Reframing Behaviour: Perception versus Reality

“No pupil should miss out on education because they feel unsafe, miss out on learning because their lesson is disrupted, or fall behind because their needs are not identified and supported.”

National Behaviour Survey 2022/23, Department for Education, April 2024

You might have read the latest National Behaviour Survey report from the DfE which explores four key areas of behaviour in primary and secondary settings in England: school behaviour culture and policy; school environment and experience; prevalence and impact of misbehaviour; and responding to behaviour.

Across all four areas of the research, there were variations, sometimes significant ones, between the responses of different stakeholders such as leaders, teachers, students and parents. For example, the survey showed that in May 2023, 82% of school leaders said behaviour was either ‘very good’ or ‘good’ in the past week, versus 55% of teachers. For students, that figure was 43%. Generally, school leaders tended to give more positive responses than teachers, who, in turn, were more likely to give more positive responses than students.

But why are perceptions of behaviour in schools so different depending on whom you ask?

In our latest think piece, we explore some of the factors that might explain the varying perceptions of behaviour and offer 5 key focus areas to help schools and educators further develop a coherent, joined-up approach to behaviour support.

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