Zero Tolerance, No Excuses...what should happen to pupils who can’t behave?

[noblegiraffe]

There are an increasing number of schools across the country adopting ‘No Excuses’ behaviour policies where the slightest misdemeanour is cracked down on and punished. Children are removed from the classroom and isolated if they break the rules. The level of expulsions is creeping up.

A tribunal has just criticised a school for putting its zero tolerance behaviour policy above the education of a child with special needs.
The student has ADHD and epilepsy, the behaviour policy was applied rigidly and the school now has to issue a letter of apology to the student for its failure to make reasonable adjustments.

www.tes.com/news/school-news/breaking-news/academy-put-zero-tolerance-policy-above-pupils-education-tribunal

Do you think that schools should be allowed to have zero tolerance?

Isn't it, Noble? This is the same school that refused to acknowledge my daughter's diagnosis of ADHD, despite letters from her consultant, and passed off as "banter" a teacher giving her a behaviour mark and telling her she was stupid and didn't even know what day of the week it was, when she took in the wrong day's books after a bank holiday.

Ds was forced out of a selective school. He has autism. We were told they can’t be seen to be treating him differently. They refused to put in place adjustments recommended by the Ed psych. We were advised to withdraw him 2 weeks before autism outreach were due to go into school. Maths was a particular issue. The teacher confiscated his fidget cube (the silent one bit the flashy light noisy spinner). He was refused a time out card etc etc.

He’s now in a school whose behaviour policy specifically says that whilst certain standards are expected any SEN are taken into account. He is cut some slack. He has somewhere to go if he feels overwhelmed. He’s now predicted a Grade 8 in maths.

Floot - that is truly terrible.

I thought it was bad when Dd was told off in junior school for not doing her homework when the same school had sent her brother Home I’ll & he turned out to be very poorly with cellulitis & we spent half the night up the hospital with him (grandparents cane & collected Dd & put her to bed for us).

But yiur poor dd’s Friend. I hope she & her mum are ok now.

Alexander, fortunately, the girl went to live with her father (divorced from mother) and moved school. Sadly, her mother went on to kill herself a year after the initial attempt.

How tragic.

That story made me went to cry floot

Oh floot that's so sad.
My DS probably has ADHD and does sometimes need to take a break for his own good, sometimes wants to (but could get his act together) but sometimes would benefit much more from learning in a full class setting. So his education would suffer massively in a zero tolerance school. The really interesting science visitor isn't going to deliver their session again for a small group. Yet that's just the kind of situation where he'd shout out /jump up and down.

Ionacat's example sounds good

It's desperate, isn't it? DD and her friend were only 12 at the time. She called us to say her mum had gathered up a load of pills and had driven off. We called the police and they suggested we look after the girl, rather than involve SS. If you could have seen her packing her bag so carefully, with clean uniform and even dental floss - it broke my heart. Her older sister continued to live with the mother but was expelled from the same school less than 6months later...for having the wrong colour hair.
When we brought up the subject of DD's friend and what had happened with the head of key stage, who was also SENCo AND deputy head, she replied that the girl was a liar and trouble and we should keep DD away from her. Previously, the girl had told DD and another friend that her mum had hit her, leaving bruises. DD and the other friend reported it to a teacher and the school's response was to call the mother and ask her if it was true - mother denied it so the school decided the girl was lying.

The school in question gets glowing inspection reports.

This sort of thing makes my blood run cold. Seriously.

DS has ADHD. It’s controlled by medication and he’s a clever and imaginative boy.

He’s also left with anxiety and immaturity due to delays in diagnosis and management. He hasn’t mastered public transport and live a bit further from school than many pupils. Schools is hot on late detentions but I have had a proper dialogue with them about encouraging him to go on public transport (which can sometimes be late due to distance) and they have cut him slack. Unfortunately a little too late as he’s gone backwards and won’t get the bus at the moment, but if they were zero tolerance he would be in a massive problem by now. (And I would have been ‘that’ patent for two terms). What about the kids who’s parents aren’t set up to be ‘that’ parent and fight their DCs corner

My autistic child had a break down and has developed long term issues with her mental health after attending a school with a zero tolerance policy

There are no special school options for academically able children with asd in my area and the 3 nearest secondaries are part of the same MAT so have the same behaviour policy

Knowing what I know know I would have moved house to get her into a different school

The pressure of never being allowed to make a mistake meant that she was petrified of going to school and incapable of asking for help because saying you couldn't do the homework was treated the same as not doing the homework because you couldn't be bothered -you were punished for it

Oh I am so so sorry pie

Tiggy sadly I don’t think all schools actually make the reasonable adjustments as examples on here show

Reasonable adjustments ds’s Previous school refused to make:

Giving Homa double sided red/green card so the teacher could see when he was overwhelmed & needed to take a minute

Allowing him to eat somewhere other than the dining room

Allowing him to eat according to his sensory issues (eg not allowing plain pasta without sauce or chips without chicken pieces or plain rice & veggies) but allowing free reign to buy as many cakes/crisps as he wanted.

Not making allowances for his slow processing apart from 25% extra time. Eg he had 90 mins homework per day that took him 2.5-3 hours. We suggested in subjects like maths answering every other question.

Giving numerous detentions for rudeness (when he was being literal) or poor organisation.

Exactly, Onceupon. Schools have to acknowledge that a child has specific issues to begin with, and our experience is that very often they don't unless a pupil has a statement or the equivalent, which accounts for the minority of SEN children.

I notice from the comments on the article Noble linked to that there is still a feeling that issues like ADHD are "alleged diagnoses" , ie an excuse for bad behaviour.

Tiggy I don’t think I understand your comment here then:

If you cut some slack for one child as part of reasonable adjustment, you are going against what is best for another child who also needs reasonable adjustment for a quieter and calmer environment.

So you’re saying that you should cut some slack for the child with ADHD despite that being potentially distracting for the other child? I was confused when you then went on to say that low level disruption should not be tolerated.

But if the school cannot accommodate the reasonable adjustment, then what happens to that child? That’s where I’m not following you.

It is always going to be a balancing act. My dc is v timid, so if another child in future were to have anger issues and is receiving help with those of course my child will find any shouting etc hard.

This is not a reason for the child struggling with anger not to be there and have reasonable adjustments made.

That was to tiggy not you noble

I completely agree with your questions

Ah whereas I’m thinking that a school cannot have a zero tolerance policy and make reasonable adjustments which allow some tolerance for some pupils.