Too many children are \u201cfalling out of step with the expectations of school life\u201d through absence, making them \u201cmore likely to cross boundaries, challenge teachers” and disrupt learning, the head of Ofsted has warned. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sir Martyn Oliver also said he was concerned by commentary from education professionals \u201cdescribing the impact of behaviour and the part it plays in driving too many teachers out of the profession\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In Ofsted<\/a>\u2019s annual report, Oliver also said social media and smartphones were partly responsible for disruptive behaviour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the watchdog\u2019s new report cards, attendance and behaviour sit together. Oliver said that \u201cin many ways, they are two sides of a coin. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cToo many children are spending too long out of school and falling out of step with the expectations of school life, which makes them more likely to cross boundaries, challenge teachers and disrupt the learning of others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis is a huge concern of parents, and always has been. But increasingly we are seeing commentary from education professionals describing the impact of behaviour and the part it plays in driving too many teachers out of the profession.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In his report, Oliver warned the \u201cinfluence of social media, whether by chipping away at attention spans and eroding the necessary patience for learning, or by promoting disrespectful attitudes and behaviours, clearly plays a part\u201d in disruptive behaviour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Access to social media for young people and mobile phone use in schools \u201chave become perennial topics of discussion\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Oliver said it was \u201cclear to me that schools need to help their pupils navigate the risks and pitfalls of their online lives, but there is no need to facilitate access on school grounds. Far better to provide children with sanctuary from their mobile devices once the school gates close.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oliver said Ofsted \u201cmore often than not\u201d saw schools with \u201cgood, consistently applied behaviour policies and approaches \u2013 and that is reflected in our historical judgments of behaviour and attitudes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhere we see schools taking good steps to tackle behaviour issues, we have tended to judge them \u2018good\u2019 or better. So, we need to ask the question: if the school is doing all the right things, why is behaviour such a growing concern among teachers?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He said that \u201cperhaps the answer lies in the prevalence of lower-level disruption\u201d. He pointed to the DfE\u2019s behaviour survey<\/a>, which found nearly three quarters of teachers reported that misbehaviour disrupts lessons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n‘Schools need to help pupils navigate online lives’<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Fears over disruptive behaviour<\/h3>\n\n\n\n