Tackling low-level disruption
According to the teachers’ union, NASUWT, the main concern for staff in schools in all areas, is the growing pressure from ‘low-level disruption’, which is recognised as the most common form of poor behaviour. Therefore, in order for teachers to encourage productivity and boost attainment, in-class disruption must be kept to a minimum. Allie Palmer, ex-teacher and training and support manager at MINTclass, discusses the importance of creating pupil seating plans and the role they play in significantly reducing the impact of pupil disruption, making teachers’ lives easier and creating an effective learning environment. In Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector (HMCI) Annual Report 2012/13, concerns were raised about low-level disruption in schools. As a consequence, inspector guidance was tightened to place greater emphasis on the issue in routine inspections. In addition, HMCI commissioned a survey to ascertain the nature and extent of low-level disruptive behaviour in primary and secondary schools in England. The findings from this survey showed that teachers, parents and carers are rightly concerned about the frequent loss of learning time through low-level, but persistent, disruptive behaviour. Low-level disruptive behaviour includes talking to friends off-topic or passing notes between one another, which tends to only last a couple of minutes, but can significantly impact the flow of a lesson. As a teacher, if you are faced with low-level disruption in your class, there are some simple steps you can take to make your life easier. From my experience, it usually occurs when there’s inconsistency in school processes being applied, for example, not always sticking to a strict behaviour policy. The responsibility ultimately falls to senior leaders to enforce consistency when it comes to behaviour, which in turn, makes classroom teaching much easier and more productive. Praising the positive behaviour is also a good tactic. By focusing on the disruption, you can trigger more negativity and commotion in the classroom. Therefore, it’s important to concentrate on rewarding those students who are delivering. If those who behave are rewarded by being allowed to sit next to a friend one lesson, then disruptive students may take note and follow suit. Allie Palmer However, I’ve found that one of the easiest, yet arguably most powerful steps, is to create a seating plan! In order to avoid disruption in a class, you need to be in control of your students, right from the beginning. It’s important to set expectations; line them up outside and tell them where they need to sit as they enter. Doing this avoids any confusion and also focuses them on finding their name on the seating plan, rather than talking to, or messing around with friends. It also ensures that your students know how every lesson will start, so they’ll begin to accept the routine. Historically, teachers would have to manually create their own seating plans on Word or Excel, which means endless copying and pasting, for it to all change and be out of date after a few weeks, when the whole process would have to be created again from scratch. What may work for one subject, may not necessarily work in another, and the typical alphabetical or boy, girl, boy plans aren’t always the most effective. Thankfully, there are now digital seating plans available that make this process much easier. Once you get to know your pupils, their behaviour and friendships within the class, you can easily and quickly move them around, using the data collected to assess who they will work best with. This can be done regularly, every half-term for example, or on an ad-hoc basis, whenever a child’s behaviour suggests that they may benefit from being moved away from potential disruption. Every teacher will take a different approach when it comes to classroom organisation, but the important thing is to ensure that you have a process in place, which is enforced and integrated consistently into the routine of the lesson. It’s likely that the students will challenge your decision as they will want to sit with their friends, but remember, you have arranged the seating plan to maximise their attainment, so it’s vital to stick with it. The layout of your classroom may seem unimportant in comparison to everything else that a teacher has to deal with, but being in control of this means you can also manage disruption whenever it occurs, encouraging a productive learning environment and maintaining the highest levels of attainment.
RANDSTAD STUDENT SUPPORT PUTS SHROPSHIRE STUDENTS IN POLE POSITION
Randstad Student Support, a leading provider of learning support staff, has taken a group of 15 budding Formula 1 racing engineers to the Williams Martini Racing F1 Factory for a day of innovation, excitement and engineering insight. The lucky group from North Shropshire College included 14 students who fought off tough competition to win the trip, managing to take home the trophy in a competition hosted by Randstad Student Support at the Association of Colleges conference held in November. Randstad Student Support worked with 65 further education colleges and 93 universities around the UK last year, providing vital support for 28,000 students, helping them to achieve their potential. All the students on the tour are currently studying either engineering or mechanics at the college and were given a glimpse into the inner working of the Williams garages. Also attending from Randstad was Victoria Short, Managing Director, Sadie Besley, Operations Director and Karen Guthrie, Further Education Development Manager. Students visited the advanced engineering section of the factory, learning how engineers at Williams use their high-tech, scientific knowledge to solve everyday problems. For example, students discovered that Williams’ pioneering work in cooling down race car engines had been transferred to reducing energy bills in the frozen aisles of supermarkets – creating vast energy savings. This revealed the wide range of professional options available to the students and the versatility of engineering as a career choice. With 431 engineering jobs currently available on Randstad’s website there’s high hopes the visit will have inspired a new generation of expertise.[1] Students also got the chance to prove their racing credentials and try to beat the best of F1 drivers on a BATAK reaction machine. Unfortunately the chequered flag was out of reach – with most posting scores half those of professional drivers. And the final pit stop was to the Williams museum, to check out the trophy collection and see F1 mementos up close. Sadie Besley, Operations Director, Randstad Student Support comments: “This competition was all about inspiring innovation in students – and giving them a glimpse into a potential career in engineering. F1 is the pinnacle of professional racing – and we want North Shropshire students to be at the top of their game. It was fantastic to see the students engage with the experience and fully embrace all the elements that create a successful F1 team. A practical and hands-on opportunity can give students the motivation to further their careers and something to aim for in the future. The skills picked up on the tour are highly applicable and will act as a real motivator for these budding engineers.” A real highlight of the trip was a chance to speak to Williams engineers and learn more about their career paths. Students had the opportunity to ask questions and find out more about future career prospects on offer at Williams. There are a wide variety of ways for students to improve their skills, with many apprenticeships on offer throughout the industry. Sadie Besley, Operations Director, Randstad Student Support concludes: “The best way to get ahead and give yourself the best career opportunities in the engineering sector is to get some hands-on experience. It doesn’t have to be paid work, any time that can be spent learning on the job, gaining practical skills and boosting your experience can give you a great advantage as a candidate. It’s hard to find the right person for the right job and experience and enthusiasm are key for outpacing other applicants. “For further education colleges looking to encourage students to pursue their interests in engineering and technology, the best way is to provide opportunities to see engineers in action. This doesn’t have to be a grand trip to a F1 Factory, it can simply be arranging for engineers to visit and speak to students. Practical advice is particularly important. And nothing is as inspiring as seeing a true professional in action.” https://www.randstad.co.uk/employers/areas-of-expertise/student-support/