Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to promote good discipline and behaviour in schools in Stoke-on-Trent.

Good behaviour and discipline in schools is crucial if children are to learn and reach their full potential. The Government is pursuing an ambitious programme of work to improve behaviour in schools.

Earlier this month, we commenced the Behaviour Hubs programme, investing £10 million to help schools develop and sustain a culture where good behaviour is the norm.

We are also improving the training and professional development that we give to new teachers. As part of the Early Career Framework reforms, being rolled out nationally from September, all newly qualified teachers will have access to a funded, 2-year support package, including access to a trained mentor. The Early Career Framework has been designed to support early career teacher development in five core areas, including behaviour management.

The Department will be consulting on how we can help head teachers remove mobile phones from the classroom, and other revisions to the Department’s behaviour and discipline and expulsions guidance, later in the year.