"Isolation booths" - normal?!

I used to teach Yr 10 and 11 kids who never brought a pen. Or a school bag. Not a case of forgetting a pen, just can't be arsed as they can just borrow one.

Our iso room was for more serious incidents like racism, threatening a teacher (a kid said leaned in a told me he'd break my arm, when I was pregnant).

But the low level stuff was the worst. 10 kids haven't brought a pen, 5 have forgotten their book. 3 were off last week so have no idea what we are doing. That's just the start of the lesson.

Then you are trying to help someone/get feedback, but a few are whispering, breaking a pencil into a million pieces, calling out so you are expected to listen to 10 kids all at once.

On and on. And when they don't make progress it's all my fault.

Sounds like the result of massive budget cuts fonteynmargot

Oh yes they have also cut out their break and now finish early wtaf!!

My DS's school is like this the music teachers say openly its like a bootcamp and hate the head openly. They have also cut music, drama, food tech and wood tec from curriculum and replaced with more maths.

I would move my DS tomorrow if I could find a school that has a place, is any different or I could convince DH to send him to privates school.

We had these! I was in there all the time, it’s fine, you get lunch and have all your work with you so can revise, and usually the older kids get laptops! A whole day to catch up on stuff and just be in your own space I used to protest about not wanting to miss gcse lessons but tbh I did more work in there than I would have done in class.

I'd be absolutely furious if my son was punished for forgetting a pen by sitting in a room looking at the wall during GCSE period.

Is that likely to happen do you think?

Year 11 at my school spent break and lunch in isolation but attended lessons as normal.

The country is more likely up shit creek because parents make excuses for 16yo dc going to school without a pen!

What if your son always remembered his pen? Maybe because his mum made sure he had a supply of pens in his bag?
But because so many of his classmates didn't have pens, hours of your sons learning time was wasted whilst the teacher sorted out all the other kids who didn't have pens/planners/books/rulers/calculators.
you get the picture.
How would you feel about paying your taxes for that?

You really think they'd have him sat with nothing to do during gcse's ?????

If the kids are so bothered about learning then they should behave and they'll be allowed to stay in lessons.
The majority of the kids I teach who end up in iso do not have send they just refuse to behave.
Tbh I don't really care that much that they don't learn anything. At least I can get on with teaching the rest of the class.

the child who needs pastoral care may end up in the isolation unit instead...

Except it isnt either/or. A kid who's constantly in isolation will have a lot of involvement with the pastoral care team.

The majority of internal exclusion units I have seen are a heap of shit. I’ve seen a fair few as I work in an SEMH setting and our academy chain tries to use the teachers at our school to advise teachers in mainstream how to deal with difficulties like ADHD, ODD,PDA etc as well as generalised disruptive behaviour.

-Kids are left with someone who is not qualified to teach any subject, let alone the four or five subjects different students may be working on.

• work is often not provided
• when work is provided it is inaccessible due to the student not being in the lesson.

But they need their planners. If kids aren't punished for forgetting them then loads of them just won't bother to bring them. Kids can't just decide which rules to follow or schools would be total anarchy.

It's the low level disruption that is the worst. It's easy to deal with actual incidents, not so easy to deal with constant low level distractions that affect the teachers ability to teach and the pupils ability to learn.

It's easy to avoid going to isolation. Just follow the rules!
If you are stricter on the small things, the bigger things are less likely to occur.
They are given work, but actually I think the more bored they are, the more incentive there is not to be readmitted.

There's no point sat there imparting knowledge if you can't keep control of your class though.

Freegazelle, none of the parents I know are happy about it, we've raised it with the school, but they won't be budged on the issue. I can't see the value of alienating students who do their work including homework and whose behaviour is not disruptive over this.

teachers jobs are to impart knowledge, not to deal with 'issues'. As an aside most secondary schools have a pastoral team there to do that

I agree. But if a school has a zero tolerance approach, the child who needs pastoral care may end up in the isolation unit instead...

And anyway with low level disruption in class, I think teachers should deal with it, not just put a pupil in a booth all day. Its part of a teacher's job surely.

Wait till your kid is trying to learn simultaneous equations while Johnny f's and blinds at the teacher.... teachers jobs are to impart knowledge, not to deal with 'issues'. As an aside most secondary schools have a pastoral team there to do that. So no, not a teachers job.