Feeling nervous about disciplining one child

[Tillyop]

I'm going to keep it vague as it's quite identifying. YR7 child. Low level disruption getting increasingly worse. I'm his form tutor.

It's got to the stage of calling in parents. Child has triggered a level C sanction 5 times this term. However, child's parents are both educators. One a headteacher the other quite high up in another trust.

I'm not feeling confident about taking this meeting at all. The child is nice enough, nothing very serious, but a big 'character' in the classroom, shouting out, not listening etc.... possibly a bit cocky thinking he is being protected by his parents?

How would you approach this? Would you ask for someone more senior to sit in with you during the meeting?

If you need someone senior then ask.

However it may work in your favour as you can put ball back in their court if they argue.

Eg 'how like you deal with a child who is disrupting the learning of others on a regular basis'.

I was considering taking that tact, I have specific examples and batting it back to them as to how they would deal with it?!

DH and I have attended a meeting about one of our DC over the years when DH was a headteacher and I a deputy head. My only feeling really was a touch of annoyance we weren’t told earlier to nip it in the bud, DS is the kind of child who isn’t great with leeway! Once we knew and were on it it was an instant turn around, he’d just chanced it thinking he could play silly buggers. Ultimately he matured and got better.

I could see to be fair she was visibly shaking so we didn’t mention not being told for ages and made supportive noises. Poor woman, the head of DS’s school was his godmother so she must have feel pretty scared!

Honestly, in parent mode heads tend to be pretty chilled.

Have you any indication that his parents will be anything other than supportive?

I’m not sure I’d be asking their opinion on how to deal with it. Your school has its own policy and just stick with that. Tell them what is behaviour is like, with specific examples, and what sanctions have been applied. He should be going on a monitoring report or whatever system your school has.

Will the kid be at the meeting? That would be a good time to agree some targets for moving forwards.

Child will be at the meeting

@sloeberry, it’s interesting you’ve said that as there were comments about why they hadn’t been told before it got to this stage (luckily someone else’s failings not mine)

If sanctions aren't working and the child's impulsive behaviour continues, perhaps someone ought to be thinking of undiagnosed SN.

It's common for a child to be fine academically but behaviourally disruptive and generally "the class clown" not because they want to be the centre of attention, but because they want to deflect from things they find difficult.

Ask your SENCO to observe him.