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Original poster

Do all primary schools have behaviour issues?

130 replies

Wildflowers99 · 27/03/2025 09:27

Looking for a new primary for (well behaved, fairly academic) DD and without exception every OFSTED mentions things like ‘a significant number of children who struggle with appropriate behaviour’, or similar phrases to this.

It’s really disheartening. DD’s current school has a lot of children who are behind or struggle with behaviour and I was hoping to move her to a classroom environment better suited to her. We live in a very average area, some more deprived areas, some very middle class, but this seems to be an issue wherever I look.

Do I just give up and accept basically all primaries are like this?

OP posts:
arethereanyleftatall · 27/03/2025 09:37

Yes. I teach about 10 schools now a specialist subject. Between one third and one half of each class have. SEN of some kind. There is so much disruption that I get through about half of the material I would have achieved 20 years ago.

u3ername · 27/03/2025 09:36

My child is at a second primary now and it’s terrible. I am again looking to move him. Just to think of all the inappropriateness he’s exposed every day and the worst is when somebody is directly mean to him repeatedly. Who wants that for their child? I think schools need to send home children with unacceptable behaviour then and there, every time.
But of course they can’t, unsafe home environments etc,… it’s all become far too complex.

RedSkyDelights · 27/03/2025 09:35

It's like asking if there are any schools that don't have bullying. If they say they don't, run a mile.
All schools have bullying, it's how they deal with it, that's the issue.

Similarly if any school could tell you they had no children with behaviour issues, I would be dubious. Or at least realise that they couldn't guarantee that children would not struggle with behaviour at a later point or new children join the school. It's how the behaviour is managed (and probably, from your perspective, the impact on your child) that you need to consider.

Schoolfailure · 27/03/2025 09:33

All schools will have children who struggle with behaviour, often not always in primary is due to undiagnosed SEND. It’s how well the school recognises what is the under laying cause and how the deal with it that is important.

Frowningprovidence · 27/03/2025 09:30

all the primaries I have experienced have pupils who struggle with behaviour.

Some schools are better at dealing with behaviour but that's hard to see from the outside.