Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to promote student discipline in schools.

Improving standards of pupil behaviour in schools is a priority for this government. All schools should be calm, safe and supportive environments where all pupils and staff can work in safety and are respected.

The department has an ambitious programme of work to support teachers and leaders to improve behaviour in their schools. This includes the following recently updated guidance:

• The behaviour in schools guidance, available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/behaviour-in-schools--2.
• The school suspension and permanent exclusion guidance, available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-exclusion.
• The searching, screening and confiscation guidance, available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/searching-screening-and-confiscation.

These are practical tools to help schools create environments which young people want to attend.

The national professional qualification (NPQ) in leading behaviour and culture is relevant for teachers, leaders and non-teaching staff who want to develop their understanding of contemporary practice and research around promoting and supporting positive behaviour. £184 million has been invested into providing fully funded NPQs for teaching staff across the country to deliver 150,000 NPQs up until the 2023/2024 annual year.

The department is also investing £10 million through the behaviour hubs programme to support schools. 49 lead schools and ten lead multi-academy trusts work with schools that want and need to turn around their pupils’ behaviour, alongside a central offer of support and taskforce of advisers. The programme will support up to 700 partner schools during the three years it is scheduled to run.

New non-statutory guidance will also aim to ensure that head teachers and members of staff have a clear mandate and practical advice to prohibit mobile phone use throughout the school day. The guidance will also consider how schools should prohibit the use of smart technology with similar functionality to mobile phones. This will help to foster an environment that is conducive to teaching and learning.

The national behaviour survey runs termly to track experiences and perceptions of pupil behaviour in schools. The most recent data available is for the 2021/2022 academic year, and is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-behaviour-survey-reports.