To think something has gone wrong in schools? https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cz0m2x30p4eo

[RebelBabybel]

From the BBC : school exclusions have doubled in the last 10 years.

I’ve worked in schools for 30 years : KS1/Early Years.

When I first started I was expected to do : hand written, detailed plans. Assessments. Handwritten reports. I had no TA. I had a blackboard. Children had books. I had to be firm with behaviour, schools had very clear behaviour policies in place, and the head would have an overview, was visible, check classes, be the ‘go to’ person if anything was difficult to manage.

Over the years, particularly in the Early Years things have changed massively.
My latest role has involved a manager who is mostly on the computer and rarely interacts with the children. No planning, no assessment. Resources are put out, but there is an ethos that it’s ‘wrong’ to show the children how to use them. Therefore children don’t use jigsaws as puzzles, they take the pieces out and transport them round the classroom. A doctors role play is set up, but with no input as to what the resources are there are for or how to role play ‘being a doctor’.

There is an expectation, a ‘box’ of what constitutes ‘normal’ behaviour : even with very young children. Any child who is outside this box, is often labelled ‘I think they’ve got autism, I think they’ve got ADHD’ without a formal assessment. These children - rather than getting to know them, or putting clear strategies in place, are quickly labelled as difficult : and fall into a stereotype that causes a negative cycle. There seems to be little ‘fault’ addressed to the teaching style, and the ‘fault??’ is centred on the child, I’d also argue that it is NOT a fault. It’s called being a child.

Children seem to be very readily excluded from schools without the adults fully questioning their teaching style and whether that might be at fault.

To be completely honest, teaching was far easier 30 years ago. Children were better behaved, and there was far better, stronger support from senior management. It felt more like a team, rather than:

an SLT who are in meetings, on a computer, off to conferences, in the staff room, pushing ‘new’ initiatives and criticising their staff.

@User135644 the issue is some of that poor conduct would not be considered bad behaviour in the work place. Fidgeting or moving around, talking to yourself, taking your jacket off, loosening your tie , getting a drink when you're thirsty, going to the toilet when you need to , the colour of your socks or shoes etc.

Not just that, but there is a certain choice over employment too. If you're an outdoorsy, creative, needing to move type , who is absolutely crap at maths , no one will force you in an accountant's office will they?

There are laws and regulations to support your needs in the workplace, and if the company is shit you have legal recourse and/ or you can find another job.

Add in all these frustrations, especially on top of extra stressors, the lack of choice or options and you end up with even more extreme behaviours.

You also forget completely a vast number of children who will never be able to live independently, much less actually work somewhere. These kids are in mainstream schools, in nappies, nonverbal, self harming etc.

To add to this, teacher's are acutely aware they aren't providing the best learning environment for children and it's currently. one of the hardest parts of the job. I cannot split myself into any more pieces than I do•

Yup, no matter what you're doing ,someone is missing out or actually failed and the impotence of it all is fucking soul destroying.

@BlueSilverCats

I think it depends what data you look at and how you look at it.

I imagine that data collected in the 90’s/definition of exclusions/suspensions may be different to now.

What I read said 1.7 out of 10000 in the 90’s and 4.3 most recent data.

That 1.7 probably reflects a decade spread.

What IS being reported in the press is an all time record high.

So instead of nit picking, maybe it’s better to think of what is going wrong and solutions.

I just want to echo the poster stating how everyone equates SEN with certain behaviours. Or rather that is the assumption that is ‘jumped to’ before they’ve even met the child. It’s just so @@@@@ negative.

By far the largest cost to most Councils is social care. But yes, SEN costs are large. Not helped of course by Councils obstructing attempts at getting early intervention so their own behaviour is increasing the costs they'd have to pay within the existing dysfunctional system, as well as harming children. "We're skint" is not a valid legal defence to deliberate illegal behaviour.

And why are Council's skint? Because we have had total economic mismanagement for decades and still continuing, because we have a totally dysfunctional healthcare system and tax system and have screwed all of our trading relationships and our pensions systems are ponzi schemes, so central Government cut Local Authority budgets.

None of that justifies denying children their right to a decent education which should be right near the top of the list of UK funding priorities both morally and in terms of the country having any hope of saving itself from its self-inflicted decline.

EHCP’s record high, exclusions record high, EOTAS record high, non attendence etc

Focus on that @BlueSilverCats

I also don’t think it’s right to blame the parents, blame screens etc etc. It’s absolving responsibility.
I’d rather people took accountability rather than blame others.
Thought what can I proactively do to make this situation better rather than lay the blame elsewhere.
If the world has changed for our children, we need to adapt the way we educate for that world.
If (and I hate these words) we have labelled/segregated our children into neurotypical and neurodiverse : and the neurodiverse are become increasingly ‘typical’ - then our schools need to adapt to this change.

