a vested interest in teaching and learning and I hope that Sir Alan Steer's report will have the desired impact, namely that it acts as a much-needed wake-up call that brings about positive changes in education.