Disruptive behaviour and boredom have been banished from a school's lunchtime through an innovative initiative redeploying support staff. Dr Alan Marr investigates
Once the part of the day dreaded by many staff members and children, lunchtimes have been transformed at some Lancashire primary schools thanks to a 'Positive Lunchtimes Initiative'. Now funding changes and cuts in school budgets look set to jeopardise the longer-term future of this, and similar, programmes.
The initiative aims to reduce the incidence of anti-social behaviour by offering children interesting activities during their lunch break and operating a buddy system, in which disadvantaged older pupils support younger or isolated children.
The primary schools involved have received three years' New Opportunities Fund money for the project, with the sums allocated partly dependent on the number of children eligible for free school meals and participating in 'buddy' training - an important feature of the initiative. The project is run entirely by teaching assistants (TAs) and welfare assistants (WAs).
The idea for the project originated with Carole Underwood, policy officer out-of-school hours learning, at Lancashire LEA. She had research showing that children from deprived backgrounds were more likely to be isolated in school, to underachieve and to get into trouble than those not eligible for free school meals.
She then secured NOF funding, and invited schools to apply. Priority was given to schools that responded quickest and provided data on children eligible for free school meals and on 'challenging incidents' at lunchtimes. Therefore, the schools selected may not necessarily have had the worst pupil behaviour.
One school enjoying the benefits of the initiative is St Mary Magdalen's C of E Primary School, in Accrington, which receives 3,000 a year under the scheme.
The school has 200 pupils on roll. Inclusion and anti-racism are cornerstones of its policies and practice, and it accepts children who may have been excluded from other schools and those with medical problems (currently six). One-third of the children have been placed on the Special Needs Register, and over the past two years the number of statemented children has ranged from six to 17.
Headteacher Justine Chadwick describes the school catchment area as 'deteriorating'. Many of the 19th century 'two up, two down' stone terraced houses are now owned by big property companies, let through social services and poorly maintained, and hide a great deal of deprivation and a wide range of social problems.
Mrs Chadwick says, 'We have children from a number of illiterate families, third or fourth generation non-attenders and others with complex social problems.'
She had previously employed WAs to supervise the children during their lunch break, but, she admits, 'What we were doing was sending 200 children out into a barren environment.'
There were some games on offer, but the school lacked the resources to ensure that all the children, especially the younger ones, would enjoy their lunch break, and return to class in a positive frame of mind.
Challenging incidents occurred daily - usually fighting among older boys, though, fortunately, little bullying because of the school's anti-bullying message in assemblies. To help reduce the problems of poor behaviour, the school operated a 'time out room', where disruptive children were sent to reflect.
Clubs and inclusion
Now on offer every lunchtime is a board game club, a computer club and an art and craft club. Other options run on certain days are junior and senior choirs, a less formal singing club and sewing, knitting, gardening, dancing, drama, homework, and a wide variety of playground games.
Attendance at clubs is optional, and children are free to participate in as many as they like, although the TAs running them monitor attendance.
Now, about a year and a half into the project, Mrs Chadwick says, 'I no longer dread a rainy lunchtime.' Having worked consistently to raise the school's standards and promote a tolerant and inclusive atmosphere, she says she is surprised that she neglected the lunch break for so long.
The atmosphere in the playground is transformed. Instead of being dominated by older boys playing an undisciplined game of football, it is now genuinely inclusive, with younger children freely able to participate.
The football is now led by 'manager' Janet Greaves - dubbed Sir Alex - who can wave the yellow or red card and ban players for a day if behaviour is persistently poor.
The incidence of aggressive behaviour, verbal and racist abuse and petty vandalism has fallen so sharply that the 'time out' room has become redundant at lunchtimes. One TA says, 'You don't hear very much shouting or anger now because the kids are getting on with what they want to do. What goes on is so positive.'
The benefits of the scheme extend into the afternoon. Where previously the children often returned to class with pent-up feelings engendered by incidents during their lunch break, they are now returning better motivated and more able to concentrate.
Both teachers and TAs say that the scheme has also fostered improvements in listening skills, the ability to work independently, teamwork and co-operation, while the 'buddy' system has increased the sense of responsibility and community, particularly among older children.
Staff training
Being run entirely by TAs and WAs, the project fits well with the culture at the school, where Mrs Chadwick has long encouraged support staff to enhance their roles and skills - not because she wants to replace teachers with TAs, but because of her commitment to staff development.
TAs also run a breakfast club and after-school clubs offering French, a variety of sports and arts and crafts. There are regular opportunities for support staff to undertake additional training, including weekly sessions on, for example, new policies, behaviour management and ICT.
Full-time TA Lisa Bentley has been taken out of classroom support to manage the lunchtime project. She also acts as a 'troubleshooter' when necessary at lunchtime and removes children from classes if they are disruptive.
The children are encouraged to discuss incidents and fill in a self-evaluation sheet, explaining what happened, and how they feel it should have been handled. Pupils return to class only after there is agreement that issues have been dealt with thoroughly and fairly.
Being actively engaged with the children, instead of simply shepherding them around, has, suggested one WA, made their 'policeman' role easier, and less confrontational.
Some of the existing WAs run the lunchtime clubs - adding a welcome 4.99 an hour to their weekly wage - while others, including football 'manager' Janet, are brought in only for the lunch hour.
Mrs Chadwick concludes, 'This project is very, very important because it fits in very well with the ethos we are developing in the school. I wouldn't go back to putting 200 outside at lunchtimes in a barren environment. I've just seen too many of the benefits now.'
But money for the scheme runs out in August 2004, when schools will become responsible for funding the project, and its future looks uncertain.
Threatened funding
Financially the school is 'treading water'. It has no reserve, and admissions for next September are still 14 pupils below target numbers. If they remain below target, it will have huge financial consequences for the school.
Lisa Bentley's salary is already paid for by the school, but the money for employing other staff is threatened, so part of Lisa's role is fundraising for equipment for the project - no easy task. However, Blackburn Rovers and Burnley football clubs take coaching sessions at the school as part of their community involvement, and they, along with Accrington Stanley, have provided signed match-balls, tickets and shirts as prizes in competitions for the children.
Mrs Chadwick has put in place a flexible system of staff contracts, including employing one teacher on an annual contract. This arrangement allows her to maintain current staffing levels even if the LEA claws back money because of lower than projected enrolment, or other new pressures.
If the school does not get an increase in funds next year - which she says she expects, because of the impending General Election in 2005 - she will not renew the teacher's annual contract, and instead use the money to support the lunchtime initiative and TA/WA contracts. The school currently employs 16 TAs.
The problem is that this school, like many others, will have to rely increasingly on short-term funding for important innovations. This project at St Mary Magdalen's is a great success, and a real testament to the work of TAs and WAs alike. But it will be a struggle for the headteacher to sustain it in the longer term, regardless of how the bigger crisis over school budgets is eventually handled by the Government.
