Received from: AEP, NASUWT, National Education Union
Motion 59 and amendment, and 60
Congress is alarmed at the reports that serious violence involving children and young people is a significant and growing problem within schools and on our streets and notes the increasing concerns being reported about youth violence, knife crime and the behaviour and mental health of children and young people.
Congress deplores the decimation of services under austerity, pushing families and communities to breaking point, and seeks concerted government action to address the causes of disaffection and violence.
Congress deplores the government’s failure to respond appropriately to preventing and addressing serious violence involving children and young people and notes with concern the devastating impact of serious violence, including knife crime, on children and young people’s safety, wellbeing and future life chances.
Congress applauds the commitment and efforts of public sector workers who are dedicated to working with children and young people suffering under austerity policies, deeply regretting the violence they may face and further applauds the work of teachers and headteachers who, every day, seek to ensure that schools are safe sanctuaries for all children and young people.
Congress rejects the expectation that teachers and other public service workers should accept violence as part of the job and applauds the efforts of unions in taking industrial action to protect their members from pupil violence and abuse.
Congress welcomes DfE making £10m available for a network to help schools to manage their children’s behaviour, however, there are concerns about how this money will be used given a recent report from the BBC. It sent FOIs to 1,000 secondary schools and academies last year and received 600 responses. Two hundred of those responding had set up isolation units and they reported that 225 CYP had spent a whole week in isolation booths as a single punishment.
Being kept apart from other children and young people for the whole of the school day means that children are not able to participate in the usual school life. Many of the children and young people whose behaviour leads to them being socially isolated from other children are those who do not communicate easily with others, eg those with autism and are particularly vulnerable to the deleterious effects of isolation that infringe the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Congress calls on the government to:
i.support schools and colleges in dealing with violence and disruption
ii.commit substantially to increase the levels of investment in specialist education provision, welfare and support services for children, young people and families
iii.reverse the effects of austerity policies
iv.end the culture of blaming teachers for pupil behaviour
v.ensure that additional monies will be used to support schools to develop effective whole-school policies that foster positive relationships between all members of their communities
vi.give a guarantee none of the £10m will be spent on setting up isolation units.
Mover: NASUWT
Seconder: Association of Educational Psychologists
Supporter: National Education Union