Good behaviour

Discipline strategy for schools

This offers more consistent, co-ordinated and effective in-school, and external support for schools and pupils with discipline problems, including truancy .  As well as focusing on those pupils who are already excluded from mainstream school, the strategy provides for early intervention and remediation of behaviourial problems with the aim of preventing them from escalating to the stage where exclusion becomes necesary.  The key features of the discipline strategy, most of which are now in place, include -

• the creation of multi-disciplinary behaviour support teams in each Education and Library Board (ELB) to work with teachers and pupils on behaviour management
• the creation of pupil referral units providing up to 200 additional (short stay) withdrawal places for pupils whose behaviour problems cannot, at least in the short term, be managed satisfactorily within the classroom
• an expansion of permanent education provision other than at school for the most disruptive 14-16 year olds for whom mainstream education is considered unsuitable
• the issue of best practice guidlines for schools promoting positive behaviour
• additional funding to enable ELBs to take forward a number of targeted parenting initiatives.

View and download strategy document

Promoting and Sustaining Good Behaviour:A Discipline Strategy for Schools PDF 586 KB
The strategy provides for early intervention and remediation of behaviourial problems with the aim of preventing them from escalating to the stage where exclusion becomes necesary.