I'd like to hear your opinions on this letter recieved from school today

[IllegallyBrunette]

The letter is titled 'BEHAVIOUR MANAGEMENT'

'We have noticed that the children are taking a long time to settle and are concerned at the time it is taking them to begin work.

As from Mon 29th Sept as part of our behaviour management strategy we will be putting into practise a 'do it first time' procedure. This will last for 2 weeks. It is intended that learning time will be maximised with your children reachingtheir full potential.

The children have been informed of this today and now know what will be expected of them as from Monday. It will take the following course.

Any instruction must be followed first time. In the event of this not happening the pupil will be sent directly to the Head or Deputy Head Teacher. The pupil will then spend five minutes under Senior Management supervision before returning to class. Should this oocur three times or more within one week Parents will recieve a letter from the Head Teacher. The letter will ask for your support in this event. We also ask that you discuss with your child why they have been sent explaining how their behaviour disrupts other children.

We kindly request your support in this matter. Should you have any further queries please do not hesitate to contact us.'

I would be a bit are they intending to do this to the newbies in reception too ?

What about chn with SN?

As far as I am aware it does include reception yes.

What age group does this apply to ? Sounds like they have a problem with kids either coming to lessons late or distracting each other.

Actually I find the title of that letter a bit scary. It suggests that chn who do not begin work have behavioral difficulties.

Do they have a massive problem with behaviour?

sorry - behavioural difficulties - curses to this spellchecker.

Not sure cornsilk tbh.

Personally, I read it and was very .

I have 3 children at the school in years 6, 4 and 1. I think for the children in juniors it is fine, but I don't think it is entirley appropriate for the younger children.

Ds can be very slow on the uptake when you give him instructions. He is not being naughty, it is just how he is, and sometimes he does need to be told things a couple of times, esepcially if he is given an instruction as a group.

I also think that this will justcause more disruption to the lessons not less.

It will also put unnecessary pressure on chn with learning difficulties.

No major behaviour problems as far as I am aware. It is a good school, but like most schools it does have it's fair share of pupils who consistently misbehave.

Meant to add, that Ds is in year 1.

I have spoken to all three of mine about this letter, and the elder two understood it perfectly, and so if they fall foul of this new rule then they will accept the punishment.

Ds however looked at me like he had no clue what I was talking about despite the teacher already having discussed it with them. I had to explain the rules 3 times, which is why I don't think it will work with children of his age.

I would rather see a scheme which encourages them to be good and rewards them for it, eg merits, smiley faces etc . This seems very negative. I presume the teachers of the yonger children will be a bit more lenient or half their class will be sent out !

Blimey! One strike and you're out. Lovely

My youngest would spend his entire time in the head's office. Is he naughty? Well the jury is still out on that one, but more significiantly that he is easily distracted and interested in everything around him, which at 5 seems quite normal. He'll learn but I'd prefer him to do it in a gentler manner.

Is the school a complete riot then?

They are talking about 'the time it takes children to settle.. (and) begin work'. It sounds like they mean obeying instructions like 'sit down', 'stop talking' and 'listen' the first time they're given. I don't really see a problem with that. For them to be sending out letters now, at the end of September, would suggest that they've given the children time to get into a routine but it's still an issue. To remove the child for five minutes means that the rest of the class aren't distracted and are more likely to settle.

After the first time of being sent to the heads office they will have been told, again, what the rule is, and so it should sink it in what is expected of them.
Providing there is a BELL or something LOUD/some whay of getting the whole classes attention at once so that everyone can HEAR that the teacher expects them to do whatever right that minute.

That is what ds is like Ormirian, he is very easily distracted, and when given instructions as a group like 'go back to your chair and get your pencil out', by the time he gets back to his chair, he will have forgotten what else the teacher said.

The school isn't a bad one, it gets very good results etc.

They could end up with a situation where they have children comning and going from the classroom every five minutes, which will surely create more disruption not less.

Blimey

It basically makes me question the teachers' competency and ability to discipline. If they are having to come over all zero tolerance at this early stage, and for such an utterly normal issue it seems to me that the staff think its the childrens' problem, rather than the teachers.

Sounds like chaos - the headteacher's office will be full.

And for what I've seen in our school the younger classes are noisy and seem a bit chaotic (for want of a better word) but once they are in KS2 they are quite capable of sitting quietly and doing what they are told. It doesn't need sergeant-major tactics with 4/5/6yr olds IMO.

I agree with it for the juniors but not the infants.

I have a feeling that after the 2 weeks, they will keep it in place for the older kids, but not the younger ones.

If Ds does end up getting sent out then I will want to know exactly what it was that he was asked to do, and what his response was. If he deliberatly ignored the request then fine, but if he was just slow to respond then I will not be happy.

Agree with mazzy and omirian. Most chn are perfectly able to start work in 5 mins, except for some chn with SN who will have strategies in place anyway. Rules for rules sake.

It's only for two weeks- long enough to try and get the majority of the class to settle more quickly. I agree with Mazzystar though, that it sounds like there may be one or more teachers who are struggling.

Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. I give it a day before they give up on it!

imagine how busy the deputy and the head will be??

it wont last

I agree, it is unsustainable. The head won't want to deal with the majority of it once the novelty has worn off, and so then the deputy will be inundated.