Classroom chaos gets younger

There are signs more intermediate and primary schools are being forced to consider excluding and suspending students, amid a reported rise in extreme behaviour among children.

The trend has reignited calls for greater support for schools to deal with special needs and mental health issues among pupils, with claims many families are being left to deal with these problems on their own.

The body that represents school boards says it has received a ‘‘flurry’’ of queries from boards about suspensions and exclusions for young students. Excluded students are those under 16 who are struck off the school roll.

‘‘Normally, one would expect this type of behaviour in secondary schools,’’ NZ School Trustees Association president Lorraine Kerr said. ‘‘It’s now becoming intermediate schools, and in some extreme cases . . . it’s presenting itself in primary.’’

The apparent trend seemed to be a symptom of an increasing number of students arriving at school with significant behavioural needs, including conditions like foetal alcohol syndrome or ‘‘P babies’’, Kerr said.

‘‘It’s worrying that boards and schools are finding themselves in this position.

‘‘Schools exist for teaching and learning, but schools are becoming more and more like the ‘How do we solve all society’s woes

‘‘It’s worrying that boards and schools are finding themselves in this position.’’

Lorraine Kerr NZ School Trustees Association president

inside our school gate?’.’’

Several primary schools spoken to by Stuff said they were seeing more extreme behaviour among students.

One teacher likened taking some classes to walking a knife edge, saying some students periodically threw things in the classroom, and refused to come out from under desks or to sit down when asked.

Another teacher estimated that around a third of new entrants arriving at their school last year were unable to regulate their behaviour.

‘‘That’s one of a myriad of issues that our poor teachers actually have to deal with, in order to settle a child down so that they are ready to learn,’’ Kerr said.

Any primary school forced to consider suspending or excluding students would likely be dealing

with behaviour that was putting either the child, other children, or the teacher at risk, said Peter O’Connor, professor of education at the University of Auckland.

It was a measure of last resort for any school, he said.

‘‘You’re talking about some pretty extreme behaviours that mean that a school says, ‘We can’t handle this any more’.’’

A decline in special education support in schools was a possible reason, O’Connor said.

‘‘Funding cutbacks from central government, and the way in which funds can be accessed by schools, quite often mean that our most vulnerable children in schools don’t, and haven’t had the necessary support.’’

It had become more difficult for schools to get help like extra teacher aides, O’Connor said.

The reported trend towards more exclusions and suspensions among younger students was symptomatic of the way in which the ‘‘multiple issues’’ facing young people were dealt with, he said.

‘‘We have a failing mental health system, we have a whole range of things. If you’re a parent of a kid who’s out of control, it’s really hard to find somewhere to get help.’’

A greater focus was needed in schools on the wellbeing of both students and teachers, said Dr Emma Woodward from the Child Psychology Service in Auckland.

More schools needed to be supported to help children learn how to regulate their behaviour, use their strengths well and build resilience, Woodward said. ‘‘How to deal with disappointment, how we deal with failure, how we develop well-rounded, happy, healthy humans, not just good readers and writers.’’