To want to walk out of this school today

[Coronationstreet]

I'm only covering a couple of weeks' leave as a supply teacher so my last day is a week on Friday, but even that seems impossible.
The year 7 and 8 classes are good. Not perfect,but manageable.
9 are ok. Year 10, it depends.
Year 11 however are absolutely despicable.
It's a massive top set, 34 of them. Didn't even have enough desks yesterday

That would require school management to admit that they had allowed behaviour in their school to disintegrate. They will always blame individual teachers (for having poor behaviour management, for not planning interesting enough lessons, for not doing enough to build relationships with the kids) rather than do this.

Exactly this. A 14 year old boy destroyed my lesson today, deliberately. He wanted to be removed because that's better than being expected to do work which he is completely capable of doing.

I will be told that the work is too hard, I need to get to know him, I need to try a new seating plan.

I know, and they know, and he knows that I could (and will) do any and all of these and he will still behave exactly the same tomorrow and the day after and the day after.

It went a little bit better today, as I pretended their usual teacher had asked for a report of how they were doing. I also put up their photos on SIMs on the board and they watched me write down names of people whose parents would be contacted.
The head of year ordered them to come back after school, about half turned up.
It's a shame you have to do these things with year 11.
There are so many interesting lesson resources I could use but they will just ignore it so end up giving them worksheets. It's hard to even go through answers because of the noise.
At the end, one boy told me that they'd behaved exactly the same for another teacher and that it wasn't personal to me.
I will try and stick a few more days out.

What is the behavior policy? Make sure you are applying it very strictly to the letter, even if it seems ridiculous (like sending 27 students out/putting 30 in detention etc.). Do you know all their names? Start writing the names of the worst offenders up on the board so you know who the sanctions will be applied to and they can see it and it's clear you mean business.

I'd be tempted to say you won't take that class and if they insist then walk out. It is so stressful being put in a situation where you can't control things but you know you will be held responsible for anything that happens.

I know a few names now, still a lot to learn.
Even an SLT member couldn't believe how big the class was.
I will have to start writing the names on the board, that's a good idea.
They always try and bargain with you "If I'm good, will you take my detention off?" Or "I didn't even do anything!"

Are you able to change things up a bit? Get them outside of the classroom, sit in the playground or a field to do the lesson. Make them run a mile first to shake off some of the tension and madness. Get them bare foot on grass to ground them, tell them to bring snacks and have a lesson whilst eating outside, get them to shout answers as loud as possible (outside not in), scrap the planned lesson and get to know the kids. Maybe talk about their plans after year 11. But if possible get out the classroom. A tiny overcrowded classroom filled with hormonal boys isn't going to inspire anyone.

They sound like a holes. I remember being at school and everyone treating the supplies like a total joke. I would type a letter and get the receptionist to send it to all parents of those involved if you can't call. Xxx

Put them in a seating plan.

Have that seating plan and photos on your own desk and then have a copy on the door so they can see where they’re sitting.
You can even put their books on the desk ready.

Not only will if hopefully he’ll with behaviour but it will also help with knowing names.

I’m glad you’ve told someone about this as this needs another person to hold them accountable.

I’m shocked their is no on call of SLT and that these are year 11!!

Good god, don't do ANY of this.

@SirSamVimesCityWatch can I ask why not?
I understand the ideas are a little different, but if the same old isn't working then isn't different worth a shot? Isn't anything better than the position the OP is in right now? If nothing I suggested works then nothing has been lost, and back to the stuffy classroom that has more pupils than desks everyone goes!!!

As an educator I think it's our job to think outside the box to grab our students attention. What's the alternative- carry on sitting in chaos while the kids run riot around the OP. She can't teach them she's already made that clear - so what now - f it and leave them to it, give up trying 🤷🏽‍♀️ nothing wrong with getting children outside of their comfort zones - it's actually healthy.

Have you ever been threatened with a bladed object?

No?

Then don't comment.

OP, walk. There's no law that forces you to stay there. If they're that desperate, they might offer you just KS3 and somebody in SLT can do some crowd control for the next six lessons. Or just tell your agency that you've been threatened with scissors and do not feel that the school is safe for you (or any other supply teacher).

