"Isolation booths" - normal?!

'Rising expulsion rates' - do you know how difficult it is to permanently remove pupils ?

Agree that they're overused. At ours they get it for forgetting planners ffs. Difficult to get behind policies that are ridiculous - just because I'm a parent it doesn't mean I lose all power of judgement in regard to what a school does. No work set at ours either.

They're set work, not staring at the wall for 7 hours. They get breaks and lunch, supervised, and are allowed bathroom breaks. It's hardly water torture. If your child was ever put into isolation I hope you'd support the school's attempt to stop your child disrupting the education of 30 others.

Ds has been put in isolation frequently lately.
From yawning (he has ME), to hitting a lad back who smacked him with a book in the face.

I think its a good idea

Isolation at my school was as a pp put it, like a party! We used to get sent on purpose so we could piss about

Sounds like they were being a bit heavy-handed in that school, but I can't see the problem with the booths in principle.
It's a punishment, it's not meant to be fun!

Most secondary schools have something along the same lines. However it does really come down to what is the level of "poor behaviour" that is required for a pupil to end up in the isolation area. If it is for some of the misdemeanours quoted in the article I struggle to believe that it is of any use what so ever.
However there is a level of in-discipline in class where it is actually affecting every other pupil in the class, so there is a need for something to allow classes to be taught without disruption. Isolation booths are one way of addressing the problem.
What is important is the outcome. What is necessary is that the pupil behaviour is improved to the extent that they then are learning as well as,if not better, than others in their cohort. Where it has been demonstrated that there had been no improvement in behaviour between two Ofsted inspections, the school was quite rightly criticised for not being able to show an increase in behaviour

x-post while I wrote my essay!

I think I have seen similar in the 'Educating XYZ' series, and on 'Waterloo Road' and 'Ackley Bridge', but perhaps used with more humanity than the article implies. They are just like little workspaces where pupils can't disrupt each other.

If a child is there just during lesson time, then that is a bit like it would be sitting at home revising for a day, ability to focus on work.

I think the whole point of isolation is to socially excluding them - from lessons to ensure they don't disrupt others' learning, and from break/lunch as the 'punishment'. So if a child is in isolation for say flouting uniform rules, then others won't see the rules being broken and the pupil 'getting away with it'. Or is a pupil has hurt another, it keeps them away as a breathing/calming down space.

I think work would be sent down by relevant teachers, they wouldn't be twiddling their thumbs all day.

So I suspect the issue is how the school is using them, not the fact they exist.

Teachers - feel free to contradict my understanding!

Totally normal, usually arranged so pupils can't interact but the teacher can see them all. They have a computer and work to do. Some of the 'Educating' programmes have shown how they work.

My school had these when I started there over 14 years ago. There was an isolation room then to stop it basically devolving into a party for those being punished the booths were all round the edge of the room. Students couldn't interact but the teachers could see them all. I don't think they're necessarily a bad idea, however I think they are used far too quickly now.

Children being isolated for severely bullying others, smoking or drinking on school premises, being aggressive, threatening or violent to students and teachers seems fine to me. Maybe even the wake up call they need. However students being isolated for their uniform, hair style, equipment seems to be taking it way to far.