Behavioural management in classroom.

[Flicketyflack]

I have posted here to get the opinion of people who teach as to what action, if any, I should take!

DS is in a class of thirty two where over two thirds are boys. Several of the children see the school counsellor weekly and I am aware (the parents have been open about it) that the children need emotional and behavioural support. The children will not sit still, have burped in my sons face, have kicked him (and other kids) during play time.

My question is how do you help them get through lessons when they misbehave.

The reason I ask is my DS has two of these boys, one either side of him, on his table every day for half of the day. It is driving him crazy.

I am accepting they my son needs to learn to accommodate people however my question is it is not fairly shared around the class. Several parents have told me that their children will not sit next to X or
Y and as they have spoken to the teacher. Consequently there are six or seven kids in the class who never get an unsettled child sit next to them. Consequently the issue is not shared out across the class.

When my DS told the teacher he was being distracted they swapped one boy for another with similar issues!

I have great sympathy for the teacher as he has limited options
I would imagine, especially if parents are wading in and making their demands too! It feels like the situation is not being fairly dealt with.

Teachers, what do you suggest?

Out of interest, what year is your DS in?

Year four.

Is there TA support in there too? And does your DS sit with at least one person he gets on with?

I don't have any advice, I'm afraid, but this sort of thing is one reason why I think children should not be sitting around tables after Year 3. It's an invitation to bullying and disruption. In most other countries, they wouldn't be.

So where would they be sitting?

Rows are great. They have fallen out of favour (rows do not stop group work, but you have to organise it more). I never had easier classroom management than when I had rows

Your son does not need to accommodate these children, All children should have to behave in the classroom and increasingly there are children having to put up with behaviour inflicted off of other class children which is completely unacceptable.
My son has had many of the problems you have described and more, and I am looking into having to move him school because he is just so miserable there, From children that are quite frankly out of control.
I'm sorry yours is having trouble too op, Its so hard.

My children's teachers have done this to my kids too. The thinking is that the misbehaving kids will see the kids with good behaviour as role models and copy them. My kids are quiet so won't complain each time incidents occur so the teacher thinks that the tactic is working.

I have told the teachers not to seat my child with certain people. I feel bad for the kids who don't have parents who will stand up for them tbh but I think that some teachers take advantage of the quiet and compliant kids.

I'm not saying that children with behavioural issues shouldn't be in a mainstream classroom. Some children cope with school with the right support and it's great when that happens. I know that school budgets are constantly being cut, getting support for SEN is notoriously difficult and that there are few Special Schools. However all kids deserve the best education and education underfunding shouldn't mean that teachers use the well behaved as support.

I'd get my son the hell out of that school is my truthful response.

However all kids deserve the best education and education underfunding shouldn't mean that teachers use the well behaved as support.

Or as role models?

What do you suggest then? Seriously, in these underfunded times where you acknowledge everyone deserves an education, what should teachers do?

Except they aren't used as role models a lot of the time, They are used as a buffer.

Funny enough you talk about role models as the other day one of the extremely badly behaved children in my child's class was awarded a badge claiming they are the pride of the school! That same week he had two detentions and disrupted lessons..
Unfortunately the "role models" don't get recognised in my kids schools which is why they will be moving soon..

You should speak to the teacher - how they manage the class isn't your concern

What you are concerned about is

Your child's education
Your child being unable to concentrate
Your child being unhappy
Your child feels unable to speak up about the issues
Your child being kicked in the playground

Tell the teacher - they have to sort out the issues not you

I'm a teacher. It may be a difficult class, but it is not acceptable for these children to be disturbing the learning for your son like this and it shouldn't be up to him to have to find ways to deal with it. I have children who annoy others (and would probably try to burp in other's faces if they thought they could get away with it), but if children continually disturb others then they sit alone. I have a tiny classroom, so they sit on the floor in the corner if needs be and do their work there until they can sit properly.

It does sound like a difficult class, so if you have already addressed your concerns to the teacher, I would take it to the next step and ask to see the head of key stage. They need to work out how the SLT can intervene to support the teacher. Ask to see a copy of the school's behaviour policy.

There are sometimes children whose behaviour is unmanageable. I've been there too and it's hard. But it's very unlikely there are several children with severe behavioural difficulties in the one class. Some of them will have seen the others get away with bad behaviour and will be copying it. I also often find that Year 4 is notoriously challenging behaviour-wise as the children have found their feet in KS2 and are testing the boundaries. They tend to develop a bit more maturity during Years 5 and 6.

Surely, the seating plan isn't fixed for all lessons though is it? So he shouldn't be sat with the disruptive ones all the time? When my son was at primary around that age, they had them on different tables for some different subjects (Maths, English, science etc) according to their ability level and then a random allocation for art, RE, humanities, etc., so there was a lot of variation which helped dilute the effects of those who couldn't behave. They also insisted on girl/boy seating, so you didn't get 2 or 3 boys right next to each-other egging each-other on. I don't think the "role model" idea works at all - the "perfect" pupil ends up being dragged down rather than the badly behaved ones improving - well that's what happened to me anyway!

Thanks for everyone's responses they have been so varied.

My heart says he should not have to sit next to anyone disruptive but I know this is not realistic for the teacher. Also the seating of boy/girl/boy is not possible in a class where two thirds are boys!

Yes there is movement, but he does have to sit with the children for all activities other than Maths and English.

It has the reputation of a 'bad class' and I know some of the teachers dread teaching them (they have said so!).

My son is not complaining so much that he wants to leave this school and academically he is doing well. It just does not sit comfortably with me as this is HIS experience of primary school. I also think this is the 'norm' for him as he has never spent time in another class or school!

Help! X

Yonifucker - My dd had a similar class in y2. 23 boys/7 girls. The classroom was arranged so that the most disruptive sat at a desk on their own.
2 afternoons a week the disruptive kids were with another teacher so that the rest had a better working environment. The teacher admitted that these afternoons were good for everyone and the non-disruptive kids could get adult attention for a change.

I totally agree with the person who used the term buffer rather than role model.

Thank you Crazed - it felt a bit like you were criticising the teachers without offering alternatives. Yours sounds like a good one