Two reports published by the children's watchdog for England examined the prevalence of bullying among children and young people, and the effectiveness of anti-bullying measures used in schools and the wider community. Parents who were dissatisfied at the way schools dealt with bullying needed a more robust and independent system to resolve disputes involving their child.
Source: Bullying Today, Office of the Children s Commissioner (0844 8009113) | Carolyn Hamilton and Julia Thomas, Bullying in Schools in England: A review of the current complaints system and a discussion of options for change, Office of the Children s Commissioner
Links: Report (1) | Report (2) | OCC press release | Community Care report
Date: 2006-Nov
The education inspectorate said that all 12 learning support units inspected were successful in improving the behaviour and attendance of their pupils. (Learning support units are school-based centres for pupils who are disaffected, at risk of exclusion, or vulnerable because of family or social issues.)
Source: Evaluation of the Impact of Learning Support Units, HMI 2378, Office for Standards in Education (07002 637833)
Links: Report
Date: 2006-Nov
The education inspectorate examined the progress made in 2005 and 2006 by secondary schools in England which had been judged to have had unsatisfactory pupil behaviour. It said that poor behaviour was best tackled as part of a wider school improvement plan. Closer links with parents also helped to resolve discipline issues.
Source: Improving Behaviour, HMI 2377, Office for Standards in Education (07002 637833)
Links: Report | OFSTED press release | PAT press release | BBC report | Guardian report
Date: 2006-Nov
The Scottish Executive announced an action plan designed to tackle indiscipline in Scottish schools. A linked survey report found that bad behaviour had not increased since a previous survey in 2006.
Source: Press release 2 October 2006, Scottish Executive (0131 556 8400) | Anne Wilkin, Helen Moor, Jenny Murfield, Kay Kinder and Fiona Johnson, Behaviour in Scottish Schools, Scottish Executive (web publication only)
Links: SE press release | Report
Date: 2006-Oct
Researchers found evidence of 'much progress' in establishing the systems and procedures that would enable local authorities to identify, and maintain contact with, children missing (or at risk of going missing) from education; and strong support for this becoming a statutory duty in order to increase the effectiveness of the policy. But more than a third of local authorities were failing to monitor the number of children who were not receiving an education in their area, despite a government target requiring them to do so by 2005.
Source: Steve Griggs, Ros Payne and Sunita Bhabra, Children Missing Education: Experiences of implementing the DfES guidelines, Research Report 797, Department for Education and Skills (0845 602 2260)
Links: Report | Brief | Community Care report
Date: 2006-Sep
Unauthorized absence from schools in England rose slightly in 2004-05, to 0.79 per cent of half days missed (from 0.78 per cent the previous year). For primary schools the figure rose to 0.46 per cent from 0.43 per cent: but for secondary schools it fell to 1.22 per cent from 1.23 per cent.
Source: Pupil Absence in Schools in England: 2004/2005 (Provisional), Statistical First Release /2006, Department for Education and Skills (0870 000 2288)
Links: SFR | DfES press release | ASCL press release | NASUWT press release | NUT press release | BBC report | Guardian report
Date: 2006-Sep
A report said that mainstream secondary schools were ill-equipped to support young people with complex social and emotional challenges, and could even be increasing the difficulties they faced.
Source: Holding Children in Mind Over Time, Bristol Education Initiative (0117 942 4620)
Links: Bristol University press release | Guardian report
Date: 2006-Jul
There were 9,440 permanent exclusions from primary, secondary, and special schools in England in 2004-05, which represented 0.12 per cent of the number of pupils in schools. Compared with the previous year, the number of permanent exclusions had decreased by just over 4 per cent.
Source: Permanent and Fixed Period Exclusions from Schools and Exclusion Appeals in England 2004/05, Statistical First Release 24/2006, Department for Education and Skills (0870 000 2288)
Links: SFR | DfES press release | NASUWT press release | NUT press release | ATL press release | NAHT press release | BBC report | Guardian report
Date: 2006-Jun
The education inspectorate in Wales said that many schools and local education authorities needed to improve the implementation of anti-bullying policies.
