I make a habit of speaking to supply teachers when they come to our school, and I often ask them how they find behaviour in our school. The response is always the same; “What behaviour issue?” “The kids here are lovely.” “There is no such thing as behaviour issues in this school.” This leaves a big smile on my face because I am a firm believer in getting the behaviour right before you can start teaching. This very point is mentioned by Tom Bennett, who says ‘Good behaviour is the core mission of every school, whatever age or stage. Get the behaviour right, and everything else is possible.’
In our school, we have worked incredibly hard to create a calm and harmonious learning environment for all of our staff, whether they are existing colleagues or new staff members. In my NQT year in 2007, I struggled with behaviour management because my school did not have any systems in place to deal with behaviour, and I was left to my own devices. I felt helpless and I almost left teaching altogether if it wasn’t for Jane Noble, who was my headteacher at the time.
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