Disruptive kids year 7

[Cornishbelle]

So a few weeks in and through chats with our dc (yr7) , it's clear there are a handful of characters shall we say in the form group

Parents evening coming up and wondering how to broach it and what expectations would be? Dc says any class they are with one certain kid at least 15 to 20 mins is wasted through the disruption this kid causes. Today dc has come home with a broken ruler as the kid smashed dcs pencil case with their fist. And has put my dc in a headlock several times.

School in general has good feedback and good ofsted, dc is doing well and achieving so far, they need stretching sometimes and I do not want disruptive kids ruining school experience, as I'm sure any parent wouldn't

So far the kid involved has had an internal exclusion several detentions etc was back Tuesday and it seems nothing has changed

They're not going to tell you anything about another child. So many children now have behavioural difficulties expect this in every classroom.

Yes I'm aware they won't speak about another child and I wouldn't expect them too. But I do expect my kid to be able to be able to go to school and learn without being put into a choke hold or having their belongings destroyed!

Id expect that too. But this kid with behavioural issues is in their class so it is unlikely to happen. This is the next five years for them.

I raise like this 'DD says she often has trouble concentrating on her learning as the class is quite lively at times' or similar.

I think you need to point out your child is experiencing violence towards them and their property, and ask the teacher if there is a policy around keeping kids safe in this situation.
In reality, the teachers will be frustrated as well, and aware of the impact it is having on the class.

If your child is literally being put in a chokehold or having their things destroyed, you need to escalate that straight to the HOY or something because that is violence.

However, if it's just low level chatter/disruption, there really isn't much you can do about it. I'm sure the teacher is aware but as others have pointed out, there are behavioural issues everywhere.

If the kid put your ds in a headlock you should report it.
If the kid smashed his ruler deliberately then you can report it though I would personally pick my battles and buy him another ruler.
Every class has kids who take up staff time. Staff go through the discipline policy with the child and yes this takes time. There isn't a solution to this as the child has a right to an education too even if he is dicking about. In all likelihood your ds won't be with him forever but there will be others.

Complain. Complain that your child is being put in a headlock as this is physical assault and needs addressing.

Complain that your child's stuff is being broken and ask that he is not sat anywhere near the kid who broke it.

Is this targeted bullying or is this child putting everyone in headlocks and smashing their stuff?

And complain that the school behaviour policy is so ineffective that 20 minutes of every lesson time is being wasted dealing with it.

Parents evening isn't the place to raise this, it needs bringing up sooner.

Op’s child has a right to a safe education, complain.
children with behavioral issues don’t trump those who don’t.
By guilting parents and teachers into believing that high needs students are entitled to disrupt no one gets the education they should.

I wouldn't be waiting until parents' evening for this one! I'd be complaining now...

My daughter has a couple of lively characters shall we say. One was in her last primary school class and she was sad to find him in her new tutor group 😞 I can't believe there's already been a suspension and an expulsion already? They're 11 and 12 FGS :(

The idiot from our primary has continued to disrupt lessons at high. The child is feral & parent doesn't care. In isolation by week 2. The poor kid has no chance in life but I also feel for the school & other kids having to put up with it.

Honestly it does remind me of high school back in the 90s, there were always a few disruptive ones, it is disheartening but I tried to explain it to dc that it's kind of a microcosm of life, you will encounter these from time to time, he explained to me the kid involved hadn't been at school since- seems to be in for a day, collect a raft of punsihments and is then on internal exclusion etc for a few days

So hard to hear these things going on, dc said he pushed back against the headlock and hasn't happened since, I will still raise about the policies in a general way at parents evening. Thanks for all who have contributed. Let's hope the kids causing these problems accept any help and learn to change, they're all someone's child after all

You would be better off raising it now, by email, ask for policies and ask them to confirm it is being dealt with. Ensure you have a log of it. Follow up as needed. You probably won’t be the first to raise it.

I have seen this too many times. Escalate now, and monitor. Don’t make parents evening about this issue.

Yr7 is always lively in the first half term, and most settle down by Xmas, however not all. There will always be disruptive kids in schools, it’s how the school deal with it that counts. If they have temp excluded/isolated already it sounds like they are taking action. Unfortunately it might not give an instant change of behaviour, they must be following a process in order to have reached that stage. The parents must be fully aware of what has happened.

Your child should not be suffering assault and abuse from other children. If the school aren't keeping him safe, you should contact the police.

Your child should not be losing out on learning because of other children.

It's not about the other children though, it's about the systems and protocols at the school.

Principals and assistant principals should be visiting lessons all day every day to know exactly what is happening. They should be supporting teachers to implement a robust behaviour system consistently. They should have a behaviour curriculum that they are using to teach children to how to behave in school and in wider society. They should be aiming for absolutely no disruption to lessons, so no learning is lost.

Ask if they are doing these things. If not, ask when they are bringing them in.

However, if they haven't already made improvements (and I've seen these changes happen almost overnight, it doesn't take long once they've decided to actually do it) I would start looking for the next nearest school that is.

Look for local articles about parents being upset because their children aren't allowed to disrupt lessons. That's where good work is happening!

Read their safeguarding and behaviour/discipline policies and ask how they are going to keep your DS safe. Look at what they say in eg their prospectus. If they aren't following their policies or other statements they have made, complain to the governors.

However ... we had same issues in Y7/8, we met with his tutor and the deputy head, we were given assurances, nothing much changed, eventually deputy head said "there's little we can do if they don't get taught good behaviour at home" and admitted they couldn't really do anything else. It stopped when the child left. Hope you have more luck.

"there's little we can do if they don't get taught good behaviour at home"

Of course there is. They could teach them good behaviour. Arguably, it's these kids who need clear boundaries, consequences and a behaviour curriculum the most. Why do schools sidestep this responsibility?

@OctogenarianDecathlete because schools always there to educate and teach the curriculum. It is the responsibility of parents to teach children manners and good behaviour. If the parents can't be arsed/are unable to parent correctly then there is only so much that the school can do.