Disruptive behaviour in schools – Govt must step u

Disruptive behaviour in schools – time for govt to step up

Secondary teachers are sick of waiting for help to address disruptive behaviour in class. They are sick of being blamed and they are sick of feeling powerless in their own classrooms.

There was passionate debate and plenty of horror stories from delegates at PPTA’s annual conference when the No Silver Bullet: An update on issues relating to behaviour and engagement in schools paper was presented.

Today delegates voted to remind the government of its obligation under the Health and Safety in Employment Act to provide safe teaching and learning environments in secondary and area schools. This included resourcing and support, consultation and annual reports on health and safety issues relating to student behaviour in schools.

PPTA president Kate Gainsford said that, in spite of pressure from PPTA and growing public concern, little progress had been made on proposals to address safety in classrooms.

Last year the Taumata Whanonga (behaviour summit) was held among education stakeholders to address the growing problem of disruptive and antisocial behaviour. From this grew the Positive Behaviour for Learning (PB4L) action plan.

Gainsford said that, to date, the plan had focused largely on the primary and early childhood sectors – “leaving secondary schools stranded when it comes to providing support for students whose psychological, social and psychiatric needs exceed what schools can provide.”

“A whole generation of students will go through secondary school before the effects of PB4L are seen,” Gainsford said.

“PPTA accepts that there is no silver bullet, and that long-term change requires ongoing investment in staffing, training, programme implementation and evaluation. The question is, whether the government is prepared to accept its responsibility to ensure that schools are safe places for all and that the needs of a vulnerable group of students are met,” she said.

ENDS

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