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

This shit is starting to seep down into bloody primary schools. DD1 started at our local primary and the only bloody thing she learnt in her first half term of reception were numerous sessions where they were taken out into the corridors and taught how to basically march up and down the corridors with their hands clasped behind their backs in the "school style". Rule after rule like this - piled on 4 year olds!

She's an anxious type to start with - but by the end of the year there she was absolutely a wreck being terrified of breaking one of the endless endless lists of rules or walking down the fucking corridor "wrong" - we moved her and it took her a good half term or so for the anxiety to drop down to a tolerable level. At one point she had a screaming fit of terror after a parents evening at school that she might not be walking down the corridor properly at 6pm at night - it was ridiculous the effect it all had on her.

Neither of mine would cope in a Michaela hell hole... DD2 has SEN - so isn't wanted, and while academically she's actually very bright - doesn't ever appear to be paying attention in lessons - you can either have her sat beautifully still with eye contact, or you can have her actually taking in the content of the lesson. She'll recall it all, even if she's apparently been gazing at the light fitting all input time. DD1... it would send her anxiety levels through the stratosphere.

There's being strict and hot on behaviour (and I can fully understand the "no excuses" rule having been on the receiving end of a few Vicky Pollards in my time) and then there's idiotic heads on a power trip trying to big themselves up on Twitter about how amazing they are getting off on making kids' lives a living hell.

Still I suppose it sets them up for a career in a call centre where they're not allowed to pee unless given permission - which I suspect is the aim for many.

What we are doing to this generation of kids is fucking barbaric with these "take no shit" prison camps, signing over all our schools to massive multi-academy trusts to asset strip and run on nothing and allow to fall apart, decimating the teaching profession to the point it's something you do for a couple of years after qualifying before you have your nervous breakdown and are capabilitied out. We have forgotten CHILDREN completely and are just educating spreadsheets of data.

MilkyTea20 Adult go to spin class or even for a run at lunch breaks, I know plenty who do who work desk jobs. Most adult walk down to the shops to buy lunch and chill out in local green spaces with collegues on nice days. I have no idea what you’re on about

GrimSqueaker I’m Really sad to hear it’s started at that age...i can see why your DD wasn’t coping.

The behaviour modification does impact behaviour outside of school, and my DS was struggling with self initiative and assertiveness during summer break as he’d been conditioned by the behaviour policy in such a way that had a negative impact in the real world.

Glad you had DD moved.

I was one of the well behaved, quiet kids that did the work, usually got good grades and flew completely under the radar, even when I was struggling. Rules like these would have given me something to righteously rebel against. Either I’d have been organising a sit in protest in the playground, or my anxiety and depression would have got so bad I would have refused to go, and quite possibly done something really stupid.

If you’re not able to move him to a different school, can you see if you can find a different venue for him to sit his GCSE exams? In the same way that homeschooled kids do, I mean. I’m not sure how that would work in terms of lining up with coursework, but if it’s possible, it might remove some of the anxiety for him. And then you’d get the pleasure of sending the school a snotty email telling them exactly why they will lose out on your son’s expected high grades for their statistics.

You don't see adults in offices running around during lunch breaks

Many adults who work in offices are free to get up and go for a walk and some fresh air in their lunch break, if that's what they want. If they have a work canteen, they are no expected to sit in one place in that canteen for the entire break.

IreneWinters I’ve been thinking along those lines tbh. I wasn’t sure I could cope with homeschooling. I don’t have resources for tutors

Unless the OP moves or homeschools him he will count in the school’s results regardless of where he sits them. Any child who is on the school’s roll in January of year 11 has their results counted even if they move schools, sit there exams at another centre or are excluded before the exams. If a parent wants to pay for their child to sit their exam somewhere else it will save the school some money but won’t affect their statistics.

The head at DS's school has a clear policy for parents who choose not to support school policies and rules- get in line or ship out. All parents sign an agreement when they apply, which states that then and their DC can be immediately removed from the school if they refuse to support the school.

You have to have everyone- pupils, parents and staff, pushing in the same direction in a school, or it just won't work(which is why we have so many terrible schools in this country). People who don't buy in have to be taken out.

I'd be careful complaining about the lack of exercise in case they introduced North Korea style goose stepping sessions.

But seriously I would consider seeing if he can sit his GCSEs as an independent candidate.

Compulsory marching every morning is a great idea and I'd be delighted if DS's school introduced it. Great for pride and discipline.

I hope that schools choosing this route have strong SMTs who support but also audit teachers. Because the scope for weirdo teachers using this stuff to indulge their inner Stalin is massive.

Maybe a salute for the headteacher too

Discussion turning quite hilarious. I needed a chuckle with all the seriousness.

Milkytea20 is quite the Tiger parent

My DS’s friends all oddly very political and may very well organise a protest, demonstration, revolution, sit-in (although they do a lot of that already) or walk out or whatever!

