Better understanding child misbehaviour
By Elgan Hearn, Local Democracy Reporter
And from Septemebr onwards there will be a one stop shop where Powys schools can point pupils and families towards help from education and social care experts.
The scheme was mentioned as part of a broader discussion on the number of pupils excluded form schools in the county. It was said that some schools were better than others at dealing with disciplinary issues.
Head of Learning, Dr Alec Clark, said that schools needed to be able to work together in an “internal market” where expertise on discipline and pastoral care could be shared.
Education portfolio holder, Cllr Myfanwy Alexander, explained that more is now known on how catastrophic events in a child’s life can affect their behaviour.
“One in four of our youngsters who are misbehaving is a bereaved child,” she said. “I don’t think many of us understood four or five years ago the impact of bereavement has on children’s behaviour.
“In terms of providing support it’s much more about their emotional needs. I do think over the last few years there’s more of an understanding of the individual.
“If you listen to the life that the young people have had you will be very surprised they have been able to conform as much as they have.
“Things can go badly wrong, the trick is not thinking of them as bad children but imagine the life they are in and the issues they face.”
Education officer, Michael Weave added: “Behavioural problems may also indicate further underlying problems such as special educational needs and we need to follow up with a response to address that.”
Mr Weaver said that it was difficult for Powys to compare how they stood in relation to other Welsh educational authorities as “the data is not readily available”.
So far, in the 2018/19 academic year, there have been five permanent exclusions of pupils in secondary schools and 18 fixed exclusions of five days or more.
In the 2017/18 academic year, there were 10 permanent exclusions and a total of 460 fixed term exclusions for five days or more.
Reasons given for exclusion include:
· Verbal abuse/threatening behaviour against an adult
· Physical assault against an adult
· Persistent disruptive behaviour
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