To be glad schools are finally hitting back

I absolutely agree with you, our high school has just had a 'super head' cinema in, refuses to engage with the parents, there is no longer a parent snd school relationship. They refuse to share anything with the parents which has created a bad atmosphere. Am not saying parents need to know everything but they should be involved in their child's education and know about big changes within the school.

I think the other problem is that so much of the curriculum is irrelevant to some children. I think there would be less problems if children were doing something they saw as worthwhile - so giving them options to do plumbing, car maintenance etc.. from a younger age. Sitting learning at a desk is just not suitable for all children. They want to see value in what they are learning.

No parents shouldn't vent on fb and to the school gate parents. You address the school directly, calmly and try to maintain a decent relationship with the school if you want your child to continue and thrive there.

And sadly there is a small cohort of sen parents of children in mainstream who can function in mainstream who will not hold their child accountable for any behaviours. Teachers and staff and pupils deserve to be safe in school, not to be sworn at, screamed in their faces, items thrown. Just because the child has sen does not mean they can hurt other people.
Its incredibly intimidating to have a teen 14+ year old boy screaming on your face. Iv had it done to me and i was shaken and had a cry after the fact. Teachers arnt punch bags and immune to feeling scared

I am not a teacher but a parent and I am very glad to see it and yes I would include my own child in that if they are one of them

I am delighted. Weak leadership in terms of a behaviour policy will leave a situation where the rules are a suggestion, not a certainty. That's chaos, horrible to work with and destroys child progress, not just academically, it leaves students fearful of the environment.

But what if you don’t have a pencil to give them, nobody else in the class is willing to lend them one and the kid has forgotten their pencil for the last 20 lessons? What is that kid learning about responsibility if they are just given a pencil? Who are you expecting to provide and pay for these pencils? With what money? You’re failing to see the bigger picture! It’s a parents job! I never once went to school without a pencil case full of equipment and neither did my DC. How has not doing so become so widespread?

What if those parents are giving off at the school and senco because the school and SENCO aren't putting the right support in place that they are legally obliged to provide?

There's a very wide chasm between mainstream and SEN schools. It's pretty much impossible to get your child into a sen school, even with significant needs, which means you're at the mercy of mainstream SENCOs and schools. Who are legally supposed to provide support, but if they say no, there's nothing anyone can do unless you go to tribunal. You can complain if you like, but in our case after waiting 5 weeks for a reply, the trust said no, it's up to the head to decide what support to give and she already said no. So now we are waiting for an EHCP.

My question is, if a child IS disruptive, or struggle to follow petty rules about uniform, but at the same time, they're not able to access any, or enough SEN support even though the parents have been begging for it - whose fault is that? If the child needs the support, they can't just turn that off. Should parents just not talk about the failings of SENCOs and schools?

What school is sending a kid home for forgetting their pencil? That is madness.

Too many kids do come to school without equipment. As a parent if you get told your kid frequently forget equipment then do something about it. You can check before they leave the house. You can give them spare equipment to keep in blazer pocket. You could send a pencil case in that the form teacher could keep in the classroom for them. To me it’s such a basic. I have a few pencil cases I have put together myself that I keep in my desk drawer for particularly vulnerable students. Too many kids who can afford equipment but just can’t be bothered are very annoying.

After I retired, I did a bit of supply.

The pencil issue isn’t what most people seem to think. Kids who genuinely forgot or lost a pencil were happy to accept a pencil from me: I bought ready sharpened golf pencils by the gross from
Amazon and often told kids that they could keep them.

Teachers will understand what I’m talking about here: the trouble would come from kids who would furiously yell that there was something wrong with the pencil they’d been given - or would claim that it needed sharpening (when brand new).

Then there were the little darlings who collected pencils as missiles.

I had one charmer who used to aim the points at my legs. “He’s got ADHD!” I was told.

Big deal. So do I. (Nope, I’m not being flippant. It runs in my mum’s side of the family.)

If you want to know about the damage that pencils can do, Google “Lochgelly”, “teacher”, “neck”. The BBC ran a report on it.

According to the family and friend who posted on the local FB group, it was all the teacher’s fault.

The attitude that you have shows me that you are not in the right job if you are a teacher. You seem bitter and angry, a teacher is a really hard job and not everyone can do it. There a teachers you will never forget for how good they’ve been to you and others you will never forget for how bitter they were and unhappy every single day and if you are triggered by these comments ask yourself which one are you

So please answer me if a child forgets their f pencil would you send them home or would you give them a f pencil and continue with your lesson and ask them to make sure they bring their f pencil next time they are in.

