Ofsted says behaviour is improving. Teachers beg to differ
More from this theme Recent articles The number of schools being marked down on behaviour by Ofsted has plunged by more than half since Covid – despite teachers saying classroom disruption is increasing. Some have suggested it shows Ofsted inspectors have “lost their nerve” to award grades that are less than ‘good’. But others say schools are getting better at handling behaviour – and the data reflects that. In the 2019-20 academic year, 19.9 per cent of schools were rated ‘requires improvement’ or ‘inadequate’ for behaviour and attitudes. This more than halved to just 7.7 per cent last year. But, according to the government’s latest national behaviour survey, published last year, three-quarters of teachers said misbehaviour had stopped or interrupted teaching in at least some lessons that week – a 12 percentage point rise on the previous year. Headteacher Sam Strickland, an expert on behaviour, said it “often features as a key push factor for why people leave teaching”. “But there appears to be something of a disconnect between Ofsted judgments for behaviour and what …
