Restorative Justice, one of the worst system-level strategies you can imagine. I've lost track of the number of schools I have supported out of this well-meant but destructive model, where behaviour has spiralled out of control because boundaries have become meaningless. This article demonstrates exactly why, and how it happened in the US. It is a cautionary tale for the age.
The extraordinary thing is how it was implemented so far and so fast with *almost no credible evidence to suggest that we should*. It was strategy based on vibes. 'This feels right.'
It was also yet another triumph of education elites over education experts: no one in school was crying out for this. Nobody was saying 'please make it impossible for us to send students out, or reprimand them, or set boundaries, if they disrupt or harass their peers.'
But that's what they got, and they were penalised if they didn't.
RJ can be a useful tool. But it's closer to a glass cutter than a screwdriver; it's niche, not the default.
https://t.co/HmRROqMntW
@bswud 2/2 it was only thanks to the Matron who DEMANDED someone come and sign it that we got anything. He was rushed to Alder Hey who saved him. Ruptured appendix and infection markets through the roof. Lucky to be alive
@Tesco Imagine my surprise when the local Tesco express (Wistaston) suddenly announces it isn’t taking Evri parcels anymore??? As of ‘last night’ apparently? Wouldn’t it have been courteous to let customers know via email (which is what your colleague told me has been done?).
@InhalerDublin what a night in Liverpool, lads!!! You were AMAZING as ever! Been with you since August ‘21 when I saw you at The Deaf Institute in Manchester. So proud of what you’ve achieved. Getting better and better! ♥️🙌🏻
The current Scottish guidance on behaviour is a travesty. It suggests responses to chaotic behaviour that are completely ineffective for the minority of persistently defiant or violent students. It has become part of the problem.
People in Scottish Ed like to say ‘there is no place for disruption in our schools.’ But there is- there’s a lot of space for it, and wishing it away doesn’t make it so. In fact it exacerbates it.
Kids need love but they also need boundaries. And boundaries without penalties are just serving suggestions with no impact on anyone who chooses to ignore them.
Scottish schools are actively discouraged from suspending or excluding by their line management in councils, and by every arm of the government education sector- and leaders are penalised for doing so. The culture is led by people who could not themselves manage behaviour in a challenging setting, or advise others to do so.
Scottish children- and school staff- deserve much better. They’re being robbed by the system supposed to support them.
It takes a lot to make staff strike over misbehaviour. Children need boundaries as well as compassion- in fact, having them *is* a form of compassion. Well-meant, encouraging chats aren’t enough. And when behaviour isn’t safe, calm and dignified, everyone suffers. https://t.co/VSaG7LkI75
@adamboxer1 Just been chatting to Richard @RichardWh84 and he’s been telling me about Carousel. Do let me know if you need any French resources writing for it 👍🏻
You sit in the back of a taxi. You’re supposed to put on your seat belt, but you forget. But the car doesn’t. It beeps and beeps to remind you. Even if you ignore it, it beeps away until you get fed up and put the belt on to stop it. The beep is both a signal and a deterrent and a penalty.
This is how mild, inescapable sanctions in school work. They nudge you gently into the behaviour you need to succeed.
Certainty, not severity.
This is not ‘just like prison’. This is how we use extrinsic motivators to build intrinsic motivation. And if you think even car seatbelt beeps are oppressive, then your fragility will render you incapable of navigating the real world.
A 2.8% rise but no extra funding.
That means schools are expected to absorb the cost, pushing budgets to a 15-year low.
Staff cuts. Resource cuts. Still no fix to the recruitment and retention crisis.
We can’t afford this.
❌ REJECT this offer. ✔️ Vote YES to strike action for a fully funded, higher pay award. 👉 https://t.co/HBTsM148gK
#FundFairPay #SaveOurSchools