Second Chance Centres would rescue classes from unruly pupils
Elizabeth Smith
WE'VE got to stop deluding ourselves; poor discipline is a growing problem in far too many schools across the country and the education of well-behaved children is suffering because of a small but growing minority.
As a former teacher I believe enough is enough and we need the Salmond government to take the matter seriously. Too many youngsters are having their life prospects ruined because of a lack of good discipline.
Just look at the facts. A member of school staff is attacked every ten minutes; every 90 seconds of a school day a pupil is excluded from a school in Scotland; a staggering 98 per cent of all excluded children are sent home with nothing to do – as a result some pupils see exclusion as a favourable alternative to classroom activity. These figures are not made up. They are the government's own figures and they also tell us that at least £6 million of taxpayers' money is wasted because of the discipline problem. We've got to come up with radical policies to overcome this.
When it comes to persistently unruly pupils, my solution is to take them out of mainstream education and teach them in separate Second Chance Centres until they know how to behave. Why? Well, because I want well-behaved pupils to be able to get on with learning, and teachers to get on with teaching without the distraction of a few badly behaved pupils. But I also want persistently unruly pupils to get the chance to realise that they are not helping themselves by persistently behaving badly. They need a second chance to refocus their lives.
To be moved out of mainstream education into a Second Chance Centre would send a real message to the pupils concerned. It wouldn't just be another detention or suspension and they wouldn't be sent home with nothing to do. They would be removed completely from the mainstream environment and taught by specialist teachers.
This idea has worked well in Leeds, Belfast, in some states of America and in some parts of Scandinavia. In recent polling it also receives overwhelming support in Scotland. In a recent YouGov poll 70 per cent of those people asked agreed that persistently unruly pupils should be removed from mainstream classrooms and taught separately. Very few people supported the current system of sending pupils home or keeping them in mainstream classrooms.
The idea of Second Chance Centres has also found favour with teachers and with the Scottish Police Federation, whose business manager Douglas Keil believes many ex-policemen would have a considerable interest in working in this type of centre. We must not forget that many persistently unruly pupils go on to commit crimes in later life, so catching them early could help change the course of their lives for the better. I also want to take control over schools away from the politicians and give it back to teachers.
Astonishingly, at the moment teachers have limited power over discipline. Their hands are tied because they are unable to impose effective sanctions without encountering a lengthy process of referral to those who supposedly have more knowledge than they do. Indeed, in some cases, when consultation with local government authorities is thought necessary, not even headteachers appear to have enough powers to deal with unruly children. This has to change. Classroom teachers and especially the headteacher have to be given far more control over discipline in their schools.
I know that when indiscipline occurs it should be dealt with firmly, fairly and quickly. There should be no time for the youngster, his or her classmates and the teacher to forget the details of what happened and the reason for punishment. At present, there is often a large burden of paperwork which accompanies the reporting of disciplinary issues, paperwork that often involves a lengthy procedure which means the issue isn't dealt with until several days, sometimes weeks later, by which time the whole process has often become pointless. Teachers need to have control.
This issue goes well beyond what happens inside the classroom. It involves every parent accepting the responsibility for their child's behaviour. It involves teaching them in the very early years the difference between right and wrong and it means encouraging them to take part in activities outside the classroom once they have found where their individual interests and talents lie. Whether it is music or sport, drama or art, every child is good at something. These activities are not only highly valuable in the educational sense but they also provide a channel through which to find new friends and new focus in their life.
We should never forget that most pupils want discipline. They work much better in an environment where the rules are clear, simple and consistent and where they know exactly where they stand. They do not like a situation where they feel rules are constantly being broken and where their teachers seem powerless to deal with the bullies. Second Chance Centres would go a long way to dealing with the problem.
School discipline should be at the forefront of the education debate. It is a small number of pupils who are causing the problem but if we let them get away with it, we ruin the life chances of thousands of other youngsters.
This article was first published in Scotland on Sunday on the 6th of September