Education Matters

I was excluded from school once, many, many years ago. I’m not sure that I deserved it and likewise I’m not sure that the head teacher really wanted to do it but as she said: ‘rules are rules and actions have consequences’. 

I certainly paid for my actions when my dad found out but, more importantly, I learned my lesson. Since then I’ve often been put in the position where I’ve had to exclude pupils from school myself. I rarely have, but before I do, I always remember my own experience, how I felt about it, the impact it had on my family and, similarly, what the child involved was going to learn from the experience, before I go ahead with it.

If you have ever found yourself in a similar situation, you will know what I’m talking about.  Schools don’t exclude children lightly. It can have a very negative impact on children and can lead to a developing grudge against school or a feeling of alienation if not handled properly. 

Besides teaching children the curriculum, schools have another equally important role, that of teaching children life-skills that will help them as they grow into adults, parents do too.

Schools have behaviour management policies for a reason and there are usually many steps designed to encourage reflective behaviour before exclusion is even considered.  Schools will always engage parents if their child’s behaviour is developing negatively and their standard systems for managing behaviour don’t seem to be working. 

I don’t how many times throughout my career that parents have ignored these warning signs leading to great surprise when things escalate towards more serious measures.

If you are getting calls from school asking you to discuss your child’s behaviour, act on them as this is your opportunity to support your child through what can be a confusing and distressing time in their life. 

Children behave badly for a myriad of reasons, but there is always a reason behind bad behaviour in school and by working with teachers and heads, they can usually be combatted before it gets too late.