Whole year punishments

[Lemoncurd]

Are these a common technique?

Something happened at my 13 year old's school. He doesn't seem to know what, only that it involved football and some pupils were suspended. As a result ALL of the boys in his year have to stay in at break and lunch time "for the foreseeable future". It has been nearly two weeks now and no further mention of this or when they will be allowed outside again has been made.

He says he has never played football at school, his friendship group doesn't hang about with those who do, didn't witness anything, weren't involved in any way. He also says that some girls play as well as people from the year below, but only the boys in his year (about 120 of them!) are being punished. Feels a bit extreme to not only have sanctions for something he wasn't involved in, but to not even know why.

I've heard of whole class but never whole year. It's a bit of a failure as a punishment if he doesn't even know what he is being punished for.

Sign of a school in meltdown, to be honest

If somethings happened and they can't pin point the individuals then this is what happens at least it did at my school.

We spent time inside at break until the people who were responsible owned up.

He says that they were all called into an assembly where they were chastised about "rowdy behaviour when playing football". The sanctions were then declared. He never played and probably a good proportion of the rest of them don't either, or weren't involved in whatever triggered this.

We thought it was a really good school. We were so impressed last year. It seemed to be such a positive, motivating environment.
This year he is so frustrated (this is the second major thing that has impacted him unfairly this term).

I'm trying to decide whether to ask school about this, to understand better.

If it's only the boys that are being punished, it's sex discrimination, surely?

That's mad. Letter to the head time.

You could email the tutor

I feel quite strongly about this. My ds is very quiet and actually gets stressed with people dicking about in class, so when the teacher says she's punishing them all then it's like he's being punished twice. I would want a full explanation from them on why he's being punished and to what end.

Sounds like a ridiculous course of action from the school.

I'll be honest, a simpler come down on the ring leaders, ban all ball games until further notice and continue to sanction and exclude those who willingly flout basic rules is a much better response.

I'd be talking to the school.

Ask the school