Because it will go against all the schools policies, and she'll get dismissed.

Plus the kids will think she's some happy clappy hippy and tear her apart.

Can you set up a camera and film the lesson? Let them know it will be shared with their parents!

That would be an unutterably terrible idea!

Get them outside of the classroom, sit in the playground or a field to do the lesson. Make them run a mile first to shake off some of the tension and madness. Get them bare foot on grass to ground them, tell them to bring snacks and have a lesson whilst eating outside

Not sure I'd want to be teaching outside this week in the pouring rain

Why?

Dont do this either. 1, you'll have a chorus of "you can't film me, you don't have my permission, you could be a fucking peado, you could be sharing pictures of me in the internet for pervs" etc etc.

Then they'll complain to their parents and the school and you'll get hammered.

If you even do get to film a lesson, you'll get either a superficially well behaved class who are simply biding their time til the camera goes off, leaving you with no ammunition, or a classroom in chaos on camera with you unable to control them, and then they and the parents who back them (there will be plenty) will tear your teaching practice to pieces and make it all your fault. And then you'll get hammered.

Don't try to think of creative solutions. This isn't dead poets society. You are there two weeks. Follow whatever behaviour policies the school has. Tell SLT if you want to have the class taken away or if you want more support in the form of them in the lesson. If they won't do it, tell your agency it's unsafe and you want to leave.

Because you cannot film students without their parents' permission.

Nope. That's a fast track to unemployment and possibly never working in education or anything else requiring enhanced DBS clearance ever again.

Because the odds of her being able to control them outside are slim to none.

It's not like a class of 6 year-old!

Isn't anything better than the position the OP is in right now?

Getting them outside and all in a contained area, not spread/spreading out, and then quiet enough to actually hear OP? And then the one who forgot his goat, the other who forgot his book, the other who forgot his pen, another who disappeared to the loo on the way... There are literally 1001 ways this can go wrong with 28 belligerent teens who think they've nothing to lose (28 plus the few well-behaved ones). It'll just eat into teaching time too (or is that the idea?!).

*coat!

For all the teachers on here …. please stop blaming ‘SLT.’ Violent and disrespectful behaviour is not caused by ineffective SLT any more than it is caused by inadequate teachers. This horrible rhetoric, which has been partly driven by our useless unions and partly the useless govt, is so divisive and has been intentionally created to cover up the ineptitude of our unions who consistently fail to gain any influence or traction with the govt who have decimated all of the services that support special needs and social needs that can have any impact on children and families. Parents are responsible for there children’s behaviour and the govt is responsible for supporting those that need additional help / support services.

SLT do not have a magic wand …. what on earth do you think a group of teachers who have often been promoted because they are only one to put their hand up can so to ‘enforce’ behaviour. They are no longer covered by 1265 and only entitled to 28 days holiday and often all for the princely sum of a couple of grand. The children will tell them to f* off as much as they will tell the teacher. The only thing SLT can do is remove them (if they will leave?) and then what? There are often multiple children behaving like this… how many SLT do you have? Suspend or exclude them? Yeh right ….and be met by a wall of threats from ofsted/LA/various SEND advocates quoting the disabilities act at them 24/7. And parents who absolutely will not accept under any circumstances that their child is in any way in the wrong. It’s never mr their child and always some one else’s (usually the school’s) fault.

Please don’t join in with the split our profession even more by supporting this nonsense rhetoric that the issue here is school leaders. It is not.

Yikes - a few typos after an exhausting day

@Nanny0gg @autocollantes I completely understand where you are coming from, and you are both right it could be as disastrous as the classroom seems to be right now.

I just know with my bunch (albeit they are not pointing scissors at me) that when they are behaving like wild animals letting them out the cage so to speak helps.

Definitely not trying to reduce teaching time. There's no teaching happening by the sound of it anyway, the first step is getting them engaged - without that you can't teach them anything anyway.

Just offering an idea that works for me but like everything won't work for every pupil / class / teacher.

@sunnydaytoday0 haha you're right! Maybe just send the kids out as punishment

Might work for permanent teacher but not supply