From control to connection: Young people led-research highlights need for change in managing school behaviour

How can behaviour management in schools be reimagined through the eyes of those most affected? ARC West’s co-designed research project, led by young people, revealed common sanctions like isolation harm mental health and other outcomes. A new wave of research is challenging the long-standing dominance of punitive strategies and beginning to explore the use of relational approaches.

A young people–led beginning

In 2020 we asked members of our Young People’s Advisory Group (YPAG) what we should be researching. They shared their deep concerns about secondary school discipline practices including public reprimands, detentions and isolation. They described negative effects on young people’s mental health.

Recognising these issues, we launched a co-designed research project, involving YPAG at every stage. A systematic review investigated the impact of disciplinary behaviour management strategies (DBMS) on student outcomes and interview studies gained perspectives of young people, school staff and behaviour experts.

What the evidence reveals

Our systematic review of 14 studies from an initial pool of over 5,000 papers, found:

• Suspension was linked with higher rates of depression (5 of 7 studies reporting mental health outcomes)
• Discipline techniques were associated with poorer classroom behaviour (3 of 4 studies)
• The impact on academic attainment remained unclear, but mental wellbeing consistently worsened
• We didn’t find any studies looking at the effects of isolation on mental health
• Most studies had a high risk of bias. Findings are concerning but we need stronger evidence.

The message from young people is clear: it’s time we listened to them

Interviews with students, led by trained YPAG peer researchers, reinforced the review findings.

DBMS, particularly isolation use, were considered ineffective at addressing poor behaviour and negatively impacting mental health and wellbeing, academic and social outcomes. Young people described the zero-tolerance ‘Ready To Learn’ (RTL) sanction system as harsh, confusing and inconsistent. They voiced a preference for approaches rooted in relationships and understanding and advocated for systems that seek to address the causes of behavioural issues, rather than those that rely on sanctions and exclusionary practices.

Bringing the issues to life

With our YPAG, we developed two animated videos, A Day in the Life and Isolation, bringing real quotes from pupils to life:

“I feel like a robot trying to survive the day… zapped of my energy and suppressed.”

“You’re not yourself… you’ve trained your brain to sit there, be quiet, get it over and done with.”

“If you’ve done something wrong, they just put you in isolation. They don’t try to find out why you’ve done it or anything like that. They just put you isolation. They don’t really care.”

“I had really bad behaviour issues so I was in isolation day in, day out. It got quite emotionally draining to the point where I just didn’t turn up to school. I didn’t even do my GCSEs ‘cause there’s only so much you can take, I think.”

These animations highlighted that all students suffer, whether through a pervasive, fear‑based classroom climate, or isolation.

Watch the videos

Does it have to be a dichotomy?

Our researchers interviewed experts in behaviour and school staff. Experts consistently advocated for relational and trauma-informed approaches, but views among school staff were more varied.

Some described RTL as beneficial due to its clarity, consistency, and ability to reduce classroom disruption. Its centralised structure, affordability, and simplicity were seen as advantages. However most expressed the desire for a more therapeutic approach alongside RTL.

“What we’re missing, is a complementary or alternative narrative at whole-school level to RTL. So, the idea of RTL sitting as a structure but alongside therapeutic or trauma-informed, more relational approaches to dealing with behaviour.”

But findings revealed schools face significant structural and cultural barriers to using relational approaches.

“We aren’t trained, we don’t have that expertise. So even if we had time for it, we can’t necessarily implement it because we don’t know what we’re doing if I’m honest.”

“Some teachers are subject-driven and subject-focused, and are real experts in their subject field, but their relationship with the children starts and stops at the door.”

Making a difference

Initiated by and co-produced with young people, this study has prompted critical reflection and increased awareness of issues with DBMS and led to wide-spread acknowledgement of the need for change to school behaviour policies and practices.

• We are working with local authorities in Bristol and the surrounding region to share our findings and discuss next steps for the study
• We are collaborating with academics, schools, charities and practitioners to promote relational and restorative practices instead of punishment-based approaches
• We plan to evaluate non‑punitive strategies, bridging gaps in evidence by testing what works in practice
• We have submitted evidence to the UK Parliament’s children’s wellbeing evidence call, who were reviewing children’s wellbeing in school

Why it matters

• The project fills a gap: while punitive approaches such as exclusion and isolation are widely used, few studies assess their effects on student behaviour, academics and wellbeing
• It centres the voices of young people and those supporting them, ensuring policies and practices reflect lived experience, not just theoretical models
• It provides an example of how co‑production can enable those impacted by policy and practice to actively shape it, alongside the research agenda

Elizabeth, one of our YPAG peer researchers on the project, said:

“I am really grateful to have been involved in such an important study and hope we can bring about some positive changes to behaviour management in schools.”

Dr Sarah Bell, Senior Research Associate in Qualitative Research and lead researcher on the project, said:

“With growing evidence, especially from those directly affected, suggesting that DBMS may be doing more harm than good, a re-think is needed. This isn’t about going soft on behaviour, it’s about creating compassionate, inclusive schools that are smart about how they view and respond to poor behaviour.”