THE different ways academies deal with discipline has been debated following a series of school visits.

Members of Stockton Council’s Children and Young People Select Committee have given their views following visits to academies in Stockton.

Committee members made the visits after representatives of the Northern Education Trust (NET), Outwood Grange Academy Trust (OGAT) and Carmel Educational Trust (CET) defended their differing behaviour policies.

In March, the committee had particularly criticised strict behavioural policies, branded “draconian” by councillors, and questioned why one academy had recorded 1,500 exclusions in a single year.

On Wednesday, councillors returned with differing views following separate visits to NET’s North Shore Academy and Outwood Academy Bishopsgarth in Stockton, and CET’s St Michael’s Catholic Academy in Billingham.

Vice chair, Cllr Barbara Inman, said: “St Michael’s seem to have it cracked – the other two don’t.”

Committee chair, Carol Clark agreed adding: “I found that at St Michael’s there were lots of little areas children can go to for different reasons.

“Everything was more relaxed and it was just totally different to the way that North Shore carried on.

“If a child came in in a hell of a mood, kicking off, it wasn’t just ‘get in there and stay in there’.

“It was more ‘why has this happened?’”

But Cllr Sylvia Walmsley said it was not fair to suggest North Shore Academy, and particularly its head teacher Michael Robson, didn’t care about the reasons for pupils’ misbehaviour.

She said: “In fairness to North Shore, the head did include a lot of pastoral care as well.

“He really cared about why children were misbehaving.”

She added that, during her visit, she was able to speak to random pupils about their experience of the school as she was shown around by Mr Robson.

“They did seem to have a lot of respect for him,” she said adding: “The proof in the pudding is going to be this next year if exclusions drastically reduce.”

Cllr Evaline Cunningham agreed adding: “In every single school there was respect for headteachers.

“But I preferred the way St Michael’s want to deal with problems – helping them to settle down, bringing parents in to talk, working much more with the parents.”

Cllr Di Hewitt, who had not visited North Shore but had visited Outwood Academy Bishopsgarth, was critical of the way discipline was implemented there.

She said: “It was a snap-shot wasn’t it?

“For me, it was a very harsh environment.

“The way teachers were talking to pupils was very harsh and negative.

“You said children had respect for teachers, I don’t think that goes both ways.”

“I don’t agree with that,” said Cllr Cunningham.

Cllr Hewitt continued: “Calling kids out, just to make a point?

“If I was that child I would have felt humiliated.

“I felt that, for me, was disrespectful.”

Cllr Sally Ann Watson said: “What did impress me about the head of North Shore, rather than give a child a full week exclusion, he would say half a day.

“And each time, that child had a chance to come back into school to change their behaviour.

“For him that meant he had five half days of exclusions, but he said he felt it was the right thing to do, looking at the child rather than the figures.

“Giving them five opportunities to change.”

The members’ comments were noted.

Cllr Hewitt had previously called for the case of exclusions from Stockton academies to be taken to the national schools commissioner.

The committee will await the final draft of its report on exclusions before deciding the next course of action.