Ofsted’s pearls of wisdom- a bit late in the day but hey, they’ve had lots to think about over the years. I don’t generally rate Ofsted’s opinions. I’ve seen too much bad behaviour in schools with nothing much being done about it but then Ofsted visit the school and say everything is just great. But, oh no it’s not….
Children unable to read properly, work not differentiated for pupils’ needs, behaviour problems not being sorted out, schools following official initiatives without question like sheep. I could go on and on …..
In a recent article it has been reported that Ofsted have said a primary school should have a blitz on swearing in order to improve behaviour- why does any school need to be told that!!!?? For heaven’s sake this is a primary school – little children…. Anyway, Ofsted added to their innovative idea by saying that strict discipline is essential – better late than never, I suppose.
But, hey, there’s aproblem…. Saying we need strict discipline is fine but schools, adults, and society on the whole have long ago lost their edge when it comes to making sure children are disciplined. They’ve actually forgotten how to do it. It’s seen as wrong, harsh and damaging to children’s development.
This of course is totally untrue ….. children desperately need discipline (training?) so they can mature with confidence, understanding the rules of society and able to have the self confidence to manage in all situations. With effective discipline they understand the workings of their world. They haven’t the emotional maturity to deal with all the control that adults allow them to have – it’s dangerous for them – and the evidence for that is the appalling behaviour that is so prevalent today in schools.
Interestingly one my class is ready to be fully reintegrated into mainstream school – but he doesn’t want to leave my class! He wants to stay where there are very high standards of behaviour and work. It’s hard to believe that a year ago his behaviour was so extreme in school (and home) that he was almost kicked out of mainstream school for good. I’m so pleased with how he’s changed – his mum’s so proud and says she’s got a new son… what a result.
To add to the mix we have another problem – adults who know that discipline must be implemented don’t have the skill to actually take the action needed. It’s perceived that disciplining children is about just shouting at children. Nothing could be further from the truth. Discipline is about learning effective behaviour management techniques, implementing them consistently and with confidence.
I teach many people how to discipline effectively and any adult, teacher or parent, can learn the skill of managing children’s behaviour by using easy to follow strategies consistently. Behaviour Bible teaches you how to enable children to use good manners, become hard working and confident to recognise adult authority.
Liz Marsden’s highly recommended book Behaviour Bible is full of easy to follow information to help you effectively manage children’s behaviour in your classroom . Liz is highly experienced in managing children’s extremely challenging behaviour and uses her skills extensive in the classroom and also trains teachers, students and parents. Read about her extensive classroom experiences.
