“What is undeniable is that the number of distressed children we are seeing clearly demonstrates that something is going wrong.” Council debates academy behaviour policy investigation

Debate at Cornwall County Council sees most councillors resolving to listen to the detail of young people’s experiences in schools, as these detailed extracts underline.

 

As Education Uncovered reports in a separate story here, Cornwall Council has launched an inquiry into the impact of school behaviour policies on pupils’ mental health.

This is an important area of investigation, with the councillor who proposed the motion which has instigated this move saying that “hundreds of parents” had been in contact with him with concerns.

Education Uncovered is therefore publishing extensive extracts or entire transcripts of a selection of the 14 speeches made on this issue by councillors yesterday. (The motion itself can be viewed here.  You can watch the debate itself from 3.58 here.)

Councillor James Ball, Liberal Democrat, proposing the motion: “I bring this motion to the chamber after being contacted by hundreds of parents concerned about the experiences of young people in schools.

“Let me give you some context about how some of our young people are being treated. ‘Three, two, one, focus’ is how it starts, and if the young person looks in the wrong direction, or even out the window, they are given a named reminder. This is where their name is placed on a whiteboard at the front of the classroom.

“Not a big deal? Well if the young person is SEND, all they can do is focus on their name on the board. And because of this, and they are not focusing on the teacher, they are sent to what is called reflection. Removal of education. Where they sit at a computer screen, doing a lesson which is nothing to do with the lesson that they have been removed from. With headphones on, and this is how we should be treating our young people?

“Another example: do you know when your pen is about to run out? I don’t. And if this happens to a young person, the same treatment as above.

“I’m sure you’ll agree, handing out a pen is less disruptive to a young person than sending a young person to reflection.

“Toilet cards to allow young people to go to the toilet, who have a medical condition, are questioned by headteachers when medical evidence has been provided by GPs, costing parents £40 a time. I thought we wanted teachers to teach.

“Young girls in class, when they are on their period, they have to put their hands up and announce to their teacher in their class that they have just come on their period, or they have an issue with something.  This is so damaging to young people’s mental health.

“I’ve had a young man approach me. He has dyslexia. He explained to me that he got the number of a classroom confused and so he was late to the classroom he was due at. He was sent to reflection.

“Schools are meant to be the best years of your life. I remember going to mine, and it was amazing.

“Our young people In 10, 20 years’ time will not be able to say the same thing. We need to empower our young people to achieve all their goals. Everyone is a genius. But if you judge a goldfish on its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it’s stupid, Einstein said.

“Our young people need to know that they can achieve anything. And we need to support their mental health and wellbeing.

“Please support this motion to improve the lives of young people in Cornwall. Thank you.”

Councillor Adrian Parsons, Liberal Democrat, seconding the motion: “Suppression, oppression and being crushed are words I now hear all too frequently from parents whose children attend multi-academy trusts in Cornwall.

“It’s hard to believe that in some settings, this is how we are delivering secondary education to children in the 21^st century. It is clear that something is fundamentally wrong with the system.

“I do not believe that anyone is opposed to striving for strong discipline and good results. However, one would hope that these aims could be achieved in a way that allows our children to grow and thrive, and build confidence.

“As a society, we should not nurture only the select few. We should be encouraging everyone to come along with us, ensuring that no child is left behind. Having attended meetings and spoken to numerous parents, it has been deeply sobering to hear the individual stories and experiences. It very much feels as though our SEND children are bearing the brunt of these disciplinarian regimes.

“We hear of thousands of suspensions, of children being removed from lessons and placed in reflection rooms for hours on end. We hear of increasing numbers of children who can no longer cope and are leaving to be home-schooled.

“Never before have I known so many being educated at home. Not out of genuine choice, but because parents feel they have no alternative. Others are distressed because they are unable to make that choice, due to work commitments, financial constraints or lack of transport to alternative schools.

