A teacher speaks out about their experiences at Willenhall school

key extracts from the BBC article said:

Pupils had been repeatedly trying to sneak into the building during lunch time and were becoming more brazen.

Eventually it became more about winding staff up and exulting in defiance than actually entering the building. They were running from entrance to entrance trying to force their way in, while teams of staff manned doorways, physically barricading them - sometimes while the pupils pushed them....

There was a near full-scale riot one day when pupils tried to force their way in. This meant staff spending their lunch break attempting to prevent doors being shoved open - and being physically pushed...

... A number of students were given fixed term exclusions but it had little impact.

Attempts to intimidate staff were fairly common.

A considerable portion of pupils would routinely truant and walk around the school building avoiding their lessons. These pupils would bang on windows, shout, get into fights and disrupt lessons continually. When challenged, they would be threatening and verbally abusive.

...the disruptive pupils' behaviour would have a big impact on class time and there were lessons in which nothing was done, literally nothing.

Bullying was rife. I had a very sobering day when a fantastic, hard-working, bright, polite, ambitious and witty girl was obviously distraught...

.... the more able pupils were scared, and bored, as they saw their lesson time disappear as teachers wasted their time on fire-fighting poor behaviour rather than helping them improve and reach their goals...

.... I was diagnosed with depression and an anxiety disorder and went on anti-depressants.

A sobering moment in my teaching career was discussing this in the staff room only to have six of the seven teachers present explain that they too were on some form of medication for stress, anxiety, depression or related mental illness.

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yorkie said:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-40014265


OK so this school is an extreme example, and it will vary massively by school, however the entire education system seems to be based around ensuring that the rights of disruptive students to remain in mainstream school 'trumps' and over-rides what should be the rights of students who want to learn to be able to learn in a safe and positive learning environment.

I am aware of some members of this forum, currently employed as secondary school teachers, who are disillusioned with the way things are going and considering a different career path, though I am not sure they'd want to post this on the forum.

Unfortunately the rights of bullies appear to be considered more important than the rights of victims. This may not be intentional but is effectively is the reality in some schools.

I know of at least one forum member who wants to become a secondary school teacher. Sure, the actual teaching would mostly be an enjoyable challenge, but the stress that goes with it, and the frustration of knowing that the worst bullies and persistently disruptive students are unlikely to be adequately punished, will be difficult to take. I can understand why people want to go into teaching but I wouldn't do it and I would urge anyone considering it, to get plenty of experience first, as you may not realise what you are letting yourselves in for.

Does anyone here have any experiences they can share with us?

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cactustwirly said:

I think this thing varies hugely between each school, my school was the complete opposite to the one in the article, and the situations you describe (I went to a state comphrensive school BTW).

This sort of thing depends on the attitude of the Head teacher. My school took bullying and bad behahiour very seriously, and I know a number of pupils got expelled for more minor things than what was described in the article.

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DarloRich said:

Winding staff up - all the time
Defiance - certainly most of the time. I call no one sir who hasn't earn't it
disruptive - certainly at times. I was bored and didn't want to do maths or I was bored because I was miles ahead of many of the kids
Argumentative - constantly.

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Railops said:

You seem to have a cracking personality.

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DarloRich said:

Cheers. I do. Thanks.

I am sure you did things as a kid that you wouldn't do now. It is called immaturity.

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Railops said:

You seem to have a cracking personality.

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Railops said:

I agree, didn't we have a thread about how immaturity didn't exist at any age not long back, pre-teen train drivers comes to mind.

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DarloRich said:

age is no reflection of maturity!

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37038 said:

Yes but he has a point. Some teachers you take the p*ss out of and do nothing. Some were ruthless and you got b*llcked for stepping out of line.

Maintain an aura of power as a teacher and you will have a class which behaves but who don't particularly like you. However, as I find out, it's these teachers who treat you as an adult in the final years at school and the ones you end up respecting most of all.

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RichmondCommu said:

And post of the day goes to DarloRich!

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yorkie said:

.... the more able pupils were scared, and bored, as they saw their lesson time disappear as teachers wasted their time on fire-fighting poor behaviour rather than helping them improve and reach their goals...

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J-2739 said:

I swear some of these teachers are bipolar. They act super nice to you for one second, and tear you apart the next.

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Bayum said:

behaviour management is not the pupils' responsibility.

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Starmill said:

I certainly wouldn't consider this an 'extreme example' ...

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Thankfully the school I teach at is not quite like that, but I can certainly see some parallels. I think the success of where I currently work is that there is a great three way partnership between the school, parents and pupils - I've never been reluctant to speak to a parent or doubted that I wouldn't have their support. And I've had support from the leadership before I reached the end of my tether with a few pupils.

But even so, I'm glad I've only got 3 and a half more weeks in this profession. I want the best for my pupils but I'm no longer prepared to make the sacrifices on my time and energy demanded.

Feel free to add that to the thread anonymously.

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I've been fortunate to work in a variety of schools. I have found that there is an increase of low-level disruption in classes as well as growing mutterings from brilliant, more experienced colleagues along the lines of 'I don't know much longer I can keep this up.'