So you're saying it's the fault of school staff?

@RebelBabybel

I have missed when you said it. When were you last a teacher in school?

So? What solutions have you come up with? What will you change in your practice and what will you advocate for?

Perhaps they could clarify what their current practice is because it doesn’t seem to be teaching, merely judging.

It might change their motivation in that they will constantly pester their teachers with 'when will I ever need to know this, I can google everything' but good teachers can deal with that, just as maths teachers have to deal with 'why do I need to know this when I can just stick it in my calculator?'

They don't need to stop studying Romeo and Juliet because they can now google the plot of Romeo and Juliet, because they weren't studying Romeo and Juliet for any particularly utilitarian reason in the first place, but because Romeo and Juliet speaks through the ages to the human condition. They learn history so that they can understand their place in the world and so that we can try to not repeat the mistakes of the past. They learn science so that they can understand the world around them.

They don't stop needing to know these things because of AI. In fact it's probably even more important to connect them to their shared humanity.

What am I supposed to do? I have 32 kids in the class so no spare seats. I have several who need to sit near the front for sensory needs, hearing impairment or just because it’s been requested by parents. I then have kids who need to sit away from others. How do I do that with no spare seats? I have differentiated the worksheet but one of the children sat at the front kicks off because they haven’t been given the differentiated sheet but the other pupil has. I can’t always group kids of a similar ability together to avoid this due to fact some need to be at the front and some at the back. I have one pupil who needs to sit at the back but also needs frequent movement breaks and needs to leave the classroom. That’s fine except when the child moves to the front they have to walk past lots of students and due to their neurodiversity they distract kids from their work. Another student has sensory issues with noise so needs a quiet room. Others need to fidget and talk to their TA a lot. I also have a child with a visual impairment in the same class who needs the worksheet in a much larger font. I also need to translate a worksheet for another pupil. I need a more challenging worksheet for a few super bright children so that’s 5 different worksheets for the lesson. Let’s add in a couple of children who just don’t like to listen and behave, at least one with a time out card for anxiety and two children who missed the last two lessons so are really struggling. I have children in the class whose target grade is 2-3 and children in the same class whose target is 8-9. I have 60 minutes. What I need is more time to plan and a class size maximum of 24. That would make a massive difference. We know the classroom environment isn’t working. We know it’s impossible to provide EVERY child with the best learning environment tailored for them so what can we do?

To challenge assumptions made about children, to stop constraining them by stereotypes, to encourage positivity, self reflection, fun, love, to start enjoying the job again.

Probably a good place to start.

And to challenge the snippy, negative, sarky tone that many educators seem to have…those who would rather gossip in the staff room, have ‘meetings’, moan and belittle their staff.

Not sure if this is directed to my post - how is challenging stereotypes going to help with the practical challenges teachers face in the classroom?

Well if you'd just stop constraining them and be a little bit more joyful, I'm sure that their numerous difficulties would just melt away. And then you'd only need one worksheet.

Are you a current teacher in school? Do you have classes of 30+?

“Stereotype threat leads to a vicious circle. Stigmatised individuals experience anxiety which depletes their cognitive resources and leads to underperformance, confirmation of the negative stereotype and reinforcement of the fear.”

I think that stigma absolutely exists towards children - even in the Early Years, as I experienced with my DC.

@Superhansrantowindsor

@Sherrystrull Yes, and yes.

I’m still not quite understanding you. Are you saying that children with poor working memory, weak processing skills etc are just needing a more positive role model?

And you think by being positive we can meet the needs of massive classes? Believe me, I go into the classroom every morning with a positive mindset. Absolutely doesn't cut it.

Op, I am a little confused by the change in recommendations between your early and later posts on the thread.

Your earliest posts were about discipline; guidance; structured teaching and activities. More recent posts are about freedom; fun; love as the solution.

OP, have you nothing positive to say about your SLT?

@Superhansrantowindsor

I’m saying that if you are dismissing a child you are teaching as ‘poor and weak’, if you are behaving that way towards a child - with your body language, the way you word things etc - with that assumption that they are ‘poor and weak’ - then you are setting them up to fail, to have no self esteem or self confidence. They will pick up exactly how you feel about them.
You are setting up that path to exclusion and rejection of school.

@cantkeepawayforever

Because I’m currently in Early Years. When I was talking about my start to teaching it was Year 2.

I would approach a child with documented SEN in exactly the way, and with exactly the adaptations, suggested in their IEP (or similar). My aim would always be to adapt their provision to enable them to make the fastest possible progress, but it would be negligent of me NOT to acknowledge their known differences and difficulties.