DS1 upset at being in the 'naughty class'

[onetiredmummy]

My DS is in Year 4 & in a class that has always been notorious for boisterous children & bad behaviour. From Year 1 it was apparent from staff comments that it was a difficult class to control & I've posted before about the high turnover of teachers their year has experienced. This week alone 2 children in DS1's class have been suspended from the school. There is one year group of 31 children.

Yesterday DS1 came out of school crying. It was a bad day for their class, this is what DS told me: the PE teacher said that they were so badly behaved he didn't want to teach them anymore & they were the worst class in the school. He walked out & he won't be teaching
their class again. Also their Yr4 teacher was absent so another teacher covered their class & shouted at them. This teacher told them they would miss their morning playtime the next day as they were so naughty.

Now I'm not one of the mothers who thinks their little angel can do no wrong & I also know I only have one side of the story & its not the schools. He has come out before saying that supply teachers have told their class they are not coming back due to their behaviour. He gets upset their the class teacher shouts all the time & it makes DS jump.The thing is DS1 is known for his politeness & manners. Every parents evening the teachers say he is a pleasure to teach, can be trusted to work alone & is literally fizzing with ideas & enthusiasm. In his last report the head teacher praised him for his manners & demeanor. So I think he is not a ringleader in this behaviour, he is a follower perhaps & is influenced by others.

Yesterday he came out of school crying & said he didn't want to go back as he didn't want to be in the worst class in the school. He said his playtime had been taken away & he had done nothing wrong, the 'naughty children' were misbehaving so the teacher punished the entire class. He said he was on a green card & had done nothing wrong but he wanted to go to another school where the children weren't so bad. This morning he didn't want to go in & it was a struggle getting him to the gate.

Given that a teacher won't presumably have withdrawn breaktime for no good reason, what do I do? How do I make him enjoy school again? If I go in for a word with the class teacher then what do I say?

My happy little boy has turned into an upset little boy & its not his fault.

Definitely speak to the school, explain that u do not think ur child is an angel but this is disrupting him and his passion for school.

Are there two year 4 classes where he could move to the other one?

Thanks holidays :)

There is only one class for each year, its quite a small school so no other classes. DS2 has just started reception as well so moving the 2 of them wouldn't be easy if it came to it.

Do I speak to the shouty class teacher (& indirectly criticise his teaching methods)? The office?

I was in a class like that. Looking back, there were a lot of very troubled kids. One year five teachers walked out and refused to come back. It was awful. I have so much sympathy for him and you.

I think you can only speak to the teacher and tell them what he has told you.

sometimes there is a year group like this and from a teachers point of view it must be horrific. HOWEVER for children who haven't been involved in the bad behaviour to automatically be lumped in the same group must be horrible.

I suspect that the poor teacher is probably seriously contemplating whether to stick their job out to be honest. They probably are so stressed out with the class that those good children are just slipping under the radar, not intentionally but because of circumstances, and the school and teacher probably don't realise the impact of the bad children's behaviour and whole class punishment on the good children. I think you need to make an appointment to speak to the head and ask what can be done to help your son and others like him.

He must be worn out with it the poor lad. They must never be able to get on with anything or do anything fun because of the constant need for them to be managed.

I've done supply in schools where the dc aren't allowed felt tipped pens because they would turn them into pea shooters, where no supply teacher would come back for a second day. In fact, some leave at lunch.

I would find out if there are spaces in other schools. So you know.

Could you suggest the school try mixed year group classes? That might dilute them a bit?

If this was my child and mixed year classes were not an option to change the dynamic of my child's class, then without doubt I would be looking at moving schools. There is no way I would subject my child to another 3 years of education with the same mix of kids when the problems seem to be so entrenched. Sometimes you just get a larger than normal minority in a group that misbehaves and it becomes unmanageable. I would be looking out for my child and moving them if at all possible.

I would move schools now.

I would speak to the head teacher.

