Controversial Behaviour Policy changes

[Chattonnoire]

I am looking to get some insight into the changes taking places at a number of Free Schools, especially London, that have been making dramatic changes to Behaviour Policy since Michaela Community School made headlines as being the strictest school in Britain:

time.com/5232857/michaela-britains-strictest-school/

metro.co.uk/2017/09/11/britains-strictest-school-bans-pupils-from-looking-out-the-window-and-smirking-6917747/

www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/13422769.The_secrets_of_Magna_Academy_s_transformation__Students_who_walk_silently_between_lessons/

I noticed, that the comments at the end of these articles were mostly negative from parents and students in these schools, and don't appear to be in line with the "hard sell" the schools are making it out to be.

The impression is that teachers are asserting control over the difficult and disruptive students at the expense of the rest; the average student is muted in these "silent transitions" to and from classes and expressed feeling unhappy and the environment oppressive and weird.

None of the students have the authority to question the new policy, too afraid of being given 90 minutes detentions on the same day regardless of any commitments they may have (Medical or Sporting...at the expense of either their health missing long awaited NHS appointments or financial loss for missed activities to lower income families, as many students on free school meals) for often arbitrary and minor and low level disruptions such as is listed on many of these schools behaviour policies.

So they are being taught not to learn any assertiveness, question authority at any point, to conform, never to speak out, contest or oppose injustice, and may in fact have long lasting emotional and psychological negative impact on these teen developing minds in the real world, where they may not be able to defend themselves from unfair treatment from employers, or even personal relationships.

I am concerned about how fitting and convenient it is for the staff of schools in managing the delinquents, but how damaging this can potential be for bright and able children to be treated with less freedom than correctional facilities. Mental health and self harm and teen suicides statistics are already depressingly high, and with high pressured expectations and penalised for low level infractions can sabotage a once engaged teen's self esteem. A friend's 14 year old son recently committed suicide. So this really touches a raw nerve.

I've seen how a hostile school environment can crush a student with so much potential too many times.

I can't help but thinK of Pink Floyd's "Another Brick in the Wall" with faceless children put through the grinder...sorry for the grim comparison....but I can't shake it.

Is this radical new Behaviour Control in developing adolescent minds a good thing, or setting them up to fail in the real world in order that the schools get "Outstanding" Ofsted reports as inspectors come and see automatons walking silently through schools for fear of punishment and exclusion?

Are any of you in these super strict schools and finding it great or awful?

*If you are a teacher or part of school staff, please indicate in your response, so an understanding of your perspective is made clear.

Thank you

Parents may be unwillingly assigned a school for their children where behaviour is out of control and results are terrible. That’s also an issue.

hestia2018 indeed I am quite concerned about being unable to move and decompress during lunch break. To me, it feels like child abuse tbh. I know I experience physical pain when seated for any length of period, my muscles seize and become quite painful, and would not cope with long days expected to SLANT at all times or else be punished with a 90 minute detention for poor SLANT during lessons... and then be unable to shake it off during my break at lunch!

What did they do at lunch last year?

Chattonnoire
I am questioning why these "problem" students (the ones consistently disruptive and getting excluded), are not obliged to go to a school meant for taking these issues, rather than shuffled onto another school to repeat the cycle?

As does every parent and teacher that I know.
The system is built around the biggest return for the lowest input.
Schools for children that misbehave costs money and lots of it. more so the appeals from the parents adamant that their child has done nothing to end up in such a place.

Chattonnoire

The teacher, (Boney my teen confirmed it was definitely a teacher from another class, not one of his regular ones from the year) was struggling with controlling his temper, he has previously demonstrated very extreme emotional reactions at the school

The thing that you have glossed over what must have gone on before in order for the teacher to lose his temper, It sounds to me that the behaviour of the majority of the pupils is very poor and management is finally trying to claw back some semblance of order from the chaos.

