Dispatches

Britain's Challenging Children (2009x1)

: 05, 2009

With primary schools across the country being stretched by the violent and disruptive behaviour of a small minority, Dispatches reveals the results of an extensive, in-depth survey of teachers to identify the impact on their ability to teach, and documents the efforts of five schools which are tackling the problem head on. The survey, the largest if its kind ever undertaken and supported by the teaching union NASUWT, reveals the extent of deteriorating standards of behaviour in classrooms across the UK. With millions of teaching hours being lost; it's the majority of well-behaved kids that are paying the price. But while the crises in classrooms appear to be escalating for many schools, Britain's Challenging Children follows the efforts of five primaries trying innovative methods to regain a calm teaching environment. Filmed as observational documentary, in Glasgow, Wigan and Luton, Dispatches explore what works by focussing on their most challenging pupils.