When I was in year 6, our year did a school walk-out in protest to changes in curriculum that would affect us the following year. We all got 3 days suspension!

The tiger parent here must be trolling and laughing to death behind our back, no other explanations.

This whole thing is a ploy by these schools to get rid of children who will not cope with these strict behaviour policies. Parents will move them because of the conflict it will cause and they will end up in ordinary schools and overwhelm those schools whilst the 'super strict' schools have the children who can cope- ie those who are resilient, hvae self-control, don't have SEN and, in all likelihood are not from dosadvantaged backgrounds and have high levels of parental support. It's all to do with Gove's curriculum and exam outcomes. Free schools and academies don't want disadvantaged children or those with SEN- they can't manage them or get them good results.

To be fair I think that sort of regime is all well and good for a private school and parents who have chosen it but it's pretty unreasonable for a state school where you might unwillingly find yourself.

"You don't see adults in offices running around during lunch breaks!"

Um, I used to go to the gym at lunchtime in my office job. And quite often sit in the park to eat my sandwich. Name me an office which makes staff sit still in the staff canteen until their lunch break is over! Bonkers as conkers (both this school management and some on this thread!)

You don't see adults in offices running around during lunch breaks!

Certainly not inside. In my workplace they change clothes and run on the streets outside our office. Then they come inside and shower, using a shower that was installed for the purpose. Many modern workplaces recognize that there is a benefit to staff having a real break in the middle of the day that can include exercise for any worker so inclined.

To be fair our canteen is so overcrowded assigned seats might not be a bad idea.

frog
I don't like the policing of lunches and breaks in places like these, but I don't think some of the classroom rules are that unlike many schools.
I'm always a bit when I hear people from certain schools acting like they are the only schools to teach knowledge, the only school to do 'drills' (I've called them starter quizzes for years), the only ones to expect silence when the teacher is talking etc. Some of it (to me at least) feels like there's the aim to cause a stir and develop a reputation as the super strict school.

I think the danger with some criticisms of school policies like these is that the focus on more excesive/unusual rules can lead to otherwise perfectly sensible rules being dismissed. (E.g. to look at the person who is speaking, showing you are listening and being polite isn't a massive ask. Most places just don't call it tracking the teacher and talk lots about giving demerits for not watching.)

I think there is a difference of tone and in how they are applied though Maisy. It's one thing making it clear to kids that paying attention to the teacher and making eye contact when speaking is expected, but quite another enforcing it by lengthy detentions and isolation. A good school doesn't need to act like a gulag, and indeed most schools don't, even good schools in tough areas. There was a great secret teacher article in the guardian about how mutual respect was essential in teaching difficult kids, and that putting kids in lengthy internal isolation for minor transgressions was tantamount to denying them an education - essentially an easy way out for schools to cut loose their more difficult kids. It's a really worrying trend imo, particularly given the lack of accountability within the academy system.

frogsoup
I agree approach is everything.

I guess it's probably a teacher chip on my shoulder but I find it really insulting the way some of those types go on like the options are either:

1. Do it out way and we are the only ones who have high standards
2. You clearly don't teach the students anything and your lessons are always disrupted.

It's equally annoying when blanket comments about how draconian some places are because they 'give detentions for looking out the window'. Reality is that in most schools if you repeatedly stare out the window and aren't getting on with your work then there'd be a sanction.

I think many of those places take what many teachers do anyway, codify it more, add a few more 'look at how strict we are' rules and then sit back and enjoy the commotion. Meanwhile those who seem to have a massive issue with rulea and how awful these places are get het up about all these awful rules and end up throwing the baby out with the bathwater because if more schools had higher standards and stronger discipline then some failing schools might stand a chance of giving kids more options in life.
Sometimes the nuance gets lost in behaviour debates (all generall comments by the way, not at you).

It is social engineering.

I agree in principle but I think in the case of these new academies it is not just a case of parents up in arms about rules that are actually in place everywhere - some of them are genuinely pretty grim. I know the child of a friend had the misfortune to end up in one of these places and he literally had a detention every day, for months at a time. He wasn't wildly out of control either, it was just a miserably authoritarian place with no apparent sense of humanity or proportionality. Ditto those academies in the news recently with exclusion rates of up to 75% of pupils. That isn't just anti-authority parents with a bone to pick about reasonable school rules - it really is more than that. I think the school the OP is talking about is similar. I'm all for rules that enable kids to learn, but it's clear that some of these academies are all about outward apperance - improving failing schools certainly involves improving discipline, but as a teacher I'm sure you'd agree that setting up a productive and mutually respectful educational environment is not really just a case of sending home any child that dares to have their shirt a shade off regulation colour or take their blazer off without permission in 35 degree heat. It's focussing on trivia at the expense of what matters.

*appearance. I can spell really, honest