All schools should have a steadfast behaviour policy that is clear, consistent and easy for staff and students to follow. The creation of that policy, though, is never easy.
In my school, we have recently updated and refined our systems of reward and punishment. It took nearly a year to finalise and it was scrutinised at all levels by staff, middle leaders and senior leaders. Amendments were suggested, and made, edits were constantly carried out and checked. There was even a cross-curriculum team of teachers that made up a voluntary working party who met at lunchtimes to iron out the finest details.
All this was done so that when it was officially rolled out, every member of staff was on the same page.
What we did not do at any point was ask the students to contribute.
Pupil voice?
I have seen many a debate about how pupils should help to set the rules, or at least offer some advice about what those rules might be. The idea is that if they engage in the creation of the rules, they are more likely to abide by those rules because they have some investment in them.
I am happy to say that this has never been the case in a school I have worked in.
The simple reason for this is: they are the kids, we are the adults. If we don’t make (and keep) the rules then why are we here?
Surely our job as teachers is to provide a safe space where students feel able to take risks and push and challenge themselves to the best of their abilities. And, likewise, staff should feel safe in the knowledge that poor behaviour will not be tolerated.
Furthermore, if and when poor behaviour does occur, there needs to be total parity about how it should be dealt with. Consistency is key. After all, behaviour policies are as much for the staff’s safety and wellbeing as for the students’.
Free pizza, anyone?
And what sort of rules are we expecting the kids to come up with?
Just for fun, I asked some of my students what they thought would happen if students were allowed to contribute to school’s behaviour policies and they came up with gems such as: “no detentions ever”; “no homework ever”; “no essays ever”; “teachers to plan more fun into lessons” and “compulsory pizza for lunch every Wednesday”.
This is why they have not been consulted.
There were, of course, a few more sensible and sage members of the pupil community who came up with more adult suggestions but, on the whole, the theme of these was very much the same. It all boiled down to one word: fair.
Fairness is indeed the backbone of every good behaviour policy. But who knows what fair looks like better than those who are expert practitioners - the teachers?
Katie White is a secondary teacher in the south-west of England
