Blogs

Managing behaviour: No more sink or swim

Behaviour Senior leadership Examinations & Qualifications
Today, managing behaviour is accepted as a whole-school responsibility. Gerald Haigh remembers a time when teachers could not rely on anyone else for support and were left to sink or swim – and he almost sank.

I have been reading about the way some of the newly converted academies are highlighting their strict discipline policies – zero-tolerance on uniform, standing up when an adult enters and so on.

All this talk of discipline, apart from bringing back some uncomfortable memories, reminded me of one of my favourite books. Called The Papers of AJ Wentworth, BA, and written in fact by HF Ellis, it purports to be the memoirs of a gently incompetent public school master. The running joke, beautifully constructed, is that though confident of his expertise, Mr Wentworth is constantly and unknowingly wound up by his pupils. Here he is with IIIA. 

Register now, read forever

Thank you for visiting SecEd and reading some of our content for professionals in secondary education. Register now for free to get unlimited access to all content.

What's included:

  • Unlimited access to news, best practice articles and podcast

  • New content and e-bulletins delivered straight to your inbox every Monday and Thursday

Register

Already have an account? Sign in here