Performance Insights: School Disciplinary Absences October 2014

DETE is committed to ensuring all Queensland state schools provide positive and safe learning environments A broad range of strategies is used to address student behaviour challenges, including School Disciplinary Absences (SDAs) This presentation summarises patterns and trends in Queensland state schools’ SDA data Positive schools and students

DETE’s Statement of expectations for a disciplined school environment sets out the expectations for approaches schools use to create a disciplined learning environment DETE’s Safe, Supportive and Disciplined School Environment procedure sets out the processes by which state schools are to promote a positive learning environment All state schools must have a Responsible Behaviour Plan for Students Departmental policies

DETE’s Code of School Behaviour sets out a fair and consistent standard of behaviour for parents, students and staff: high standards of personal achievement and behaviour effective teaching, respectful relationships a whole school approach and effective leadership partnerships with parents, community and other agencies staff expertise valued and developed standards of student behaviour linked to transparent, accountable and fair processes and consequences responses to student behaviour must consider individual circumstances Code of School Behaviour

School Disciplinary Absences SDAs are only applied after consideration of other responses 1.Short suspensions – up to 10 days (previously 5) 2.Long suspensions – up to 20 days (previously 10) 3.Exclusions – up to 12 months or permanently 4.Cancellations – enrolment of a post-compulsory age student can be cancelled if the student displays persistent refusal to participate in the program of instruction Principals must take account of a student’s individual circumstances.

Historical trends - Overall Total SDAs increased and then declined…

Historical trends – Cancellations … but exclusions and cancellations have increased at a faster rate than suspensions

Patterns – SDA prevalence Around 7% of students receive at least one SDA each year…

Patterns – SDA prevalence … of which around 39% receive two or more SDAs

Patterns – Reasons for SDAs The most common reasons for SDAs each year are:

Patterns – School factors FactorsBeta weight Strength of Relationship School type (secondary) 0.60Moderate School size-0.23Weak IRSED Very weak to negligible Principal experience-0.05Negligible The strongest school-level factor is school type (secondary) Once school type is controlled for, other school factors have only a weak or negligible correlation

Patterns – Student factors FactorsBeta weight Strength of Relationship Previous SDA0.70Strong SES-0.03 Very weak to negligible Gender-0.04 Very weak to negligible Indigeneity0.01Negligible The strongest student-level factor is having had a previous SDA Once previous SDA is controlled for, other student factors have only a very weak or negligible correlation

Patterns – Student age Around half of all SDAs each year are received by Year 8-10 students

Patterns – Gender While it is important to avoid negative stereotypes, national and international studies do consistently show that gender, socio-economic status and ethnicity are all correlated with SDA rates

Patterns – SES While it is important to avoid negative stereotypes, national and international studies do consistently show that gender, socio-economic status and ethnicity are all correlated with SDA rates

Patterns – SES Parental occupation category Proportion of students with SDAs Senior management 6% Other business managers12% Trades/office and sales27% Machine operators/hospitality26% Not in paid work in last 12 months29% While it is important to avoid negative stereotypes, national and international studies do consistently show that gender, socio-economic status and ethnicity are all correlated with SDA rates

Patterns – Indigeneity While it is important to avoid negative stereotypes, national and international studies do consistently show that gender, socio-economic status and ethnicity are all correlated with SDA rates

Patterns – SDAs and outcomes Increased SDA rates are only weakly associated with poorer performance on NAPLAN reading, and even less closely associated once socio-demographic variables are taken into account Similar results for other NAPLAN domains This suggests the relationship between SDA rates and student outcomes is complex and cannot be isolated through simple school-level correlations Factors Beta weight Strength of Relationship 1SDAs per 1000 Enrolments-.25Weak 2SDAs per 1000 Enrolments-.07 Very weak to negligible IRSED Weak to moderate Geo-location.13 Negligible to very weak Proportion Indigenous-.19Negligible to very weak, negative

Patterns – SDAs and attendance Unsurprisingly, there is an inverse relationship between SDA and attendance This is partly driven by the use of SDAs for dealing with unexplained absences and also due to SDAs leading to lower student attendance rates

Patterns – SDAs and attendance Relationship between SDA rate and attendance rate over time

School leadership is a critical factor, particularly attitudes towards: working with parents as partners in their children’s education providing strong reintegration support after an SDA focusing on pedagogy rather than punishment as the means to modify behaviour engaging external support developing and supporting teachers in behaviour management skills Literature review – Lessons

Our school’s SDA profile Insert your school’s SDA data here

Our school’s approach to SDAs Insert your school’s approach to SDAs here

A relatively small proportion of students receive SDAs SDAs are more frequently used in secondary schools SDAs in Queensland state schools are currently higher than 2006, particularly for more serious categories of exclusions and cancellations It is important to avoid stereotyping students and to develop specific responses to suit circumstances Good-practice lessons are reflected in the department’s policies and procedures The department is committed to ensuring that all Queensland state schools provide positive and safe learning environments Conclusions