My school isn’t super strict. We don’t lock classrooms, the kids have an awful lot of freedom at break and lunch and the corridor rules are very relaxed. But... we’re a school where behaviour has always been excellent. Even back 10 years ago when I started and our overall Ofsted grade was only “good” behaviour had been “outstanding” for many years. Our students largely come from immigrant families who place a high value on education and who are incredibly supportive of whatever rules we put in place. In some schools the level of low level disruption is such that these sorts of rules are needed to allow kids to learn.
With regards to Michaela school, which always comes up on these threads, their behaviour policy is central to their ethos and, if you read it, nowhere near as extreme as the press have suggested it is. The focus on silence in the corridors isn’t something I’d personally bother about if I ran a school but the rest of their behaviour policy is not especially draconian in my opinion, especially for in-class behaviour. They do expect students to SLANT etc, but students aren’t just given detention for glancing out of a window. Before they are given a “demerit” they are first given a non-verbal reminder, a verbal but unnamed reminder and then a named reminder. Students have a number of chances to stop slouching/chatting/fiddling/staring out of the window. It sounds very similar to the way we do things in my pretty relaxed school.

SnuggyBuggy both my teen and I chose this school long before the policy was in place. There definitely was been behavioural issues with students at the school, but my teen was thriving academically in the top set, as well as extending himself academically outside of school. He felt the destructive students needed the sanctions in the policy in order for the rest of the students to get on with it.

What we didn’t choose was to be in a school with these extreme policies in place and did not have an opportunity to make an educated decision whether it was suitable for my teen to thrive academically or not.

Now we feel taken by surprise by the sudden changes, trapped and not entirely certain what options or alternatives are available to him.

Let me clarify, there was apolicy for behaviour when we chose the school, such as detentions and exclusions etc...., but they were reserved for those students with persistent behavioural issues.

The remaining students got on with student life I imagine.

Now the policy has been drastically changed this academic year. Almost feels like criminalising minor disruptive behaviour such as Poor SLANT, or my teen’s inability to stop bouncing his knees, causing the teacher to get irritated. But he can’t control it, it’s pent up energy and nervousness, not something to be punished.

They used to punish left hand writers and those with stutters.

I think it’s a recipe for creating mental and physical anguish rather than improving academic environment for all.

Maybe suitable for some, but I am struggling to see how this will be good for my teen

noblegiraffe last year they had another facility, and there was an outdoor playground they all ran around in.

When the students objected to the new policy, they were told “This is not a Democracy” and also “Tracher need their break too” to questions by students why they couldn’t supervise them in the basement gymnasium or AstroTurf rooftop sports field

There definitely was been behavioural issues with students at the school, but my teen was thriving academically in the top set

They’re not going to be able to implement school rules and then say that they don’t apply to the top set.

Complain about the lunch thing, that seems perfectly valid.

But if behaviour is poor outside of the top set, imagine what you’d want to happen if your DS was in bottom set and struggling to work.

Schools can’t ask teachers to work in their lunch break.

Boney My teen is in the top set, and I expect you have a point, as he wouldn’t know how the lower sets behave most of the time during class, just during breaks and lunch.

He’s pretty empathetic and thinks many of the students can be awful to their teachers, and he was sad to see some of them he liked leave, and he even understood why this particular exam teacher/invigilator took the over-reactive stance he did, even if he felt is was unjustified and unreasonable, as he often puts himself in their shoes.

But all things said and done, he agrees with sanctions and detentions for these students, but not a hostile environment for all.

It could be my teen isn’t suitable for the new rules in place, too stifling, but now what...where to now...at this late stage

The issue I guess is that you have to sign a behaviour policy. I wouldn't sign this. I also wonder given there is provision for appealing school admissions would a parent be able to appeal if they didn't feel their child would cope with this.

With respect, the fact that only persistently disruptive or destructive students were being punished before is probably the reason why behaviour was so poor. Persistent knee-bouncing after being asked to stop and persistently not SLANTing would probably get a detention in most schools where behaviour is generally very good. It certainly would at my school, although we don’t use the term SLANT. When some kids are throwing chairs and telling you to fuck off you don’t tend to worry about that sort of thing but when the rest of the class are focused, facing forward, sitting up straight and engaging with questions someone slouching or knee bouncing or staring out of the window after repeated requests to stop start to just look plain rude and disrespectful.
Punishing stuttering and left-handedness is utterly reprehensible though.

noblegiraffe if they can’t get staff to supervise breaks then there’s no hope to make a change in the seated lunch policy.

Isn’t there some kind of law or Dept of Edu guideline that stipulates students to have a right to a break and be free to move, not ordered to sit whole lunch and then back to class SLANT’ing?