“I cannot help but feel that we are now facing a profound crisis in our education system. Increasingly it seems that academisation has become more focused on profits, there appears to be an over-riding drive for results at any cost, sometimes at the expense of those who don’t quite fit the mould.

“The approach is failing not only our children, but also our teachers. It’s contributing to serious challenges in recruitment and retention. Is it any wonder that we are hearing so many accounts of teachers becoming disillusioned and reaching breaking point?

“What is undeniable is that the number of distressed children we are seeing clearly demonstrates that something is going wrong. For too long, I feel that many have known what is going wrong, but it has been too easy to say that it is not our problem, and that academies are not accountable to us.

“Well, I’m afraid we have reached the point where that simply isn’t good enough. These barriers must be broken down and a meaningful dialogue should take place.

“As a local authority, it is time we stand up and take the lead, ensuring proper scrutiny is carried out on the impact that the behaviour policies are having on the health and wellbeing of our children. Academies must be accountable for their actions, so we can move forward to a better place, and a more inclusive educational system for all. I would encourage everyone to please support this motion.”

Councillor Hilary Frank, Liberal Democrat, who leads on children, families and schools for the council: “I want to begin by thanking the families who have spoken to councillors about their experiences, as well as thanking councillors who have brought this motion forward. I know that for some, these issues are deeply emotional, and deeply difficult.

“At the same time, I want to pay tribute to the huge amount of work being carried out by school staff and governing bodies across Cornwall. Teachers, support staff and school leaders are supporting children with increasingly complex needs, within a very challenging national system, and many go above and beyond every day to help children feel safe, supported and able to succeed.

“All of us recognise that there are growing concerns locally and nationally around children’s mental health, emotional wellbeing, inclusion and attendance.

“That’s why I believe it’s so important that we take time to listen carefully and understand properly what children and families are telling us what they are experiencing. For me, this motion… is about creating space for constructive dialogue, hearing children’s lived experience and then looking really carefully at the evidence…

“As portfolio-holder, I want to give you my personal commitment that the advisory group will be approached thoughtfully, seriously, and with a genuine willingness to listen to children, to families, to schools, professionals, councillors, and I really want this to be a process that builds understanding, helps us to support better outcomes for children and young people in Cornwall and also contributes constructively to the wider national conversation around children’s experiences of education.

“Because every child deserves an education system that sees them, supports them and believes in them.”  

Councillor Rosie Moore, Liberal Democrat: “Safeguarding is everyone’s responsibility. As a teacher myself, I can confidently say that many teachers across Cornwall are working tirelessly to support children in often extremely difficult circumstances.

“We all know there are excellent schools across Cornwall achieving strong results, where pupils enjoy attending, feel supported and are motivated to learn. That shows us that children do not feel need to feel stressed or emotionally unwell in any way to get results. Safeguarding is not only about protecting children from physical harm, but it’s also about creating an environment where children feel emotionally safe, listened to, respected and able to thrive.”

Councillor Damon Dennis, Liberal Democrat: “Across Cornwall today, too many young people are struggling. Struggling with anxiety, struggling with isolation, struggling with the relentless pressures that modern education and modern life can place upon them.

“And we know this because they’ve told us. Families have told us, teachers have told us, and perhaps most importantly of all, pupils have told us. They are telling us that too often the system is not fully meeting their emotional and mental health needs. And, in some cases, school behaviour policies, however well-intentioned, may actually be adding to those pressures, rather than helping to relieve them.

“Now let me be clear. To me this motion is not about blame. It’s not about attacking schools. It’s not about criticising teachers and it’s not about undermining discipline or standards. This motion is about listening. Listening carefully, listening compassionately, and responding responsively.

“Because, if young people are telling us they are struggling, then surely it’s our duty, as councillors, to hear them. Cornwall has all been a county that cares deeply for its communities. We pride ourselves on looking after one another. On protecting the vulnerable. On standing beside families when they need support. And our young people deserve nothing less.

