Using sanctions is a complicated business because no one likes to be punished. Not strictly true, I know, for the sado-masochists. But on the whole we favour praise over punishment.

Think about it: you park on a double yellow and dash into the newsagents. On your return, a traffic warden stands grinning beside your car, ticket in hand. Do you (a) say “Thank you for showing me the error of my ways”, (b) plead for mercy or (c) explode in a volcanic rage?

In some schools, sanctions have little effect. What can you do to me, the damaged pupils cry, that hasn’t been done before? If the playground is a fearful battleground, detention becomes a sanctuary a reward, not a sanction.

Make sanctions count. Find a punishment your pupils don’t want to earn, then apply it calmly, consistently and fairly. Avoid empty threats: “If you do that again...”; “If you do that one more time...”; “No, really, if you ever do that again...” Aim for a note of regret rather than revenge. “Hah! Gotcha now!” is not an attractive approach.

Always, always, always follow up on your words, even if it means a cat and mouse game of epic proportions. If you don’t, sanctions will lose meaning. Chase that recalcitrant pupil until the end of time, but never ever give up.

And remember to reward the good pupils, in the hope that the others will follow suit. Carrot or stick? Merit or demerit? Chocolate or detention? Ah, now you’ve got my attentio *

Sue Cowley is an education author, trainer and presenter. Her books include Guerilla Guide to Teaching (Continuum). For more information, see www.suecowley.co.uk