25/4/24, 16:43 Chaos in the classroom?

n the classroom? Take it from someone on the frontline, this is the result of Tory neglect | Lola Okolosie | The Guardian

Sign in

Support us

News Opinion Sport Culture Lifestyle

Opinion

Chaos in the classroom? Take it from someone on the frontline, this is

the result of Tory neglect
Lola Okolosie

One in five teachers in England has been hit by a pupil this year.
We need Labour to commit to funding education, not offer
more of the same
Fri 29 Mar 2024 13.51 GMT

E
nglish schools are increasingly turning into battlegrounds. Teachers know it – this week it was reported that nearly one
in five has faced physical violence from pupils this year, a startling snapshot of the mounting misbehaviour teachers
face each day we cross the threshold of our school gates. Pupils know it, too – this startling statistic tells us that
vulnerable children are suffering, as such lawlessness speaks of schools where bullying and intimidation thrive.

For those who may feel the language choice of battlefields and frontlines is a little hyperbolic, pause to consider the words of the
new head of Ofsted, Martyn Oliver. In January, he talked about taking on wrecked schools when he was leader of an academy
trust, including one in which students stopped staff, saying: “This is a no-go corridor, it belongs to the children.”

It is hard not to read this as a loud indictment of the political neglect of children and education under Tory governance. If the
measure of a society is how it treats its most vulnerable, particularly children, then we are failing miserably.

Earlier this year, the Observer discovered that increasing numbers of children suffering from serious neglect, homelessness and
domestic abuse are being refused help from overstretched social services. Child protection cases that would have resulted in an
intervention a couple of years ago are now “routinely being passed back to schools to deal with themselves”. The situation for
many schools has been that when they identify a child with urgent safeguarding needs, they are unable to obtain the help that

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/mar/29/schools-crisis-children-teachers-labour-tories 1/9
25/4/24, 16:43 Chaos in the classroom? Take it from someone on the frontline, this is the result of Tory neglect | Lola Okolosie | The Guardian
child desperately requires. Staff without the expertise or resources to properly support such children are left to deal with the
fallout.

Whether it is routinely being told to eff off by 11-year-olds or breaking up fights, this isn’t a problem that can be chalked up to
individual teachers’ poor classroom management. These incidents, ranging from spitting to throwing chairs, lay bare the impact
of years of chronic underfunding of essential children’s services, compounded by the Covid-19 pandemic.

‘In making statements about the national “credit card” being “maxed out”, Rachel Reeves tacitly tells us Labour is willing to preserve the status quo.’ Photograph:
Stefan Rousseau/PA

How does this result in disruptive behaviour within classrooms? The absence of support from social or youth services exposes
children to unsafe environments, at home and in their communities. Exposure to conditions where children are at risk, a direct
result of insufficient funding, inevitably influences their behaviour. It is hardly surprising when this reality manifests in forms of
aggression or profound withdrawal. This is not about school mismanagement or stricter behaviour rules – those who say so are
indulging in a dangerous oversimplification, ignoring the reality that schools can only do so much.

The crisis of challenging behaviour in English schools unfolds, like the one of persistent pupil absence, against the backdrop of an
election year. Labour, with a 20-point poll lead, should take this as an opportunity to reassess its fiscal conservatism, especially
where children’s services and education are concerned. The continued refrain that a Labour government won’t “turn on the
spending taps” may be meant to resonate with voters concerned about fiscal responsibility, but it rings alarm bells for those of us
at the frontline of this crisis.

In making statements about the national “credit card” being “maxed out”, Rachel Reeves, the shadow
chancellor, tacitly tells us that Labour is willing to preserve the status quo under which our children’s futures are being
compromised. It forces the question: what, exactly, is the point of a Labour government if it will only commit to perpetuating
what came before?

A “carousel” of education secretaries – nine in the past nine years – tells us something of the chaos the Tories have presided over
in education. Their budget cuts and too-little-too-late measures have pushed our public services to breaking point. Whether it is
the £11.4bn of repairs and remedial work needed so that some school buildings don’t collapse, or the fact that special educational
needs provision is in crisis, children and teachers are living through the repercussions of shambolic Tory policies.

The question facing our next government is whether to continue the cycle of neglect or embrace a different future for our
children – one in which bromides about how we value them and their potential is backed up with money spent. The escalating
crisis in schools is a reminder, as if it were needed, of the costs of inaction.

Lola Okolosie is an English teacher and writer

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/mar/29/schools-crisis-children-teachers-labour-tories 2/9
25/4/24, 16:43 Chaos in the classroom? Take it from someone on the frontline, this is the result of Tory neglect | Lola Okolosie | The Guardian

More on this story

London mosque denies it Experts divided over High court upholds top English schools could lose Support pos
advised school all prayers implications of prayer ban London school’s ban on £1bn by 2030 as pupil masculinity
could be deferred ruling at London school prayer rituals numbers fall and Wales sc
conference t

18 Apr 2024 17 Apr 2024 16 Apr 2024 11 Apr 2024 5 Apr 2024

Most viewed

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/mar/29/schools-crisis-children-teachers-labour-tories 3/9
25/4/24, 16:43 Chaos in the classroom? Take it from someone on the frontline, this is the result of Tory neglect | Lola Okolosie | The Guardian

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/mar/29/schools-crisis-children-teachers-labour-tories 4/9
25/4/24, 16:43 Chaos in the classroom? Take it from someone on the frontline, this is the result of Tory neglect | Lola Okolosie | The Guardian

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/mar/29/schools-crisis-children-teachers-labour-tories 5/9
25/4/24, 16:43 Chaos in the classroom? Take it from someone on the frontline, this is the result of Tory neglect | Lola Okolosie | The Guardian

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/mar/29/schools-crisis-children-teachers-labour-tories 6/9
25/4/24, 16:43 Chaos in the classroom? Take it from someone on the frontline, this is the result of Tory neglect | Lola Okolosie | The Guardian

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/mar/29/schools-crisis-children-teachers-labour-tories 7/9
25/4/24, 16:43 Chaos in the classroom? Take it from someone on the frontline, this is the result of Tory neglect | Lola Okolosie | The Guardian

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/mar/29/schools-crisis-children-teachers-labour-tories 8/9
25/4/24, 16:43 Chaos in the classroom? Take it from someone on the frontline, this is the result of Tory neglect | Lola Okolosie | The Guardian

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/mar/29/schools-crisis-children-teachers-labour-tories 9/9