Behaviour crisis in schools shows a need for wider action - Ismail Mulla

It is sad to see the short-sightedness of certain parents. Not only does it hold back children in terms of their education and subsequent employment prospects but it also affects their development.

On top of this, is the pernicious pandemic that is the addiction to screens that many young people suffer from. I’ve written countless times about the negative impact social media has had on young people. From bullying to being exposed to harmful content, children are being set up to fail in life.

But it’s not just their mental wellbeing that is at risk, they are also suffering from inactivity. When more children own a smartphone than know how to bounce a ball, we have to ask the question where exactly are we headed as a society.

When I was a child, you could not get a ball out of our hands or away from our feet. If anything, it was impossible for our parents to keep us indoors. Playing outside was the be all and end all. Now it’s completely the opposite.

Inactivity is going to see many of these children develop health issues in the future that no amount of injections is going to be able to fix. Besides, we’re supposed to be alleviating the burden on the NHS, not increasing it.

Inaction is no longer an option for the Government when it comes to the development and education of children then the shocking statistics of pupils being excluded from school should be it.

Figures for Yorkshire show the number of children permanently excluded from school has risen 87 per cent since before the pandemic, with a near-three fold increase at primary age.

Analysis from the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) suggests violent behaviour is behind the surge. There has been a 62 per cent increase in pupil assaults on adults in the last three years nationwide.

More primary school children were expelled in Spring 2025 due to physical assault against teachers than secondary school teenagers for physical assault against teachers.

Just let that sink in. This is primary school children being expelled for violence against teachers. Behaviour that can’t even be blamed on hormones.

Yes, there is a SEND crisis but that doesn’t excuse away the increase in assaults on teachers.

No teacher should be going to school worrying about facing violence from pupils. No wonder teachers are leaving the profession in droves. The primary purpose of teachers is not to police the behaviour of children. That job starts in the home. Should news of even so much as a strop at school reach the ears of my parents when I was a child would be met with consequences.

Nowadays children are not even potty trained by the time they start school. And the Government has even got teachers showing children how to brush their teeth. When is enough going to be enough?

First and foremost, the Department for Education needs to clamp down on discipline. There also needs to be a review into how schools can better engage with parents. Surely not all of them are willfully negligent when it comes to the upbringing of their child.

Polling for the CSJ found two in five parents think trust between home and school has “broken down”. While almost half thought missing one in ten days of school was “reasonable”. Meanwhile, seven in ten teachers report facing abusive language from parents.

The Covid pandemic set back education in this country and little has been done to get it back on track. If anything it has become a runaway train that is heading for disaster. Unless the emergency brakes are applied it could prove disastrous for Britain.

With an ageing population, it is important that the next generation is geared up to enter the workforce and start contributing to the state’s coffers. Instead they are at risk of becoming a burden on the state for the rest of their lives.

The Government can start by clamping down on harmful screen time and coming up with new rules to tackle physical inactivity. And bringing parents onto the right track, even if it means stronger penalties for failing to engage with the education system.