I would move him ASAP.
There is a class like this in my school. I would not want my own child in it.

ime a child of this age wanting to move schools is as rare as hens teeth and a big red flag that he is not thriving. Most 8/9 year olds who have been in the same primary since Reception are pretty settled and any suggestion of leaving their friends and familiar environment tends to be greeted with horror. I would discuss your son's distress with class teacher and head and ask what they can do to help. If the answer is in essence "nothing" I would move him asap.

Look into moving. Speak to teachers. Head. It's one if the problems with very small schools. A bad dynamic us hard to fix.

I would seriously put everything you have written in your post in a letter to the head. The school needs to act now and it is not acceptable for them to allow this to carry on. I would expect immediate action although of course the disruptive children will still be there, they can use other more effective strategies. If you are not happy with the head's response send an urgent request to the school governors. Failing this a complaint to ofsted and sadly consider changing schools.

I agree with the other posters. I discussion with the head, as well as exploring other options. What a horrible situation to be in! I wish your dear son all the best.

Sadly, not everything is great about that lovely little school which is so friendly, unlike the hustle and bustle of that bigger school that seems so, well, big.

Schools with two or three forms per year have easy options for breaking up difficult groups of kids; my daughters' primary was a three form intake, and they solved an impending behaviour problem very simply by splitting the small group who were causing trouble over three forms. Broken up into ones and twos, a pack of kids who were causing serious disruption in one class became a minor, easily solved problem in three.

A one-form entry school is just stuck in this situation.

It's something to think about when you're looking at primaries.

Sounds like teachers have become overwhelmed by the bad behaviour of that year group and are not reacting sensibly. You shouldn't punish a whole class for behaviour not indulged in by the whole class, or the result is no incentive for anyone to behave, given that you are damned if you do and damned if you don't.

I would ask for a copy of the school's behaviour policy, to see to what extent they actually seem to be following it (I'll bet it doesn't mention automatic whole-class punishments!). I would also ask for a copy of the school's complaints policy, given that schools normally have a set system for dealing with problems and ultimately making complaints - you would normally be expected to raise your concerns directly with the class teacher to start with. Only if that fails to resolve the issue should you talk to the headteacher. Only if the HT fails to deal with the issue should you complain to the chair of governors.

Oh, and I would also be looking around for a different school.

I would make an appointment to see the Head, and explain everything you have said here. I would also be looking for other options at local schools.

Our school is a single form entry Primary, and the years do vary enormously. There is one class which is quietly thought of as the "difficult" class, but no way would it be said out loud to the children. They simply give the teacher more support, give the more troubled children the extra support they need, and the encouragement to behave, and don't allow the others to slip under the radar.

And yes, what rabbit said. You need to consider this to be a complaint, and follow the complaint's procedure.

Yes I would (and did) make a formal complaint.

My ds1 class was like this. In year 4 they were told over and over they were the worst class ever, they were not allowed to perform at the summer concert, the whole class regularly missed playtime.

Like you, I was well aware that my DS was not an angel but he was not a ringleader, or disruptive or rude. The teacher was full of compliments at parents evening, but still the whole class were punished.

They did take it seriously although it took a few months but they did rectify it, in a sense that whole class punishments were no longer used unless necessary and they had an extra TA in the class

I would definitely be thinking about moving schools, even if it was difficult. But first I would be talking to the head about how upset my child was to labelled because of the behaviour of other kids. What are the school doing!

I hate whole-class punishments but they are a useful tool for teachers, it seems.

My Ds was in a class like this which was "labelled" .
The children in general were great- two or three had a difficult home situation and that came out in their behaviour. Ds's view was that they were good kids underneath but just seemed to be angry all the time. He learned the art of getting his head down and getting on with his work.

The worst teachers didn't know what to do, and it ended up with even the best behaved kids acting up with the insecurity of it all.
What really upset DS was the blanket treatment of the class. They missed out on 2 really big events as the result of an individual's behaviour. The overall approach seemed to be very much the stick and not the carrot. The parents also spoke about "that terrible class"

Only one teacher really truly "got" the class and that was their best year. It was great.
Interestingly, they are well into secondary school and behaviour hasn't been an issue. The secondary had geared themselves up to deal with a nightmare class but it never materialised.