Behaviour at Secondary School -Y7- is this usual low level disruption or more?

[Teabaglady]

I am getting quite concerned about behaviour at my DS's secondary school - Y7. Apparently lots of swearing at teachers, turning up late to lessons on purpose, using phones in class to play games, imessage children in other classes, or to play out noises like foghorns but more often swear words or offensive phrases. Some of the forms are now being mixed up again and some children have been excluded (temporarily) so teachers are on to the behaviour but it's still on-going. There also seems to be a culture of playing games on phones/tablets at lunch rather than 'playing' including apparently playing GTA ( these are 11 year old kids). Is this what secondary school is like? Am i just out of touch?

Is there any possibility of you moving him if it is true?

Educational life is too short to put up with a school where the behavioural issues are so extreme. They won't be solved overnight. Leadership and socioeconomic reasons are complicated and take a while to solve.

"DD1 is at a girls' grammar."

She's not is she? Well, I'll go to the foot of our stairs!

OP, my ds goes to a eecondary modern school, and behaviour like that would not be tolerated. It is not the norm. Do not believe anyone who tells you it is. Talk to the form tutor, then the head of year, and failing either of them, the Head. If necessary, move him. What does the most recent OFSTED say about behaviour?

It is not the norm at all and have taught in tough inner city schools and secondary moderns.

Op you need to list the behaviours and contact the head, then ask your son if things have improved in two weeks If they have not go to the governors. If necessary threaten press involvement. Again this is not the norm.

I teach in a special school for boys with EBD and what you describe is not normal for every lesson. When one of our students "goes" they really go (punches and chairs thrown, foul language, spitting etc etc) but that is maybe once or twice a week.
Lateness to lessons is an issue but I blame that mostly on not having a school bell!

Hak I'm pretty sure you would love to be able to write the same sentence about your DS, yes?

That is rather uncalled for and personal, I am rather relieved that I do not have to write that sentence about most of my children.

Well, I can't remember ever typing that sentence about my own dd- unless it was directly relevant..............

OP, what you describe is not low level disruption. Low level disruption is talking when the teacher or another student is talking, off task chat during independent work etc. What you describe is serious disruption, and should not be acceptable in any type of school. Swearing at a teacher should get a student put into internal exclusion.

It is something I very rarely admit to about my son.

in my experience swearing at a teacher would result in an exclusion. Swearing in the presence of a teacher would result in an internal exclusion - at least. If students are seen with their phones they are confiscated for parental collection - this includes breaks and lunch times. If students are late for a lesson they are put into detention and a letter sent home.

Really? That the behaviour at a type of school probably unavailable to the OP is better than the behaviour she is describing? How very relevant!

Anyway. OP. It's not the norm. You should do something about it. Hope this helps.

With all due respect Laqueen we all know that is not true, you admit that it is not true. It is endearing that you are so chuffed that your daughter is in a grammar school that you raise it on al sorts of threads.

Really, my experience of secondary schools is quite unlike that of LaQ. I have experience in inner city schools, schools which require improvement and now a fairly bog standard comp. Clearly one of us is a victim of sampling error...

Not to say there haven't been some outrageously behaved individuals in these schools, but they are memorable because they are not the norm, at all.

Absolutely not the norm and not tolerated at the three very large local comprehensives I know well.

Agree with thefallenmadonna - dd's year were agog last term because someone had been caught using their phone before they'd stepped outside the gates by the headmaster. Was quite the talk of the year group (7).