Personally, I find the attention spans of pupils to be quite shocking lately. Phones, fidget spinners and misuse of bottles of water are key issues. There are also 'rights pupils' who like to challenge authority repeatedly by wasting everyone's time with their attempts to engage you in a discussion over why you have disciplined them. The sad truth is that I find my time spent in lesson is taken up more and more with behaviour management rather than subject learning. However, there are as many classes where you have a good relationship. Key Years for problems are Year 8 and 9 but I guess that's puberty for you.

Another aspect is class sizes. If disruption occurs in a class of ~20, it is easier to deal with than in a class of ~33. I commonly teach classes of between 25 and 31. This implies you tend to have about a minute for each child in class which can suddenly shrink with disruption. This is par for the course as you would never be able to split class sizes smaller as there is not enough time or manpower available. An increasing population will continue to cause problems. One school I have worked at had most class sizes of 33 pupils through Years 7 to 9.

It would be wonderful if you could just turf out those problem pupils immediately to an inclusion unit, or even another room but there is no free time for teaching assistants (a sadly rare commodity in light of an increase of students with statements that require a TA to be with them) or other teachers who are free (you don't really want to dump them on your friends) or SLT (who are in meetings, away on courses, or more unusually, teaching and so unavailable at times).

I sometimes talk to parents but I find that as soon as pupils arrive in lessons, there can be peer pressure to act like a fool in front of others so using TAs, form teachers and senior management is usually more effective to reign in a problem pupil (with report cards or a strong word or both). In other words, pupils are different people on either side of the school gates.

I have found the atmosphere of colleagues can be conflicting. I have a band of brothers and sisters who we talk openly by the water cooler but there are also other members of staff you have to watch how you say things as there are those 'piranhas' who have nothing better to do (apart from being busy teaching) and begin to take an unusual interest in you. These may or may not be senior members of staff. In short, teachers normally stick together but there are some teachers who are determined to rub you up the wrong way or try to be holier-than-thou and unsettle everyone (sometimes the longest serving member of department or that teacher who seems to have unlimited frees). I guess you also get this in most workplaces but it does chip away at one's will to stay in work when you get pupils and certain members of staff determined to put you down.

I feel that I still enjoy teaching my subject and get a buzz when the child understands the new concept. It's just soul destroying at times when you have to do so much behaviour management to get to that point.

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tony_mac said:

Failure to behave in a reasonable way is absolutely the pupils' responsibility. Absolving them of their responsibility is certainly part of the problem.

I think that teachers should be required to teach (i.e., to impart knowledge). In some other countries, that is what they do.

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Bayum said:

One, being the attitude to learning and education. I found it quite amusing that one poster compared their attitude and behaviour at school, but seemed to shrug it off as, 'Well, look at me now', as if to make up for past behaviour. Students of all ages should understand their responsibility for their own learning and that of others - understanding the position of the teacher and accepting that there should be respect working in both directions.

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Bayum said:

Did you actually read my post, or pick out that one single statement? I said on at least three occasions that pupils have an absolute responsibility to allow school to be a place of learning: behaviour should not interrupt this.

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tony_mac said:

Yes, but your key point was 'The buck stops with class teachers and senior leadership.'

I think that is too often the message which is going out to pupils and parents. You've seen it on this thread - people behave poorly in school and instead of accepting the responsibility, they blame the teacher for not preventing it.

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tony_mac said:

Yes, but your key point was 'The buck stops with class teachers and senior leadership.'

I think that is too often the message which is going out to pupils and parents. You've seen it on this thread - people behave poorly in school and instead of accepting the responsibility, they blame the teacher for not preventing it.

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Teachers’ expectations of pupils are not consistently high enough. Teachers do not routinely implement school policies in relation to classroom practice, assessment and behaviour management.

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Teaching is inadequate. It is not planned well enough to challenge pupils, nor does it take account of their prior attainment and learning needs. Pupils are, therefore, not engaged.

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Almost a third of pupils are regularly absent. This is holding back their achievement.

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 Act with urgency to ensure that all pupils are safe at the school by:
– addressing pupils’ poor behaviour through insisting on their adherence to school
expectations and gaining the full support of their parents
– ensuring all staff implement the school’s behaviour management policy consistently and effectively, and that this policy offers suitable sanctions and appropriate support and rewards to pupils
– improving the attendance of pupils, including those in alternative provision, through analysing strategies which have been successful previously, intervening early and working more closely with parents

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ensuring that senior and middle leaders are fully accountable for the necessary and urgent improvements required in safeguarding, behaviour, attendance and achievement.

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In many lessons, teachers are regularly interrupted by pupils. This prevents them using time well and from putting challenge into their teaching. In too many lessons, very

Inspection report: Willenhall E-ACT Academy, 7–8 March 2017 Page 6 of 15
little learning takes place, and those pupils who attempt to work receive little support. In one lesson seen during the inspection, behaviour was so poor that inspectors immediately shared concerns with leaders.

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Where learning is most effective, such as in some key stage 3 mathematics and art lessons, there is a clear insistence on adherence to the school’s standards of behaviour and following basic routines. This enables an orderly working atmosphere and good relationships. In such circumstances, teachers can use questioning effectively to stimulate discussion.