Its not about not having a pencil its about forgetting it. So when a child forgets their pencil you go and send them home 😂

Autistic secondary teacher here.

I think we've got a couple of problems in education at the moment to be honest.

Firstly, parents feel completely locked out. I mean they can't actually even get in the door of most places. This is really problematic. We're constantly asking them to trust us but then we don't repay this by trusting them. The message we're sending is that they're the problem. No one is going to want to work with you if they think you hate them.

Secondly, some of the kids are really vulnerable due to circumstances beyond their control. Services have completely collapsed. These young people are in real difficulty and there's nothing there for them or their families. The level of frustration, magnified often-times by poverty, is truly appalling.

But the biggest problem we've got is that people don't think we're all on the same side. Sorry, but as someone who's just been part of a team dragging a school out of special measures into good in all areas, it takes a helluva lot of patience and negotiation. You can't just stand there and say 'We're right, you're wrong.' That doesn't fly. You need to start with trust. People have to believe in you. And no one is going to believe in you if all you're interested in is punishment.

Tbh my pet peeve with high school these days is sen parents who wont take any responsibility or hold their child accountable. Iv lost track of the number of times friends and FB groups are giving off massively at the school and senco but not actually holding themselves or their. child accountable because they have additonal needs - before anyone jumps im talking kids who can cope ok in mainstream with some support and measures, not kids who should have special school places

Parents job to ensure that children are in the right uniform (it’s made very clear at the start of school year). Surely if a child wants to learn, then they should make sure they have a pencil case, with pen, pencil etc. You as a parent should ensure they have these things.

Teachers have enough to do without having to deal with kids who have bloody useless parents who can’t get the basics right.

It’s definitely a good thing and much needed! People need to realise that most schools are no longer the environments they remember from even as recently as 10/15 years ago.
Strict uniform rules leads to compliance with rules in general. Many students will leave school and will have to wear a uniform for work so this is good practise.
I don’t think those complaining about detentions for not having equipment are aware of how much of an issue this actually is. An average secondary teacher teaches 150 kids a day, in each of those classes there will be around 10 students without a pen or a pencil. If you lend them one you will be lucky to get 8 back. By the end of the day you have lost 10 pencils. That box you are given at the start of the year will be gone within the first two weeks, there isn’t a budget for any more. Who exactly do you think is providing the pens after this point? It’s the same kids turning up without a pen each day. The same kids will have iPhones, expensive trainers, false nails and eyelashes etc. If a teacher had to waste 5 minutes at the start of a lesson dishing out pens then this is disruptive for the students who have bothered to turn up prepared. It’s a parents job to ensure their kid has plenty of equipment for school. If we repeatedly turn up for jobs as an adult without the tools or equipment tp enable us to do our job then this will also result in consequences. This responsibility needs to be taught from an early age.
For those criticising silent corridors, you clearly have no idea what behaviour has led to that rule being imposed. In the last school I worked in, kids would run through the corridors screaming, barging others and damaging walls, kicking doors, notice boards and even knocking ceiling tiles. Some kids are absolutely feral. Some of the behaviours and bullying that kids are getting away with also needs to be addressed. As this impacts other students as well as staff. Why should teachers be prevented from teaching by disruptive kids who think they are above rules? These kids always have parents who think they can do no wrong.

Then if you don’t have a choice of schools and you’re not happy with your child’s school rules, then you could always go to governors, become a governor yourself or home educate. It’s no wonder teachers are leaving the profession in droves. It’s impossible to discipline children without parental support 🙄

I attended a primary school with no uniform. In P6 and P7 I was bullied for not having new and/or fashionable clothes.

I had problems at secondary, but the uniform had a levelling effect. Blazers were preferred but not mandatory. Uniform items did not have to be bought from particular outlets - we just had to wear particular colours: white or blue blouse plus tie; navy or grey skirt; navy or grey cardigan or jumper.

53 yrs later, the tie and blazer are the same; other items just have to be black. Shirt can be white if desired and girls can now wear trousers or skirts.

Every other secondary school in the LA has the same basic uniform - only the tie and blazer badge is different.

My kids went to a non uniform primary. No one cared at all about clothes (and some fashion choices were…eclectic).

One then went to a private selective secondary where the uniform exists but frankly is very relaxed and they are always trying to ‘personalise’ them. No one gets detention. So long as you show up and learn, the school isn’t going to throw a tantrum.

The other is headed for a state secondary which has no uniform and yet outperforms many of the non selective privates. Kids there wear whatever they feel comfy in. The only rule is that it has to be functional for school (so no four inch heels etc).

The kids really don’t care about what everyone is wearing. They get on with the more important job of human interaction.