“They deserve schools that help them to thrive academically, yes, but emotionally as well. They deserve environments where expectations are high, but support is higher still.”

Councillor Rory Gow, Liberal Democrat: “When this motion talks about school policies and behaviour approaches, it’s right to ask the question are we getting the balance right between discipline and wellbeing. Because for some young people, the evidence suggests the system is not working as it should.”

Councillor Dulcie Tudor, independent: “I’m speaking on the motion as a Cornwall counsellor, working with school children and as a mother of two daughters, currently at university, so have gone through the school years not that long ago. There is a mental health crisis in young people, and Councillor Frank was right when she said that the reasons for the mental health crisis are complex.

“The motion itself says that it’s believed that the rules being implemented in some schools are causing high rates of suspensions and they are leading to devastating effects on young people’s mental health. I do not believe that to be the case. There is no evidence that firm behaviour policies, in themselves, are the primary cause for poor mental health. Indeed, many child psychologists argue that clear boundaries, routines and consistent expectations provide children with security, predictability and resilience. Rising anxiety and depression among young people are more likely to be linked to factors such as excessive smartphone use, social media exposure, sleep deprivation and reduced independence, rather than school discipline policies alone.

“Suspension and exclusion figures are more likely to reflect wider social challenges rather than disciplinary systems being inherently harmful. Correlation does not prove causation. And that was quite an emotive speech that James gave earlier. But please remember that what children have been telling parents about why they have been sent to detention might not always be correct.

“What do myself and my therapist colleagues see when we work with children? We see sleep deprivation, because the kids are on their iPhones all night. We do see family instability-poor diet, lack of exercise, and lack of boundaries and rules at home. I know that’s hard for parents to stomach, but maybe they should be looking for solutions closer to home. And I’m not saying families don’t need help, and I would like to see the council doing more to help families and children. I just don’t think it’s the help that they think they need. I think in trying to help, that my colleague Councillor Ball is actually exacerbating the problem. While young people are hearing adults around them complaining about school rules, they are not being given the opportunity to feel that they are part of an academy, or community, or school family that they can be part of and feel enthusiastic about….I cannot vote for this motion.”

Councillor Rowland O’Connor, independent: “I speak today not just as a councillor but as someone speaking for families across Cornwall who feel exhausted, frightened, unheard and in some cases broken by a system that too often treats vulnerable children as problems to be managed, rather than children to be understood.

“My family and I know exactly how this feels: the uphill battles, the exhaustion of wondering: is it us? Are we simply bad parents? You are not alone, behind every suspension, absence figure, safeguarding referral and school refusal statistic there is a child.

“A real child. A child who may be already living with austism, ADHD, trauma, anxiety, attachment difficulties or SEND needs that the system struggles to accommodate. There are parents tonight wondering how they are going to get their child through tomorrow morning. Some are physically carrying children into cars because they are terrified of school. Some are sitting outside school gates with children in complete emotional shutdown. And many teaching staff, good people trying to do their absolute best, are themselves overwhelmed by systems increasingly driven by targets, rigid behavioural cultures and crisis management, rather than compassion and understanding.

“The key point is this: we cannot continue in pretending that rising emotional distress among children is disconnected from the environments we place them in every single day. Because families and support workers and children themselves are telling us otherwise. This motion does not attack schools. It does not attack teachers. It asks something profoundly reasonable: that we listen, that we investigate, and that we have the courage to examine whether parts of the current system are unintentionally harming the very children we are supposed to protect.

“Some children are not failing the system; the system is failing them so completely that they no longer feel safe enough to walk through the school gates. Because sometimes behaviour is not defiance, sometimes behaviour is distress, sometimes behaviour is trauma, and sometimes the system is hearing disruption where it should instead be hearing a cry for help.

“And for every SEND family fighting battles behind closed doors, please know this: some of us are listening.”

Councillor James Mustoe, Conservative: “This is something very close to my heart, as a SEN parent myself.  

