Unenforced Rules Part 2: Rules around school
Which rules often get ignored?
The Story So Far…
One of us1 recently wrote a blog post about how teachers sometimes don't follow their school's behaviour policy.
Following on from that, we are looking at which school rules are frequently not enforced and why. We're talking about the rules that are often either completely ignored or where the only sanction is a reminder, and there’s only a punishment if the student continues to break the rule. We will be basing this on our experience as teachers.
In Part 1, we discussed rules regarding classroom behaviour.
In this post, we will look at behaviour around school.
One-Way Systems
Many schools tell pupils that they can only move in one direction in certain corridors to avoid congestion. However, one-way systems are another rule that may start well but gradually break down. When corridors aren’t crowded, it may seem as though it doesn’t matter if pupils follow the directions. But this quickly becomes “it’s only enforced when it’s crowded” and then pupils start ignoring it all the time. Over time, the rule stops being a rule and becomes more of a guideline.
For a one-way system to work, schools require a clear policy: it must be enforced during lesson transitions, when it’s needed most. And at those times, it must be enforced 100%. Any pupil who tries to go the wrong way should be stopped. Like many rules that fall by the wayside, this is also about visibility. There should be signs everywhere—particularly at bottlenecks and pinch points on the school site.
Older school buildings can present the biggest challenges. Narrow corridors and stairwells create potential health and safety issues, and these areas require the most visible signs and the most consistent enforcement. It can’t just be classroom teachers taking responsibility, either. If teachers are in the middle of moving between classrooms themselves, they aren’t in a position to supervise corridors. Schools should think carefully about who is responsible for enforcing these systems and where they are placed.
Whether the one-way system is enforced in quieter places has an impact on whether bottlenecks become crowded in the first place. Often, the system exists to direct pupils away from these pinch points. If it isn’t enforced consistently, the system will fail.
Out-of-Bounds Areas
Rules that govern which areas are out-of-bounds are also frequently ignored. It is common for there to be rules against pupils being inside the building at break and lunch. Often, there are rules about whether they can go into classrooms or certain parts of the school site. However, it only works if there are clear rules and consistent enforcement. Without big signs and every member of staff checking, these rules quickly cease to be followed.
Sometimes, it is staff that are the problem. Senior leaders might say, “You don’t come in at break or lunch,” but then individual teachers tell pupils, “Come to my office at lunchtime.” Once that happens, the rules fall apart. They have to be enforced universally. Teachers cannot give pupils permission to break the rules, because it creates too many grey areas. As soon as they do, pupils learn to exploit it. When you’re on duty, there’s no easy way to check up on those claiming: “I need to speak to my Head of Year” or “I need to see my form tutor”. Once exceptions become common, any pupil can invent an excuse. You find yourself having the same conversations again and again:
“I have to see my Head of Year”.
“Has your Head of Year asked to see you?”
“Maybe.”
Enforcing out-of-bounds rules becomes even more important during exam season. More pupils have access arrangements now, which means more of the school is being used for exams. Poor behaviour in out-of-bounds areas — or crowds of pupils where they shouldn’t be — can easily disrupt a GCSE exam. It’s necessary to think beyond the day-to-day stress of gatekeeping corridors and doorways. In May and June, enforcing out-of-bounds rules makes a real difference.
Eating in the Wrong Places
A similar issue is that of pupils eating where they’re not supposed to. Many schools have a rule about no food outside the canteen, but there may be no realistic way for all pupils to eat lunch in one place. As a result, it becomes quietly accepted that they will eat in the wrong areas. You find yourself watching pupils walk into lessons with food still in their hands, wondering how they got there without anyone stopping them.
This isn’t necessarily something schools turn a blind eye to, but when pupils don’t know where they can or cannot eat, the boundaries get blurred. Before long, pupils are eating in all sorts of places. It soon becomes both ridiculous and unhygienic. The worst example of this is when pupils bring food into the toilets. One of us had the job of policing toilet entry at break-time, and pupils have walked in holding food. It’s hard to believe you even need to tell anyone not to bring food into a toilet — especially a boys’ toilet — but you do.
It’s also closely related to the problem of littering. Staff generally don’t tolerate pupils dropping litter if they see it happen. But we often tolerate situations where littering is inevitable — such as when pupils are allowed to take food from the canteen into classrooms. Once pupils are taking the food they’ve just bought to all parts of the school, litter will soon be everywhere.
Corridor Behaviour
Corridor behaviour is another area where schools typically have clear rules that are largely unenforced. Many schools have expectations such as:
“Don’t run in the corridors.”
“Walk on the left.”
“No shouting.”
“No loitering.”
But without a proper, consistent system for dealing with pupils across the site — especially those pupils you don’t teach — these rules quickly become meaningless. Enforcement is difficult. Teachers can’t challenge every pupil in a corridor without knowing who they are. Rather than confront poor behaviour they have no means of addressing, many teachers avoid the corridors altogether.
In some cases, this can become genuinely unsafe. Just one or two pupils messing about can quickly escalate into shoving, piling on, bottlenecks, or crushes. One of us has been in that situation — in an urban school — and was genuinely afraid to step in. The risk of being overwhelmed was too great. It can be frightening to intervene in a moving crowd that’s out of control. Some pupils thrive on creating this chaos. They want the corridor to feel noisy and unpredictable. And without a system that allows staff to hold them accountable, it’s difficult to push back.
Some schools have well-managed corridors. Often, this is because they’re small enough that staff know every pupil. However, larger schools can have well-managed corridors by using a conduct card system, where each pupil carries a card which is used to record warnings about certain behaviours. In an effective conduct card system, the sanction for refusing to identify oneself by handing over the card is more severe than for the behaviours recorded on the card. Most pupils will accept a minor consequence for poor behaviour rather than risk the bigger one for not handing over their card. This type of system makes corridor expectations enforceable.
A new problem has made things worse in recent years. Pupils (typically those with SEND) may be given permission to leave a lesson early to avoid the crowds. However, they frequently then spend that time loitering outside whichever classroom their friends are in. They’ve left early, but they won’t be arriving early to their next lesson. That should be the key check: were they actually trying to avoid the crowds? Or were they using the pass to spend less time in lessons and more time meeting up with their friends?
To Be Continued…
Part 3 will focus on uniform rules.
With help from the other.
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