School rule - add one and remove one (lighthearted)

[Dreamingofaswiminthesea]

Inspired by a thread I saw on attendance awards, so if you could get rid of one school rule or process, or add another one in, what would it/they be? They can be realistic or unrealistic.

I’ll start with ditching attendance awards

Replace with putting in place systems to reduce levels of illness in schools

I would add in an hour of physical activity every morning, and remove the assembly every morning to free up the time to do it.

Sounds good.

I’d add bringing back some playground time at soft start drop off, rather than arriving, no talking or saying hello to peers and straight into early morning work.

What would your systems to reduce levels of illness look like?

I guess it’s addressing value of the day at school and productivity above presenteeism. I see enforced infection, with some long term implications (or even just an excessive amount of working with low level illnesses) as an unnecessary barrier to that.

Improved public awareness of long term impacts of illness e.g. long covid in children, even if asymptomatic. (DfE and a number of other bodies were going to highlight ways it presents in children to schools, but nothing actually happened). Consider the impact of illnesses on e.g. children with asthma, how it will mean more recurrent chest infections for others, or ear infections/hearing loss for others, how some illnesses make you more susceptible to other illnesses and infections, impact of trying to fight off too many viruses at one time, removing some of the myths about immunity etc. A secondary impact is illnesses picked up at school aren’t just limited to term time, which means some kids aren’t getting a real break for months.

Recognising that for some children, whether they have a physical or mental illness, it’s a marathon and not a sprint. Pushing too hard for fuller attendance can mean increasing health issues - a poor outcome for school and the families.

Considering impacts of high levels of illness on overall class absence, on results, on health, on families.

Children and teachers with contagious illnesses such as covid should not be in school, even if they feel ok.

Air quality in classrooms could be improved - with ventilation and cheap plug in HEPA filters to help with reducing spread inc. asymptomatic illness (and help children with asthma, improved results, cost offset by lower illness levels in teachers requiring fewer supply teacher days)

Remove practices such as child going home after registration because they are ill, but tick the attendance box.

Reduce things like whole school assemblies when there are a lot of viruses around.

An extra short break in the morning - good for kids and a chance to air classroom out.

Obviously with these measures, there will still be illness in schools, but I don’t think we need to encourage such high levels of viruses in schools or dismiss the short and longer term impacts of them.

Obviously illness in schools doesn’t stop there as kids don’t live alone. It costs so much in productivity loss in the workplace (from people who attend when ill), why would schools be different?

It’s about acknowledging there will be illness in schools, but trying to reduce the impacts and prevalence. The lion’s share of absence is due to illness, and depending on school, some won’t even authorise illness.

Blimey, I’ve gone on a bit especially for a lighthearted thread, but hope you get the gist!!

I would remove shirts and ties from school uniform (have a more informal uniform suitable for weather and movement)

Plus add "life skills" to the curriculum

Remove rigidity in curriculum at ks4 for less academic kids.

Add firmer sanctions for low level bullying (also known as 'i was only joking', 'I was just saying ..' etc.)

What would life skills include?

Our head has said it’s easier for kids to learn when they’re comfortable and if younger children want to wear joggers instead of trousers or plain trainers instead of shoes then they can (primary).

My vision of life skills (for Secondary)

Food shopping, meal planning and cooking on a budget
Simple DIY
Suffrage and why its important
Bills and taxes
Civil rights and responsibilities
Simple car maintenance
Current affairs
Basic childcare
First aid
Survival skills
How not to be a twat

How not to be a twat 🤣

Mine are a way off secondary. I can remember when I was at senior school that they ran a session called “enrichment studies” where for a term, or maybe two, you could pick from a long list of subjects covering a range of subjects such as law, media studies, hairdressing, car maintenance. The schools in the borough all ran a subject or two for a double lesson each week and children all over the borough were bussed to the relevant school for their lesson. Although I was pretty academic and unphased by exams, it was great to actually have a proper choice for a topic at school, with the focus on enjoyment and learning, rather than predetermined subjects and tests. I can imagine for some kids who weren’t as academic that it was worth even more.

The curriculum does seem too congested and pressured.

Bullying - less is good obviously. I think where teachers bully, that should be stamped out hard too - and of course the reverse, where some kids are awful to teachers.