“As a new councillor 12 years ago, I came in thinking that the council still had control over all of the schools, and it’s very clear that this isn’t the case, and I’ve worked collaboratively with the academies in my division to work positively with them and that’s a relationship I continue to have with them to this day.

“As a parent of a SEND child, I am completely cognisant of the issues that SEND children can have with academy trusts. I won’t name any names. I think yours called them reflection, mine calls them reset, but it’s the same thing, and regardless of my relationship with the academy trust which my children have been to in the past, I completely agree with Coun Ball that removing a child from education is completely the wrong way to go about assisting them, the majority of SEND children who are put in that position. And as well as the impact on SEND children that Coun Ball and others have very candidly spoken about here, there’s also an impact on the parents of these SEND children. There’s an App that we all have called Class Charts which sends us a notification every time a child gets a negative point or a detention.

“That’s something I still have. I looked today as I’m sat in this meeting, and whenever this notice comes through ping your child’s got a detention, your child’s got a thing, it’s actually doing it to me now: it brings anxiety out in me, a parent. As a parent, I’ve been privileged to be able to work in the position I work in, in this council, and to be able to know what I know and to be able to negotiate it, and to navigate to a position where my child is in a happy place, now, in his educational setting, but that’s taken years of navigating, and knowing how to do that. And I’ve always said that if myself and my wife working as we do and having knowledge of the system have struggled to get there, to understand it and to be able to get our child in a happy place, then how does Johnny public, who doesn’t work in the place we are privileged to work in, how do they navigate it, through their sometimes chaotic lives, so I’m fully supportive of Councillor Ball’s motion.”

Councillor Richard Barker, Reform UK: “I am speaking in support of this; how could you not? The Cabinet advisory group seems sensible, and being able to share [its findings] with the Secretary of State means that hopefully we can get feedback from them as well and enrich our findings.

“For me, having worked on the fringes of some of the most broken children in our society…I do feel that the solutions are with the professionals. And I would like to trust that one of our findings are that we empower the staff in our schools to deliver the complex outcomes that we need. Because it’s only the professionals that are going to deliver those outcomes, and sitting in the [council] chamber as we do, we are so far removed from those problems that we can’t develop a policy that’s going to fit everyone. It’s a big thumbs up for me.”

Councillor Thalia Marrington, Liberal Democrat: “As Cabinet member for public health and community safety, I’m really pleased to support [this motion] also as a mum with children, one who fits the system and one maybe less so, who’s different. I know how children can so quickly label themselves as failures, when actually they may not just fit those very rigid school systems.

“You look at comedians, you look at dancers like Darcy Bussell, hear their stories, how they didn’t fit. We should be ensuring that all children in our schools are able to thrive. The mental health and wellbeing of our children must be one of our highest priorities, and not one, two but three cabinet members have already drawn out this issue as a key priority, wanting to do more and have concerns around the issue that impacts so many residents in Cornwall.

“Councillor Frank this morning mentioned the pandemic and the impacts there around mental health. We have issues around smart phones, too, there’s so much pressure on young people: a perfect storm, in a sense, and it’s of paramount importance that we do what we can to support children and young people in this sometimes difficult space.

“Schools are places of learning, but they are also about far more than academic achievement. They are places where children develop confidence, resilience and emotional skills they need to navigate not just the tests they sit in schools, but the many challenges that life will inevitably present. Families and communities will inevitably play a vital role in supporting young people, but schools are central to enabling children to feel safe, supported and able to thrive.

“Cornwall County Council retains an overarching legal duty for safeguarding the welfare of all the young people in our area, regardless of the school they attend. And where we have concerns about safeguarding, mental health or wellbeing, we have both a statutory and a moral duty to act, raise those concerns and use every lever available to us to advocate for children and young people.

Councillor Ball, responding at the end: “Councillors, please support this motion, because we are talking about young people’s mental health and wellbeing, here. It’s not political, it’s about the young people.”

The motion was passed “emphatically,” said the chair.