To be raging about this school scheme?

[Promdiddlyontomtom]

Hi, name changed as potentially very outing.

Have found out recently that my daughter's school has introduced a 'Points for Prom' incentive newest low.

The school get good results.

The demographic has some challenges and therefore they have a VERY strict regime and the kids are controlled with strict policies and sanctions (and a little praise- the balance is well out). The kids get detention if they don't get 100% in HW for example.

This is, IMO, the lowest they have gone.

Their newest bright idea- the young people have to earn 'behaviour points' to be in with a chance to get a ticket for their Y11 prom.

Apparently there's not enough spaces for all pupils (they only have spaces for 2/3 of the pupils... so find a bigger venue then!)

This is not an incentive and should not be used as a reward for 'good behaviour'.

Surely this is just a control tactic. A punishment for not toeing the line.

AIBU to think that all teens should get the opportunity to go to the end of school celebration? It draws the line after 12 years of compulsory education, a stressful period of formal exams, and friendships going in different directions (there's no sixth form). It marks the end of an era. Why should they be told they cannot go? Why shouldn't they be able to mark the end of years of education - for some this may have been a struggle all the way through- with their friends. There'll be no closure.

For the record, I've no concerns that my daughter will be excluded. I just think it's an awful idea.

What do you think?

I would get a few parents together and organise an alternative prom. A better one. Fuck the school!

I agree. Arrange a party instead and boycott the original prom.

And to the poster who said “why did you choose this school” - not everyone gets a choice. Our old school had a catchment area of about 100 square miles. We did move schools actually, but had to move 20 miles away to do so.

We organised our own "prom" (called a leavers do in those days!) and it had nothing to do with the school. We hired our own venue and band - can't they do that?

Yes, and as a teacher at a school that does the exact same I’ll repeat my question - ‘why should you be allowed to go if your behaviour is poor’ ?
Also, op hasn’t said how she knows there is only room for 2/3

I think the school is wrong to have a venue which won't accommodate all the kids. But I agree with badly behaved pupils being banned from attending.

Have to say I don’t have an issue with introducing a degree of competition in year 11. GCSEs are ultimately a competition and it does no one any favours to pander to DC who don’t want to behave or work hard.

DC’s school emphasises competition from an early stage, including in academics. There are rewards for those who spend the most hours revising or exceed their target grades for example. In my view it is a useful motivator for DC.

Some teachers really don’t like students! It must make working life tough for them.

Let’s exclude 1/3 children because we can’t find a space, and blame it on their behaviour. Excellent idea!

Good luck with finding a venue that will agree to have 200 16 year olds, make sure you police the toilets for alcohol, vapes and drugs and have enough adults on hand to give up their time for free to supervise (the venue will not allow it otherwise)

I wouldn’t have a problem with this.

Do you have proof they are only allowing 2/3 ?

I'm sure parents would be equally pissed off if the school had booked a venue big enough but made the tickets paid for well in advance and totally non refundable for poor behaviour.

So you think badly behaved pupils should be allowed to attend ?

What makes you think the school would care... They are organising this for the students, they are under absolutely no obligation to do so... Perhaps parents taking on the responsibility for 100+ 16 year olds and their behaviour would make them a little more sympathetic to teachers giving up their evening to run it.

@Pewpewbarneymcgrew but what are you counting as "poor behaviour"?
The teen who didn't do their homework because their parents had to dash granny to A+E and the teen had to stay home and look after younger siblings that evening?
The teen who turns up with the wrong colour socks because their washing machine broke and their socks are stuck in it?
The teen who was late for school because their bus was late/cancelled/on strike?
The teen who lives a chaotic life between 2 homes and items needed for school aren't always available to them so they turn up without their PE kit.
The teen who just has shit parents and doesn't provide what they need for school?
Plus many more reasons......
I know of many secondary schools who would count that as "poor behaviour" and punish the teen.

They should bring back the old days of the school disco; no tickets, no pressure - just turn up on the night in your jeans with some Marlboros to smoke covertly while the teachers are getting pissed to the strains of Bros's latest hits ... happy days.

I'd get
Together with other parents and make their own prom elsewhere

As previously said - vaping, truanting and disrespectful behaviour, I never mentioned uniform.
If you think repeatedly telling teachers to ‘fuck off’ should be rewarded with a prom ticket then you crack on
If you can’t behave then tough shit

If this is actually true, I assume it made the local press for batshit headteacher behaviour!

Venues for proms can be very difficult to find.

Especially for 16 year olds, as there won't be any alcohol sales and there is always a few kids that try to trash the place.

In my city, several schools have been banned from various venues for proms.

The school should book a venue that has space for the whole year. But they may not be able to.

The rest of it is absolutely normal, and many secondaries do it.

Yeah it’s probably the kids without the best home life who will suffer the consequences here, it’s a bit mean.

Incentives for exceeding target grades is ok, although why not also have incentives to actually achieve them too. Why do we constantly have to exceed expectations, if expectations are high in the first place?

Revising for hours is silly. How do you police it, and how do you know it's effective? Another batshit idea.

I agree. But it's what constitutes bad behaviour.

Vaping and using drugs, and violence, yes. Easy things to avoid doing, so don't do them.

Banning for anything else is a bit petty in my view.

That’s terrible. They need to find a venue everyone can attend.

To some extent really bad behaviour should mean they aren’t allowed to go to prom. Think there were a couple in my year who were uninvited because they got suspended but they were the really really bad kids. I’d say 99% of the kids should go.

@Pewpewbarneymcgrew yes - doing those things should be punished in some way. But what about the poor teens who are being punished and denied a ticket due to things that are beyond their control and aren't deliberate "poor behaviour".
The thing is when I was that age I would have had zero interest in going to prom. I would have actually tried anything to get out of going. So what would have been my behaviour incentive?
A lot of the more "badly behaved" students behave that way because they hate school, don't want to be there and are counting down the days until they can get out of there. They have no desire to go to a prom. They are done with school and just want it over.

I think when your child is trying to learn especially in year 11 and the teacher is having to engage in behaviour management rather than teach it has a massive impact on those who want to do well.

Ds had a teacher who was making the decision to ignore the shit heads in the class in order to teach those willing students but there is only so much you can ignore. Prom attendance is a good carrot to wave. If the school doesn't have a sixth form then for some this is the last time they will ever see their classmates again.

I don't agree that there isn't enough capacity if they all want to attend. Personally having seen the inside of an outstanding primary and know that staff get hit, kicked, spat at and have their fingers broken I hate to think what goes on in some classrooms with adult sized children in secondary.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cjjp7zj5z8do