Isolation rooms in schools

[Chichi444]

Hello !

So my sons school has very strict behaviour policy which includes Isolation rooms which pupils are sat in without the freedom of leaving even for just going to the bathroom unless accompanied by a member of staff and and are expected to remain silent and have no school work given to them and these pupils are given no movement breaks.

This punitive measure is given for even the most minor slip ups such as not having the right uniform or for more serious behavioural issues.

My 11 year old son in year 7 and he was given two consecutive days of Isolation which he sat for 7 hours in a row without movement break so altogether 14 hours , for nothing which was severe enough for to be punished that way.

I was told that he was to sit a third 7 hours in isolation.
Ive decided to challenge their decision as I feel the reason for it didn’t warrant such harsh punishment.

Ive wrote to the principal requesting to review but meanwhile my son isn’t in school as the school told me that whenever he returns to school he will have to sit the isolation.

Now what I’m asking is has any parent out there ever challenged the school on such matters what was you experience and eventually the outcome?

Any input would be so helpful thank you!🫶

I used to get the bus to school, lots of us did and trains, it was London. You had a morning run you got an earlier bus.

A lot of schools are doing away with these. They're not ideal but unfortunately not easy to find an alternative to keep them safe and monitored within schoolThe idea is they will be bored, have time to reflect etc. It's not the easiest of tasks for staff either as you have to take them for toilet breaks and lucky to be covered for luch so while day there. Xx

My DS is the same age but in private school. They don’t have isolation there at all. The only ‘punishments’ they get is after school detention, but if you have a sports match or other commitment you can negotiate when it takes place!

I thank my lucky stars that his DF is fortunate enough to pay for his schooling, [most] state schools are awful in the UK

Lots of state schools are excellent in the UK actually @Fatiguedwithlife tho I agree underfunded.

One point to make about isolation rooms is that even where they exist in schools, the majority of students don’t ever go in them. If you avoid breaking the rules then you will be fine. (And yes I am aware that SEN can make this difficult – but in every school I have known, allowances are made. I taught a child with Tourette syndrome and staff knew and bore it in mind. The child was rarely in trouble and never for reasons relating to their condition.)

@TheCurious0range Most rural councils have chartered school buses! They are not the same as public buses. There is one bus! No choice of buses! How odd that city people simply don’t understand how others live in the uk!

Im also pleased to hear schools are thinking twice about isolation rooms. Of course private schools don’t need them and most parents paying would not support them either.

How odd that rural people don't understand cities or that the vast majority of people in the UK live in suburban or urban areas....
The answer is still simple, don't want the punishment, behave. Those aren't first line sanctions.

ETA no private schools don't need inclusion facilities because they ask children who misbehave to leave. Not so easy for state schools.

@Fatiguedwithlife there are many excellent state schools. Private schools probably don’t need isolation rooms, because behaviour is better, for a multitude of reasons, from smaller class sizes, to the environment of privilege devoid of the many social deprivation factors which can affect engagement, attendance and attainment, to most kids having the support of parents who are, literally, invested in their education.
ETA: this is nothing against state school pupils. I’m a state school teacher and my students are glorious.

A lot of schools did away with them and then brought them back when behaviour plummeted.

You can permanently exclude from a private school for almost any reason. Usually this mean the students behave. Not the case in state schools.

Yes, some I know have. In some schools they can be effective but in the very challenging ones these units are difficult to manage behaviour wise. Xx

They don't change behaviour or help the kids. It's awful they're coming back.
When behaviour 'plummets' it happens for reasons that can't be tackled through simplistic use of isolation.
It's also not good for teachers to have to teach in systems and using methods they know are wrong.

@MayasJamas So poor behaviour is only seen in poor dc? Really? An upbringing with more money equals exemplary behaviour? Since when? So no dc with money looks up banned words on the school internet? How does that work in the context of the DS here?

This is bollocks.

@noblegiraffe It’s not entirely. There is growing evidence to show that isolation enhances the likelihood of exclusion because no one analyses the issue the dc has. It was explained in some detail by the head of a PRU on the radio last week and it made sense. It’s all about punishment but the dc here is 11. He might or might not understand the IT policy after 1 term but did anyone check? Did anyone check his motives? Often dc are just plain stupid - not evil. Schools are prison-like when they use these rooms indiscriminately. It’s just plain wrong.

Teachers have also read the academic research into the impact of isolation on young people, plenty of teachers oppose the use.

It's not entirely. There is growing evidence to show that isolation enhances the likelihood of exclusion

Oh come on, engage your brain. It's like the daft 'school expulsion to prison pipeline' bollocks which claims that a kid being expelled from school makes them more likely to end up in prison instead of the logical conclusion that the behaviours that a child displays that gets them expelled from school are the sorts of behaviours that will also get them put in prison.

No, of course poor behaviour is not only seen in poor children, and I did not say that. Here’s some evidence which explores (in part) the links between deprivation, behaviour and other factors such as attainment and attendance (all interlinked, and all impacted by socio-economic factors) Quite a lot to scroll through, but there is some really thought provoking data in there, if you are interested in the topic. There is a lot more out there if you would like to do further investigation.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a7e2c7ced915d74e33f0876/RR351-_Influencesonstudentssocial-behaviouraldevelopmentatage16.pdf

https://www.nfer.ac.uk/media/4rzci1ol/costoflivingcrisisimpactonschoolspupilsandfamilies.pdf

ETA You are quite right to say the above doesn’t really speak directly to the OP’s situation. I’m responding to the discussion as it has evolved in the thread. Lots of important topics of debate have been raised regarding the use of ‘isolation’ and how schools handle behaviour, and I’m speaking to those points 👍

Some markedly aggressive replies.

The way isolation is used in some schools is damaging. For teachers having to teach in that environment it is tough, because they know the policies are not right.

We all understand that schools are struggling in a network of underfunded services and structures, but the way some schools use isolation is simply wrong.

My child’s school is the same. You can spend a full day in isolation for forgetting your planner, missing a detention, not having the right uniform on and also for more serious things. My child has being in a few times, mainly for missing detentions, and besides doing his homework which takes 1 hour ( he doesn’t get much) he is to sit there all day with nothing to do, he is meant to get work from teachers but I believe this rarely happens. My child has adhd and dyslexia so after a day of nothing to do he really struggles mentally when he gets home.
personally think it’s an absolute waste of time unless they’ve done something serious.

That’s true. And definitely a good way to encourage better behaviour.

@claryi shouldn’t have said most in the UK, I apologise. Most within an hours drive of where we live are pretty awful though

It was explained in some detail by the head of a PRU on the radio last week and it made sense

The head of a PRU likely has very little experience with the 95% of kids who get it right the majority of the time. Isolation works as a deterrent for those students.

Isolation clearly doesn't work for students who are in a PRU, hence them needing the enhanced support of a PRU. Mainstream schools spend huge numbers of hours trying to support students and understand their needs and behaviour. Sadly there are few extra services schools can access to provide the psychological intervention needed to sort out underlying issues.

There needs to be research into the impact that leaving poorly behaved children in the classroom has on the other 29.

Anecdotally schools with a removal system have better behaved students than those I've worked in the that don't have removal from lessons.

Quite. There's a lot of mistaking correlation for causation that goes on when people are talking about issues in schools.