Deteriorating relations between parents and schools ‘affecting pupil behaviour’

A deteriorating relationship between parents and schools is having a “detrimental impact on pupil behaviour”, a teaching union has said.

Parents are abdicating responsibility for their child’s behaviour and they should face consequences, delegates at the annual conference of the NASUWT teaching union heard.

A motion, which was passed at the conference, called on the union’s executive to acknowledge how the changing relationship between parents and schools is having a detrimental impact on pupil behaviour.

The motion, which was debated at the event in Liverpool on Friday, said teachers should be supported with these “challenges”.

It came after a NASUWT poll found that 81% of teachers feel the number of pupils exhibiting violent and abusive behaviours has increased.

Appropriate sanctions are needed to encourage and require parents to support the schools, but this is not the case in many places today

The survey, of more than 5,800 NASUWT members in the UK in January, suggested two in five (40%) have experienced physical abuse or violence from pupils in the last 12 months.

Teachers said they had been punched, kicked, shoved or spat at by pupils.

Delegate Gary Upton, from Buckinghamshire, said: “It seems that a lot of the behaviour we have from our students comes from much parental behaviour.”

He added: “Teachers find themselves at the mercy of these unscrupulous disciplinary procedures just to appease parents.

“I even know of one colleague who is writing policies about when parents can email, when parents can come into school, and stage one, two and three procedures to try and keep violent parents outside of school reception.

“It seems to me if it’s OK for the NHS to express zero tolerance towards this behaviour, it’s OK for us.”

Delegate Lindsay Hanger, from Norfolk, said: “I firmly believe that behaviour is a fundamental right of every child.

“Those that are unable to comply need consequences which challenge the parents and carers to make it firmly their responsibility.”

Ms Hanger said: “Appropriate sanctions are needed to encourage and require parents to support the schools, but this is not the case in many places today.

“I think the Government needs to go further, with a strategy to ensure that all parents of school aged children are expected to uphold the behaviour strategies or risk their child being denied their place in the classroom.

“To this end, it would seem that the right of every child to an education needs to be more robustly followed up by taking responsibility away from the small minority of parents who are abdicating this responsibility for their offspring.”

Delegate Andrew Dunkley, from Buckinghamshire, said teachers are seeing “an increasing number of parents that want to run our classrooms for us”.

He said they “encourage their children to be defiant and refuse sanctions” and resist school policies.

Mr Dunkley added: “Parental engagement has always been positive. We have always wanted parents to support pupils and to engage with us as a school.

“However, their role, and the limits to their role, has become misaligned as a result of the pandemic.”

The motion, which was passed, said reports of “extreme pupil indiscipline” – including incidents involving knives and other weapons – are on the rise.

It called on the union’s executive to work with the Government to ensure teachers have the “unequivocal support” of ministers in taking action to secure “positive learner behaviour”.

It added that the guidance on behaviour management should be strengthened to ensure “no exclusion” policies are “not legitimised” across the sector, and mandatory time is introduced for teachers to access national continuing professional development (CPD) on behaviour management strategies.

A Department for Education spokesperson said: “All pupils and staff should feel safe and protected at school and should never face violence or abuse.

“The Government inherited a broken system and these shocking figures highlight concerning issues with behaviour in our schools.

“That’s why the Education Secretary is committed to a comprehensive programme of behaviour support for schools.

“Our Plan for Change places a relentless focus on giving every child the best start, no matter their background, including establishing free breakfast clubs in every primary school, proven to improve behaviour, attendance, attainment, wellbeing and readiness to learn.”