School inspector highlights worsening behaviour

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BRITAIN'S�Chief Inspector of Schools Mike Tomlinson is expected to highlight worsening behaviour in our secondary schools in his upcoming first annual report. Tomlinson took over from the controversial Chris Woodhead�last year.

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Tomlinson is also thought to be concerned about staff shortages and the effect this could have on educational standards.

Schools across the country are relying on temporary unspecialised teachers, as a consequence of staff shortages. Some schools have even been forced to send pupils home one day a week to try to cope with the problem.

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Tomlinson was speaking this week on BBC Radio 4's Today Programme. He said the falling standards of behaviour could be partly as a result of secondary schools not recognising student's abilities when they start at�a new school. Consequently,�students are not motivated or set adequate challenges and become disruptive.�

Tomlinson hopes that the recently announced rise in teachers' pay will help to increase the number of people entering the profession.�He also wants to see teachers offered more classroom support.

On a more positive note, the report is expected to announce that teaching standards are improving overall, with 40% of primary schools having no teaching that is less than satisfactory.

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Is a pay rise enough to draw people to this increasingly demanding job What do you think needs to be done to control pupils behaviour Have your say on The AnswerBank message boards, click here.