This guidance provides NASUWT Representatives with information about what should be covered in a school’s behaviour management procedures.

How to use this guidance

NASUWT Representatives should use this guidance to check whether a school’s behaviour management procedures address key issues. The guidance pays particular attention to issues relating to teachers’ workload, working conditions, training and professional development, health, safety and welfare, and equal opportunities.

The guide should be read in conjunction with the NASUWT’s Statement of Principles for Behaviour Management and Developing a Behaviour Management Policy.

Contents

Roles and responsibilities
Staff training and professional development
Referrals, including work with external agencies
Resources
Staff issues
Investigating behaviour incidents
Equal opportunities
Stakeholder engagement
Sharing good practice
More information
 

Roles and responsibilities

The procedures should provide details of how staff will be made aware of their roles and responsibilities, while responsibility for implementing the school’s behaviour policy should be included in all staff job descriptions.

Staff training and professional development

The procedures should make it clear that the school will:

  1. provide relevant information on behaviour management matters to all staff;

  2. ensure that all staff receive regular behaviour-related training and development that is appropriate to their role and responsibilities, so that they are able to develop their knowledge and skills of behaviour management;

  3. undertake annual reviews of the professional development needs of teachers and school leaders;

  4. ensure that all staff are entitled to behaviour-related training, development and support within the normal school day.

Referrals, including work with external agencies

The procedures should explain how relevant staff will be informed about the outcome of any referral and how issues that may arise from work with external agencies will be identified and addressed.

  • Class teachers and/or form tutors should be informed about the outcome of any referral.

  • School staff may need to provide support when other agencies fail to deliver. Whilst the school will need to ensure that the needs of individual pupils are met, it is vital that action is taken to challenge those services that fail to provide support. Where needed, the NASUWT will support members to challenge and change such practice.

Resources

The procedures should set out how resources will be utilised to ensure effective implementation of the behaviour policy.

  • The procedures should make it clear that the necessary resources (including time and money) will be provided to ensure the effective implementation of the behaviour management policy, and explain the steps that will be taken to ensure that this happens.

  • Staff who are responsible for assessing and making decisions about pupils’ particular needs, including special/additional needs or behavioural difficulties, should have information about resources, including funding, that has been allocated to meet these needs. They should also be able to make decisions about how that money is allocated.

Staff issues

The procedures should:

  1. ensure the health, safety and welfare of all staff;

  2. ensure that staffing levels are appropriate, including the staffing of specialist behaviour posts;

  3. ensure that teachers are provided with time to undertake their professional roles and responsibilities for all pupils, including those pupils who require additional support;

  4. ensure that behaviour-related procedures and processes have no detrimental impact on teachers’ workload;

  5. ensure that workload issues and pressures arising from inter-agency working are identified and addressed;

  6. clarify how the school will deal with allegations made against members of staff.

Additional important points:

  • Some teachers report that they are subjected to abuse and physical violence and that the school does nothing to address the issue. In some instances, teachers (particularly those working in special schools, alternative provision or pupil referral units (PRUs) who report incidents to their school are told that it is ‘part of the job’. It is not. The school has a duty of care to protect all staff.

  • School staff may come under pressure from external agencies to take on co-ordinating roles where inter-agency support is being provided. Some staff may be particularly vulnerable, but this has massive implications for the workload of all staff in the school. The school should identify and take steps to resist such pressures.

  • Some schools may ask teachers to wear body cameras in order to manage poor pupil behaviour. This suggests that teachers cannot be trusted to report behaviour issues in the classroom and raises issues about data protection and safeguarding which could result in teachers being subjected to allegations and potential legal action in the future.

  • Schools may use CCTV on the school site to help provide a safe and secure environment, and prevent loss or damage to property. It is essential that the school has a CCTV policy that has been developed and agreed with the NASUWT and staff unions. Steps should be taken to ensure that the policy does not violate privacy or civil rights and that it complies with data protection.

Investigating behaviour incidents

The procedures should make it clear that all staff who may be involved in carrying out any investigations will receive appropriate training and support.

  • This will be important where an allegation of inappropriate conduct has been made against a member of staff when an initial determination about the credibility of an allegation is being undertaken.

Equal opportunities

The procedures should:

  1. cover equality matters relating to both pupils and staff:

    • The school has an equal duty of care towards staff and pupils. The procedures should make it clear that incidents affecting particular groups of teachers or pupils will be taken seriously. For example, it should be clear that the school will always treat incidents such as ‘upskirting’ and behaviours that undermine the dignity of girls and women seriously. The procedures should make it clear that the school will impose strong sanctions on those pupils who behave in this way towards staff or pupils.

  2. set out how the school will make reasonable adjustments for a child who has a disability:

    • Schools are required to make reasonable adjustments in respect of pupils who have a disability.

    • In England, Scotland and Wales, Regulation 4(1)(c) of the Equality Act 2010 (Disability) Regulations 2010 (SI 2010 No2128) states that ‘a tendency to physical…abuse of other persons’ is an excluded condition from impairments that are regarded as a disability. However, the Upper Tribunal has ruled that this is incompatible with Section 3 of the Human Rights Act 1998. The case highlights the importance of schools anticipating a pupil’s needs and making reasonable adjustments to meet those needs.

    • The Upper Tribunal decision does not change the NASUWT’s position regarding refusals to teach and NASUWT Representatives should follow NASUWT guidance.

  3. set out the school’s arrangements for reporting and recording behaviour incidents, including types of incident, by protected characteristic, including incidents involving pupils and staff;

  4. set out the arrangements for monitoring the use of rewards and sanctions by protected characteristic;

  5. set out how equality monitoring data and equality and anti-poverty impact assessments will be used to review and make decisions about:

    • the behaviour management procedures;

    • behaviour-related training, development and support needs;

    • resourcing of behaviour management.

Stakeholder engagement

The procedures should explain how the school will engage trade unions and staff in the review and evaluation of the behaviour policy and behaviour management procedures.

Sharing good practice

The procedures should set out how the school identifies and shares behaviour-related good practice with teachers.

More information

Further advice and guidance on behaviour management can be found and accessed through the NASUWT’s main behaviour management page.