Source: Tackling Bullying in Schools: A survey of effective practice, HM Chief Inspector of Education and Training in Wales (029 2044 6446)
Links: Report | HMCIETW press release
Date: 2006-Jun
A trade union report said that schools in Scotland urgently needed off-site 'behaviour units' to deal with unruly pupils. Indiscipline over a protracted period of time, even at apparently low levels, could have a devastating effect on the health of individual teachers.
Source: Supporting Teachers, Tackling Indiscipline, Educational Institute of Scotland (0131 225 6244)
Links: Report | EIS press release | TSN press release | BBC report
Date: 2006-May
A new book examined a successful initiative (centred on a school-based social work service) that reduced truancy, delinquency, and school exclusions.
Source: Colin Pritchard and Richard Williams, Breaking the Cycle of Educational Alienation, Open University Press (01280 823388)
Links: Summary | TES report | BBC report
Date: 2006-May
A survey found that over half of secondary school heads were concerned about pupil behaviour.
Source: Sarah Knight, Geoff Taggart and Lesley Kendall, Annual Survey of Trends in Secondary Education: Report for 2005, National Foundation for Educational Research (01753 747281)
Links: Summary | NFER press release
Date: 2006-Mar
The government published guidelines for schools on tackling racist bullying.
Source: Bullying Around Racism, Religion and Culture, Department for Education and Skills (0845 602 2260)
Links: Guidance | DfES press release
Date: 2006-Mar
The Law Lords overturned an Appeal Court decision that a boy who had been excluded from his school pending a criminal investigation into his conduct had been unlawfully denied his right to an education under the European convention. They said that the boy did not have a right to be educated at a particular school, and had been offered alternative provision. But they also said official guidance on exclusions on disciplinary grounds might need to be reconsidered.
Source: Ali (FC) v. Headteacher and Governors of Lord Grey School, UKHL 14 (Session 2005-06), House of Lords Judicial Office (020 7219 3111)
Links: Text of judgement | BBC report
Date: 2006-Mar
A briefing paper reported findings from a Scottish study of the links between mental health and behaviour in schools. It said that much of the communication between parents and schools assumed middle-class values in relation to education and childcare practices.
Source: Home and School: Promoting the wellbeing of children and young people, Briefing 27, Centre for Research on Families and Relationships/University of Edinburgh (0131 651 1832)
Links: Briefing
Date: 2006-Feb
A report evaluated a project designed to enable schools in pilot local authorities to access high-quality professional development on behaviour and attendance issues affecting primary-school children. There was a perceived positive impact on children s behaviour, the working climate in the school, children s well-being, confidence, communication skills, social skills and control of emotions. Some impact was reported on learning and home-school relationships.
Source: Susan Hallam, Jasmine Rhamie and Jackie Shaw, Evaluation of the Primary Behaviour and Attendance Strategy Pilot, Research Report 717, Department for Education and Skills (0845 602 2260)
Links: Report | Brief | BBC report
Date: 2006-Feb
A United Nation agency reported on an initiative aimed at ensuring that the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child became central to the ethos of schools. It said that 300 primary schools (in Hampshire) that had been implementing the initiative showed a considerable improvement in pupil behaviour, attendance and performance.
Source: Press release 16 January 2006, UNICEF UK (020 7405 5592)
Links: UNICEF press release
Date: 2006-Jan
A report by a committee of MPs identified 10 key practices to help schools manage attendance more effectively. The level of truancy had recently increased, despite government spending on the problem of almost 885 million over seven years.
Source: Department for Education and Skills: Improving School Attendance in England, Eighteenth Report, (Session 2005-06), HC 789, House of Commons Public Accounts Select Committee, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report | Guardian report
Date: 2006-Jan
