Hands behind your back?

Hands behind back is potentially dangerous

Schools are so bloody joyless. Any chance they've branded it "walking the W H way?". It's why one of the best teachers has left and another couple are on their way out.

I knew I'd found the right school when I found out my childs class walks down the hall to lunch doing a night fever dance, singing "stay in a line, stay in a line ah ah ah ah...."

Those were two of the rules in my school in the 80s. Don't see the issue. If you don't like the rules change schools.

It’s not binding. It’s a way to encourage children to consider the importance of behaving responsibly and encouraging them to reflect on their contribution to the school community.

Your child will not be sued if they break school rules.

Walking on the left is normal, hands behind the back is unusual.

I also altered our school contract, because some of it was nonsense! It isn't really binding, it is just words, I'd talk that through with the kids and see if there is anything they disagree with.

My kids had contracts. I never signed them. The school doesn't stick to their side about bullying, theft or reading so I wouldn't tie myself to a non enforceable contract.

They are a silly game.

My children's primary had them walk on the left, I can't see the issue with that, far easier for staff to get down the empty middle as children walked in single file down both sides of the corridor. I think unless you have actually been in a school corridor and seen the chaos that are children poking, pushing, twisting their bodies, deliberately banging their body into other pupils etc then you don't know that it is like herding cats. I describe any part of KS1 as frenetic, they never stop moving.

The hands behind their back is probably because of the above. I think if they say try then that would be good enough. School/parent/child agreements are normal in secondaries. It isn't like they are promising to hand over their first born. They are just saying that the know there are rules and they will try their best.

As for fining for attendance, again that is standard for anything over 4 1/2 days here so you hit 5 days, fine. They are probably trying to address the other side of attendance which is continuously missing odd days here and there. There has been a massive increase since Covid. I think there was a BBC news article about it.

That’s weird! Kids need to know how to behave and they do discipline but they are not in the bloody army! I’m shocked.

YANBU
This is going too far.

I remember this being a thing when I was in primary over twenty years ago but we only had to do it when we were walking to and from assembly. This was over twenty years ago. It seems a bit old fashioned now.

My dad does in his 80s now. He's always falling over and hurting himself. I wish he wouldn't walk like that.

I took a red pen to DD's contracts in primary. Anything a child with SEN or cultural needs or just bloody stupid nonsense was changed. Most of disappeared the next year (I did show my work).

Children with dyspraxia, additional needs, balance issues would all struggle in primary with hands behind backs. I'm clumsy and believe me, it's genetic. It's not sensible.

We had a hands behind your back rule at my secondary school in the 70s. My brother still walks that way most of the time, he says it's tidier.

I may have missed this (should be taking advantage of my new reading glasses, but keep forgetting to bring them with me)... Does your child have issues with comprehension or do you mean that your child is too young to understand the contract?

I do understand your concerns, even if your child is old enough to understand rules and has no learning issues. I'm someone who grew up with very few rules and little structure because just about everyone in my small town left school at 15 and those of us who were left had to learn by correspondence. But even so, I don't think it would pay to get worked up about this.

Don't get me wrong. The rules do sound annoying. I know I would have hated them as a kid. But in the grand scheme of things, they don't seem like a big deal.

You may be great at providing your kid with structure and good habits, but the reality is that many parents don't do that. If the head arrived last year and is making these rules now, then it's because he thinks they're necessary. Don't forget that you're in a very different situation. If you actually had to deal with the kids all day, you might understand why they need to learn how to behave.

The bottom line is that the head may not be doing things the way you'd do them, but if you were in his shoes, you might agree with him. And I don't think it does kids any harm at all (in fact, it's good for them) to learn that people have different ways of doing things. You don't want to raise a kid who thinks it's OK to create a fuss and get his parents to create problems whenever he doesn't like something. I'd relax, and I'm about as anti-rule as it's possible to get. Teach your kid to choose his battles. This is not one worth fighting.

I thought 'the contract' was pretty standard. They did it at my DDs school. The hands behind the back is a complete power trip and I'd say no way to that one!

It’s normal in a lot of secondaries. Stops them jabbing or poking each other on corridors at lesson changeover.

Not sure why primary though,

I would fall over if I had to walk with my hands behind my back (I am clumsy). Do they have to do this on the stairs as well?