No lockers and no lunch rooms - is this the norm?

no one is saying that schools we have experience in do not have an emphasis on behaviour/attitude.

The view point we are trying our hardest to get the op to understand is that teenagers are a different breed; the reality of schools now is that no matter what facilities you offer them, they will eat in the toilet if that's what they want to do!
Lockers in a school are a luxury that many buildings can not facilitate.
Walkie talkies are not just for detention centres - they are a useful tool

I have worked in what I would say are successful (might not be top the the league tables, but they are successful to the students that attend) because they put the students first and not the perceived vision that some expect. Whilst other schools that the general public think are successful because they top every league table etc I would not send my dc to as they are just about the school and not the students

I think that successful schools do get worked up about manners and expected behaviour and it rubs off into other areas (hence how they become, and stay, successful schools).

I'm not saying it's acceptable, I'm just saying they do it, and will continue to do it no matter what facilities are on offer. Same with not wearing a coat in cold weather or not tidying their rooms. Teenagers do not always behave in the way that we adults would prefer they did. There are reasons for this- the BBC series about brain development a few months back was a fascinating insight into the matter. My point is that getting worked up about where kids choose to eat their lunch is probably not worth the fight. Even schools with lovely dining rooms will have kids choosing not to use it.

"teenagers are likely to make up their own rules no matter how fantastic the facilities are"

Sorry ET but that does sound defeatist. Who is in charge: the school or the pupils?
If your DC at home preferred to eat in the toilet instead of at the dining table would you consider that reasonable behaviour and condone it.

that this thread is your attempt to do something about it. Hope the HT is a mumsnetter then.

So now most people have told you what they think, you're going to drop it then, yes?

You either can't read or choose not to. Why ask for others' thoughts if you are going to ignore them?

So you used to work in this school, but have resigned. There is little chance of your own DCs going there. Give it a rest. Why didn't you address this when you worked there? If you seriously have an issue with this, then why aren't you doing something about it, rather than bleating on about it to a bunch of strangers who have told you again and again that teenagers are likely to make up their own rules no matter how fantastic the facilities are?

So - to sum up. You have trained as a teacher some time in the past. You've taken 10 years out and then recently gone back. You couldn't cope and have therefore resigned. From your experience, you are then making these ridiculous accusations about school staff not caring about their pupils.
But then for some reason, start a thread about schools not having dining rooms, which clearly isn't really what the concern is in the first place. No wonder you've confused everybody.

I think you should be a bit more open with us pickledsiblings.

Two threads now where you are having a go a all state secondaries, when you don't have secondary aged children.
Let us know your involvement please.

The large independent school close to me uses walkie talkies!

You can hear the little peeps and squeaks whenever the children are out.
The grounds are big, and it's a long way to run to the pffice with a broken leg...

eviltwins - here

Yes, they're teenagers. Don't you remember that "no one understands me... No one even cares" thing? I certainly do. I still can't figure pit why you're sp wrapped up in this. What is your connection to this school?

I'm sure the lecture didn't refer to teens as odd creatures but presumably did mention the fact that they often behave without what we, as adults would see as logic or reason. Why queue in the dining room when you can eat your sandwich in the loo whenever you want? It's a big leap from "no lockers" to "no one values or respects the students"

We have some students that choose to eat in the toilets, despite having a huge rather luxurious dining room that compares with anything an independent could offer. We also have other designated eating areas , but some choose to eat in the loo . I agree it is madness but some choose to do it.

It is just ridiculous to suggest that only in independent schools do staff sit with students and chat to them over lunch . In most of the schools I have taught in this is the case. Of course it does depend on the school having funds and space for a large dining hall, not all state schools have that .

However it is difficult for staff to fit in the time especially in a time when we are "expected" to do duties, run clubs and classes at a lunch time.

Teenagers are odd creatures. Believe it or not, some will choose not to wear coats, or to eat their lunch in the loo, or to hitch their skirts up so their knickers are in show, or will refer to all their mates as "dickhead". IT DOESN'T MEAN THEY FEEL NEGLECTED BY THEIR TEACHERS, IT MEANS THEY'RE TEENAGERS. pickled, from what I can gather, you neither have teenage DCs or work with them, so stop making yourself out to be an expert. FFS- if all a school has wrong with it is that some of the kids eat their lunch in weird places, it's doing pretty well.

Well, I don't know anyone who is sad enough to eat their lunch in the toilets. I was responding to MiW's wild and extremely offensive {to school staff} generalisation that school staff don't care "these days".

I'm sad that doesn't happen for you MarriedInWhite - it certainly is the case at my dcs schools (3 dcs, 3 diff schools).

DS attends a tiny indie secondary & he does have a locker. But I'm not sure if he ever uses it. Maybe for PE kit.

Local HS (other DC will attend, I think about 1000 pupils) has decent dining space but no lockers except for some yr11s. Since this (no lockers) seems to be norm in British secondaries, it's one of the many things that I fell horrified about in the English secondary system.

My lasting memory of school is that the teachers cared about us and supported the expectations of our parents - the highest expecations. I just don't feel that happens now.