The government believes behaviour is improving

A report on a pilot scheme in England has found that teaching good manners and fair play can cut bad behaviour and improve attendance.

The research, covering 250 primary schools, suggests there were also academic benefits to the scheme.

Teachers were encouraged to promote good behaviour in all areas, not just to focus on rules.

For example in PE lessons, teachers were encouraged to promote ideas about fair play and team work to children.

Researchers from London University's Institute of Education found that the softly-softly approach had reduced poor behaviour and improved attendance.

It also led to improved performance in national curriculum English and maths tests for 11-year-olds.

The pilot scheme, involving 25 local education authorities, ran from 2003 to 2005. It was designed to improve attendance and behaviour in primary schools.

Task force

Teachers were given extra training in ways of encouraging good behaviour.

In some schools, children who had behaviour problems or were in danger of being excluded were given attention in small groups or one to one. Sometimes their parents were involved.

Some schools reported dramatic changes. One, in Portsmouth, said serious playground incidents dropped from 15 to none in the first year of the pilot scheme.

In Southend in Essex, most schools reported lower levels of exclusions and better figures on attendance.

Last autumn, a behaviour task force called for schools to be given stronger legal rights to restrain pupils and to punish badly behaved children.