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Behaviour
 The behaviour of pupils is inadequate.
 Pupils in all year groups, the clear majority of parents who responded to the online questionnaire, and those who contacted Ofsted, noted pupils’ poor behaviour. These concerns related to lessons and social times. Over 80% of staff who responded to the online questionnaire feel behaviour in the school is not good.
 In January 2017, parents were sent a letter from the school which noted that ‘Disruptive behaviour by a small but significant minority is hindering the progress of other students.’ Inspection evidence shows that this poor behaviour is deep rooted and widespread.
 Inspectors had food thrown at them in the canteen and in a classroom. A small number of pupils were rude to them. Inspectors were jostled in corridors and witnessed staff being ignored or defied. A senior leader was spoken to disrespectfully by pupils and told inspectors this was the norm.
 Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities told inspectors they like to find safe places in the school because other pupils fight, push and swear at social times.
 Sixth form students behave very well but feel the behaviour of pupils in Years 7–11 is getting worse. A number of students do not like to leave the sixth form area because of this. Students gave examples of how younger pupils’ misbehaviour, such as knocking doors during lessons, disrupted their learning.
 Pupils do not take a pride in their school. Litter and graffiti were evident both inside Inspection report: Willenhall E-ACT Academy, 7–8 March 2017 Page 8 of 15
and outside the building. Litter was particularly prevalent after lunchtimes but was also noticeable early in the day.
 Information from leaders and teachers and evidence seen during the inspection confirms that the behaviour of pupils in Years 7 and 8 is particularly poor. In two Year 7 registration periods, a few pupils shouted out inappropriate comments.
 Internal truancy is not uncommon during the day. This occurred during the inspection. Pupils who had been sent to a referral room chose instead to congregate on stairwells.
 Leaders’ strategies to deal with poor behaviour are ineffective. This is seen partly in an increase in the number of exclusions. During the current academic year, the number of fixed-term exclusions has increased markedly. The overwhelming majority of these are of disadvantaged pupils and those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. Leaders admit they are disappointed with these high numbers.
 For lesser behaviour problems, pupils are sent to an ‘isolation room’ in which very little productive learning takes place. Pupils spoken to said they were sent to this room on numerous occasions and completed little, if any, work.
 While attendance had been improving over the past three years and moving closer toward the national average, current attendance is falling. Leaders are disappointed with this. The attendance of disadvantaged pupils and those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is the worst in the school and is well below the national average.
 Over a third of pupils in Years 7 to 11 are persistently absent. Of these, just under a half are disadvantaged pupils.
 The attendance of pupils who are in alternative provision is very low. It has been less than 70% this academic year. Improved monitoring of this is now evident.
 Leaders feel there is a great need for the establishment of a strong reward system to recognise those pupils who do routinely adhere to the school’s rules.
 Positive work takes place with the local police neighbourhood team, who work with staff in both pre-empting problems and responding to referrals.

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Current pupils are not being equipped with the skills they require to succeed in the new and more challenging GCSEs and A levels. This is because pupils’ absence is too high, teaching is not planned to meet their needs and teachers spend too much time on classroom behaviour management.

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The most able pupils are not consistently challenged. They become bored and demotivated because they find the work too easy. They sometimes report this to their teachers via their books but no additional challenge is set.
 Weak literacy and numeracy skills are highlighted as being the main barrier to improving outcomes, including for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. Work to address these deficiencies is yet to show measureable impact. Over a third of Year 7 pupils did not improve their literacy, and almost a fifth did not improve their numeracy skills, following intervention in 2015–16. The school had no plans to change its interventions for this year despite this lack of success the year before.

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RichmondCommu said:

I've never understood why at some schools teachers are known by their first name and not for instance Mr Johnson. I think that is wrong as that policy does not give teachers the respect that they deserve.

Many years a go in a Geography lesson (at a very good school in Derbyshire) I was nattering to my friend Sarah Towel when a board rubber whistled past my ear. We all thought Mr Johnson was an absolute ******* and the vast majority of us were scared stiff of him. And yet when I got my A level results he was the first teacher to congratulate me and that lunch time bought me a pint to celebrate.

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richw said:

I can relate to this post. Looking back there were three or four teachers who spring to mind who were ******* in school. On reflection I got the best grades in their classes as they didn't take any trouble, so we could learn and get things explained without disruption. Of those teachers I've had a chat with at least 3 of them over a beer or two in adult life and they are genuinely nice people who I'd be quite happy to have further beers with. One of them told me he left the industry because the management didn't like his strict approach and parents regularly complained that he disciplined their children!

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RichmondCommu said:

I've never understood why at some schools teachers are known by their first name and not for instance Mr Johnson. I think that is wrong as that policy does not give teachers the respect that they deserve.

Many years a go in a Geography lesson (at a very good school in Derbyshire) I was nattering to my friend Sarah Towel when a board rubber whistled past my ear. We all thought Mr Johnson was an absolute ******* and the vast majority of us were scared stiff of him. And yet when I got my A level results he was the first teacher to congratulate me and that lunch time bought me a pint to celebrate.

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