The Reality of Classroom Challenges in Modern Schools
Having spent my entire career teaching in large, inner-city state schools across England, I have witnessed situations that would unsettle most people. I have seen children throwing furniture at staff members, arriving for crucial GCSE examinations while clearly under the influence of illegal substances, and engaging in physical altercations more intense than typical weekend disturbances. I have faced teenage boys significantly taller than me squaring up aggressively in classrooms, directing profanities toward me, and unleashing streams of racist and misogynistic abuse directly at me.
Beyond the Obvious Disruptions
The challenges extend beyond these dramatic incidents. There are students who secretly record teachers to share footage across social media platforms, those who respond with defiance when their classroom disruptions are challenged, and pupils who refuse to lift their heads from their desks throughout entire lessons. My experience includes police visits to school premises, mandatory bag searches, and witnessing seemingly innocent twelve-year-olds climbing over school gates to leave the premises without permission.
Why Simply Keeping Suspended Pupils in School Falls Short
Given this background, many might assume I would oppose recent government proposals suggesting that pupils suspended from English schools for non-violent misbehaviour should remain on school grounds rather than being sent home. They might expect me to support removing so-called 'problem' students entirely, transferring responsibility to parents or other parties. Surprisingly, I do not oppose the principle of keeping suspended students within the school environment – but this represents only a partial solution to a much deeper issue.
The fundamental truth is that whether suspended students stay on premises or go home matters little unless we completely reevaluate the practice of in-school isolation. This government initiative, like many education policies, appears designed to generate headlines while lacking substantive substance at its core.
Understanding the Root Causes of Behaviour
My years working with teenagers have taught me one crucial lesson: there is no such thing as an inherently bad child. Every student, including those who throw chairs or smoke in toilets, represents a product of problems far larger than themselves. All young people deserve genuine support and understanding. However, merely keeping misbehaving pupils at their desks does not automatically translate to successful outcomes. This approach fails to address the underlying causes of disruptive behaviour.
Just because suspended students are not at home engaging in endless screen time or causing disturbances in their communities does not mean they are receiving adequate support. The failure simply becomes less visible and more convenient for the system.
The Hollow Reality of In-School Isolation
Keeping suspended pupils within school buildings might allow government officials and broader society to convince themselves these children are being properly supported, but the actual reality differs dramatically. Schools in their current state, struggling under the weight of chronic underfunding, cannot provide suspended students with much more than basic supervision in a designated room, typically overseen by an adult who is not even a qualified teacher.
While these students might not be mindlessly scrolling through their phones, they receive minimal intellectual stimulation. In most schools where I have worked, 'internal inclusion' – a popular euphemism for in-school isolation or suspension – involves makeshift cubicles surrounding individual desks in a dedicated room. Children spend entire days, often including break and lunch periods, staring at grey, peeling walls in enforced silence within these ad hoc confinement spaces.
The Practical Limitations of Current Systems
During lesson times, suspended students receive work from their subject teachers, but this typically represents an afterthought. Already overburdened educators scramble to locate appropriate worksheets midway through lessons upon discovering a pupil will not be attending class. There exists neither budget nor sufficient staffing to provide these students with targeted, specific interventions addressing the behavioural, psychological, and social barriers preventing them from thriving alongside their peers.
When we recognise that disruptive behaviour often stems from societal and systemic issues like poverty and deteriorating mental health, expecting teachers to bridge gaps created by persistent underfunding of public services becomes frankly unreasonable.
What Genuine Support Would Actually Require
If the government truly cared about students facing suspension, it would implement more comprehensive measures. This would involve funding specialist interventions, including providing every school with fully-trained psychological support staff capable of coaching young people through the mental and emotional causes of their behaviour.
It would prioritise recruiting more teaching professionals by making the career more appealing, ensuring sufficient trained staff in every institution to cover curriculum content while simultaneously addressing behavioural issues. For students who genuinely cannot remain in their current schools, it would guarantee adequate high-quality alternative provision spaces where young people can access education and training within environments specifically tailored to their social and emotional requirements.
The Consequences of Inadequate Systems
Without these essential support mechanisms, we create a different kind of failure. We force labelled 'problem students' to languish in educational purgatory. This treatment ensures that any remaining hope or faith they possessed in the education system gradually diminishes. The current approach benefits neither students nor teachers, nor does it address how we can effectively educate a generation confronting more complex challenges than ever before.
The simple reality is that when ministers instruct teachers like myself to keep suspended students in school, they prioritise convenience. Unless new measures receive proper funding and targeted support, this policy essentially functions to keep behavioural problems away from policymakers and the general public rather than genuinely resolving them.
