The badly behaved pupils kept hidden from Ofsted
THE extent of bad behaviour in schools is being underestimated as heads try to cover up problems during inspections, a Government adviser has warned.
England’s behaviour tsar, Tom Bennett, said some students were forced to ‘endure very challenging school cultures where behaviour was broadly poor’.
And this ‘national problem’ with behaviour was not reflected accurately enough in official data captured by Ofsted, according to his independent review.
Mr Bennett claimed inspectors often gain only ‘very fleeting’ impressions through questionnaires, observing classes and discussions with staff and students.
He suggested some school leaders are masking issues as they attempt to come across well during inspections.
This involves removing badly behaved children from the premises before inspectors arrive and ‘spinning’ data to present the school in a more favourable light.
Mr Bennett told the BBC yesterday: ‘Behaviour has not been taken seriously enough in the past, and the official data underestimates the extent of the problem in all schools.’ His report – Creating A Culture: How School Leaders Can Optimise Behaviour – highlights the contrast between data gathered and the ‘ experiences of front line teachers and students’.
It states: ‘Stakes for [school] leaders are high. It is natural for the most positive interpretation of one’s school to be presented publicly, especially in circumstances of external inspection.’
Mr Bennett blamed the ‘ high stakes’ inspection system for providing an incentive for schools to ‘try and look as good as possible’. He said: ‘I call it spinning rather than lying, so that for example, I know personally of a great number of instances where schools have sent kids off on trips before an Ofsted inspection.
‘I’m not saying this is every day practice. I think the vast majority of schools absolutely do their best to try and make sure they’re presenting the true picture.’ But Mr Bennett also highlighted irregularities between schools. He added: ‘There are schools where they will record lateness as misbehaviour. They will look worse than the school that doesn’t record lateness as bad behaviour and instead believes it’s a pastoral matter.
‘Again, we have a system which incentivises low recording and even without it being malicious or conscious, we can still see schools that feel “well, let’s not mention that”.’ Mr Bennett has called for Ofsted inspectors to question behaviour more extensively during visits – and also target staff such as supply workers. In response, the Government said it would encourage school leaders to monitor staff and pupil views on behaviour regularly.
It said: ‘We will... explore further the merits of providing schools with an example or template on how they could collect and record their own behaviour data.’ An Ofsted spokesman said: ‘Whilst no immediate changes are proposed to school inspection arrangements, any actions in response to the recommendations will be considered as part of future plans.’