I agree, something not quite right with this particular policy

He's only allowed to remove his blazer(and jumper in winter term)when invited to in class by the teacher, which only happens in the height of summer, and has to wear both at all other times.
Sounds terrible. My child would be too hot to focus on learning in a jumper and blazer. His jumper bought a year ago has never been worn. Are you in a very cold part of the UK?

They can pay staff to supervise lunch, generally called midday supervisors. Or they can pay staff to do a lunch duty, but they can’t require staff to do a lunch duty.

Never heard of a school requiring its kids to remain seated all lunch, it sounds so bonkers there shouldn’t need to be a law against it.

DumbledoresApprentice my teen has a rare hereditary genetic disease and sees specialists at GOSH. Static seating for long periods is physically painful. It manifests in an inability to sit still for too long before muscles seize and movement is the only relief. He’ll even tap on his legs to provide some relief. The school knows, but the anxiety of being told off just makes it worse. Stress exacerbated the symptoms.

Regardless, many students would find long periods of seated lessons difficult and you see it with their inability to sit still after awhile. Shifting in their seats, knee bouncing, etc... this isn’t rudeness, it’s often unconscious and a result of stress.

This would be ideal time to get the students up to stretch out their growing legs and aching backs from constrictive desks, rather than being told off and punished.

I don’t know, maybe most students are manipulative and just mess around to the point that students with actual needs get dismissed entirely

All sounds very draconian to me.
UK Chief Medical Officer states that children should be getting at least 30 minutes of physical activity at school daily, so these policies contravene Government guidelines

Doesn’t your DS have some sort of movement break card where he can get up and walk around or stretch? That would seem like a reasonable adjustment for SEND students that even a strict school should accept?

Can he not have some sort of card or exemption? I have students who have permission to sit in a different position or who have permission to get up and walk about every 20 mins or so. I think students should have more freedom to move around at break and lunch but having a general rule for those without medical issues they sit up, face forward and don’t fidget during teaching doesn’t seem extreme to me.

*noblegiraffe

Doesn’t your DS have some sort of movement break card where he can get up and walk around or stretch? That would seem like a reasonable adjustment for SEND students that even a strict school should accept?*

No! I should go in tomorrow and ask for one. They know his medical history and it might not resolve the incomprehensible seated lunch rule, he could at least get up and shake it out.

Although DesertCactus raises a valid point, I think there is a breach of their rights to be free to move on their lunch break.

The school responded that my DS did not select PE GCSE, so was only entitled to the Dept of Edu guideline of 2 hours of OE a week (all on one afternoon).

So they interpret that as they have no need to provide time to move the rest of the week, including their breaks?

There's absolutely no need for children to leave their seats at break or lunch. You don't see adults in offices running around during lunch breaks! DS's school makes them ask permission to leave their table at break or lunch for any reason.

The focus on silence in the corridors isn’t something I’d personally bother about if I ran a school but the rest of their behaviour policy is not especially draconian in my opinion, especially for in-class behaviour. They do expect students to SLANT etc, but students aren’t just given detention for glancing out of a window. Before they are given a “demerit” they are first given a non-verbal reminder, a verbal but unnamed reminder and then a named reminder. Students have a number of chances to stop slouching/chatting/fiddling/staring out of the window. It sounds very similar to the way we do things in my pretty relaxed school.
Agree.
I expect students to demonstrate active listening, to have manners, to work hard, to line up sensibly, to follow entry/exit routines, to ask good questions etc.
If a child spent my lesson gazing out the window instead of working then they'd lose some of their break/lunch because they've not produced work to the required standard.

I'd probably never work in a super strict school like the ones mentioned above, but I have some sympathy for what they are trying to achieve (and i'd rather work in one of those schools than a place with appalling behaviour where staff are verbally abused, physically assaulted and told that if only they hadn't expected Timmy to take his coat off then none of the disruption would have happened... well thing is thst with 10 set 6 they don't work unless you find a hook and make it fun for them. Instead do teaching the GCSE course, you could watch the film of Romeo and Juliet, then make a collage and get them engaged doing some discovery learning where students witj a reading age of 8 work out what was going on in the balcony scene. After all poor behaviour is a sign of a teacher who hasn't planned engaging lessons).

Correction: That’s 2 hours of PE