The discipline issue has pushed itself to the top of the agenda. Many schools are clearly struggling to cope with the situation. Now, one Co Kildare second-level school has taken a new approach to discipline - and it is making a real difference to school life. Gráinne Faller reports

The recent Teachers' Union of Ireland (TUI) report on disruptive behaviour has shocked and dismayed parents and teachers.What is to be done with students who will not abide by school rules? Suspensions don't seem to be working and there's barely an expulsion that isn't followed by a court challenge. Sin bins, segregation, what is going to work? A pilot project in a Naas, Co Kildare school could hold some answers.

"I don't like a school to be too quiet." Colm O'Connor has just seen his students to the school gate. As principal of the busy and growing St Patrick's Community College in Naas he has his own ideas about how he prefers a school's atmosphere to be. "It's not that I want things to be noisy," he explains. "I just like there to be a buzz about the place."

O'Connor is wary of journalists, but The Irish Times is here to check out a pilot programme - essentially an alternative to suspension - that is being implemented in the school. The programme, known as The Workshop, has been termed a "sin bin" by sections of the media, a label which O'Connor finds grossly unfair. "It's just such a negative term and well, we just want to get on with it to be honest," he says.

They are doing just that. O'Connor and his colleagues had long seen the problems associated with suspending students. It is the last resort for schools, but what does it do - other than give teachers a few days' respite from having a particularly disruptive student in their classrooms? As for the students themselves, in the best case scenario, they sit at home, falling further behind in their school work and then return to the same situation in which they were having problems once the suspension is lifted. It's hardly ideal.

The alternative piloted in St Patrick's College is one which separates students from the mainstream school, while keeping them abreast of classwork. Unlike a suspension, reintegration into the mainstream school is gradual and only done when a student is seen to be ready for such a move. The workshop is based in a bright prefab building within the school grounds and is run by teachers John Moffitt and Maria Keeley.

A mixture of conventional and more unusual methods are used in The Workshop. Tiny numbers (between two and six students at any one time) mean that one-to-one attention can be given. They are also taught various coping skills and study strategies. This can help a student for whom traditional methods may not work. Baroque music, for example, is played to aid concentration and techniques for mind-mapping and right brain thinking are explored. Gradually, students are reintegrated into the mainstream school until most, if not all, of their classes are with the rest of their year.

"The Workshop is a halfway house," says O'Connor. "We don't want it to be too attractive to students obviously enough . . . but I think they generally understand and are willing to participate."

He is aware of the danger of the programme becoming a dumping ground for difficult students, but a collaborative referral process avoids this happening. So far, the results have been very positive. "By the students' very nature they always want to rejoin the mainstream school," says Keeley. "We can't do subjects such as woodwork and metalwork, so we are always keen to get students back to those classes as soon as possible."

They have found that the one-to-one attention benefits students. Some find that they are actually slightly ahead of their class in some subjects by the time they are reintegrated. It's an advantage that can provide a badly needed boost for some students who often suffer from very low self-esteem in a classroom setting.

"I have no doubt but that students have been saved," says O'Connor. He cites an example of one student who was in danger of dropping out before the Junior Cert, but is now considering the Leaving Cert Applied. Stories such as this pepper the conversation.

The dramatic and tearful breakthroughs that we see in Hollywood films, however, are not to be found in The Workshop. "It's sometimes a bit of a slog," says Moffitt. "You might be working with a student and when they get to know you they may say something that gives you a better understanding of them." "A nugget," agrees Keeley. "They have a structure out with us and they need that . . . We don't sit down and talk about our feelings all day. We just get on with the work and after a while they might offer a little bit of information."

This is how they endeavour to get to the root of a problem. Treating each student as an individual and having the flexibility to work on the basis that what works for one, may not work for the next is key. The mix of students in the environment itself can lead to unexpected benefits. Moffitt explains: "A troublesome fifth-year can become quite responsible in the presence of a first year."

Keeley agrees saying: "We had one girl telling a second-year student that she'd need to work hard because 'the Junior is very tough'. This girl would be full of insecurity with her own peers, but she felt confident enough to give advice to a younger student."

Some of the results have been surprising. Chess as a pastime in the school, for example, has had a boost.

"Colm nearly collapsed when the names for the chess teams came up . . . It has gained certain kudos with the hard men of the school!" laughs Moffitt. "They love the strategy and the fact that they can maybe beat a teacher at something that's pretty academic."

O'Connor adds: "That's exactly the kind of spontaneous thing that develops. It's invisible capital. You can pass this sort of intelligence on and it may help teachers when these students go back into the classroom."

The programme is being reviewed all the time and the scope of such a facility for social inclusion for all sorts of students is being recognised. For the moment, however, the teachers are learning as much as their charges.

"The students don't fit into any profile," says Keeley. "They are our starting point." Moffitt adds: "It is a lot of sweat and tears, and rewards can be slow, but we are at the coalface and we are learning all the time."

Change of behaviour: Focus on school discipline

A study conducted by MORI Ireland for the National Education Welfare Board (NEWB) revealed just how often suspension is used as a disciplinary measure in Irish schools. This is what the study found.

Every week, more than 450 students are suspended from schools throughout the State. This works out at more than 90 students every day.

Altogether last year, 11,746 suspensions were recorded by 557 post-primary schools (out of a total of 740) who responded to the survey.

Discipline problems are the main reason for suspension and it is acknowledged that these are often caused by poor attendance among other things. According to the NEWB, absences initiate a self-perpetuating cycle where students fall behind in school and disruptive behaviour can result. Further exclusion may simply exacerbate the problem in the long run and the NEWB highly recommends early intervention to prevent problems from reaching that point.

Suspension is not the end of the story for many as, on average, three students face the prospect of expulsion every week. In the last academic year, there were 93 recorded expulsions at post-primary level. This is up significantly from the year before when 57 students were expelled.