I’m hearing more and more examples of school micro-control of teenagers. Behaviour points for the wrong earrings or socks, for not being immediately ‘on-task’ or for losing your pen. Schools say that if they control the small stuff, the big stuff will follow. They are wrong. 1/ This isn’t how human psychology works. Humans dislike being made to conform in every tiny detail. They push back. They want to be able to choose their own socks. Quickly, this can lead to stand-offs between schools and teenagers. 2/

Let's imagine that we have 100% attendance. Every child is in school. The sick ones, the unhappy ones, the ones who have just lost their parent or grandparent. The ones who are only just four and can't quite manage a whole day yet without a nap. They're all in. 1/ What would happen? What would be happening in those school buildings which was so amazing that it would be worth the suffering and distress it would take to insist on everyone being there? 2/

If only the problem was attendance. If only the real issue was just that children aren’t at school, and so they can’t learn. For then the solution would be so simple. (illustration @_MissingTheMark) 1/ Get them back to school and let the magic happen. No matter how hard it is. ‘Every day counts’ as they sometimes say (in which case, I’m stuffed, I missed an awful lot of days of school). 2/

Why is it, when we’re told that we have to prepare children for the ‘real world’ it always means making them do unpleasant things? It means making them get up early every morning, or wear clothes they hate. 1/ It means they must be in school every day, even if they aren’t learning anything. It means ‘holding them accountable’ AKA punishment, if they fail to comply with the demands of adults. It makes making them do things they don’t like, without allowing them to stop.2/

Why do our schools use public humiliation and shame to control children’s behaviour? Here’s what children tell me about that - and the effects it had on them. 1/ They tell me that from early on, when they are four and five, their names are placed onto charts at the front of the classroom. Sun if you’re ‘good’, raincloud if you aren’t. Very quickly everyone knows who the trouble makers are - and that doesn’t help them behave. 2/

I’ve been talking to young people who have struggled with school attendance. Sometimes called school refusers, or phobics, or those with emotionally based school avoidance (EBSA). Here’s what I’ve learnt. 1/ They tell me stories of what happened to them at school - and all of them tell me about about controlling environments which caused them high levels of distress. 2/

One of the mysteries of life for me is why we have designed school in such a way that it requires children to do so many things which are very hard for them - and which become much easier in adulthood. 1/ We require them to sit still when they are desperate to move. To stay in their seats when they want to crawl under the table. To keep quiet and listen when their body wants to play and shout. 2/

The Science of Discovery Learning. What Every Teacher and Parent Should Know.
Young children (up to age 7) are discovery learners. In evolutionary terms, their task is to explore all the possibilities. They discover foundational principles about how the world works. 1/ Discovery learning is done through experimentation, observation, action&imitation.We call this play.Developmental psychologists see children as scientists, constructing hypotheses&testing them. “What happens if I drop a plate? Ah, it breaks. Does that hold true the next time?”2/

We do not value discovery learning enough. Discovery learning is not inferior to mastery learning. We don’t need to move children on from discovery learning to mastery learning. All children are born as discovery learners. 1/ Young children explore the world, driven by their wish to participate and experiment. Discovery learning is broad, wide-ranging and unpredictable. They are active and creative problem solvers. A lot of it happens through play. 2/

Pointing Out A Problem. I was listening to a podcast about something unrelated to parenting, or school, or autism. The guest was talking about his experiences leaving a religion with abusive leaders. He raised the alarm as a teenager, thinking that others would act.1/ What happened was that he was called rebellious. The youth leaders told him that he needed to pray more, to be more forgiving, and to stop stirring. His parents were informed that they should discipline him better. 2/

Many autistic children have a hard time with school. It’s not that they don’t want to learn – but the way that school is set up makes everything hard. Lots of people, all day. No space to get away and decompress. 1/ (illustration by @_MissingTheMark). No time to follow your interests. Loud noises and school dinner smells. Abrupt transitions. Shouty voices. Bright lights and scratchy shirts. Managing all of that can take up so much of their emotional energy that they haven’t got much left for anything else. 2/

Some children need to know they can say No before they can really say Yes. They need to know that they that they are free to go, and therefore, they are also free to stay. Knowing that they can leave makes it possible for them to join in. 1/ (illustration by @_MissingTheMark) Unfortunately this isn’t how we raise children in mainstream parenting culture. In fact, a lot of parenting is predicated on the assumption that we shouldn’t let them say no, because they might take up the opportunity to do so. ‘We just don’t give them the option!’say parents.2/

Most parents don’t want their children to say no. We want the enthusiastic “Yes’s”, not the ‘Not for me thanks”’. We are disappointed when they refuse, or when they say they don’t want to go back. We see quitting as a defeat (with @_MissingTheMark) .1/ We add parental pressure by saying ‘Oh that’s a shame’ or ‘I don’t have money to waste you know’. The child feels bad about their No, and in some cases they change their mind because of that. In other cases they absolutely don’t change, but they still feel the pressure.2/

This is a banner which was hung in at least three schools in York by the South Bank Trust, a MAT. It is harmful to young people and their families, and it is dishonest. This is why. 1/ This is not how learning works. Learning cannot be equated to minutes at school. Young people are not ‘learning’ every minute they spend at school, and ‘not learning’ every minute that they are at home. This under-values everything that young people do at home. 2/

Is disruptive behaviour at school either because children just don’t want to behave (and need stricter boundaries and consequences), or alternatively due to their unmet needs? No, and here’s why not. 1/ Behaviour is what we see, and it has many causes. The child’s temperament, their past experiences and the environment (inc adults). All three of these interact. I play a game – that’s behaviour. No unmet need, I just want to. Behaviour is not always due to an unmet need.2/

What if He's Behind? I talk to lots of parents who are worried about their children. They’ve been told that they are behind, and that they will need remedial help to ‘catch them up’. 1/ They say to me, but I’ve been told that my child is behind in X, and they must follow a special programme. Surely that means I have to make them do it? Isn’t that really important? 2/

I'm seeing webinars and reports, tweets & press releases about attendance. Children must attend school, we’re told, or else their lives are effectively over. They stop learning, they are less likely to get good exam results. Get them into school, no matter what. Push harder. 1/ Currently if a child is struggling to attend school, most of the ‘support’ they get is about making them go back to school. There’s very little support which prioritises learning. School attendance and learning are seen as the same thing.2/

I worked with a family once who wanted to give their children a truly screen-free upbringing. They had gone to extraordinary lengths to do so. They moved to the countryside and surrounded the children in mud and wooden toys. 1/ They did not allow video calls to grandparents in another country. They did not use devices to play music or search for information. If their mother (the primary carer) wanted to use her phone she would lock herself in the toilet so they didn't see the screen. 2/

What's the most important thing to do if your child is struggling to go to school, or even hasn't attended for months? It's not to force them back in as quick as possible - because you've been told that if you don't, they might get used to being at home and never go back. 1/ It's not to pressure them and tell them how important it is, and how their life will be so much harder if they don't go. It's not to set consequences and show them who's boss. It's not even to fight for accommodations or an EHCP. 2/

Do schools need to make adjustments to meet the multiple different needs of children? I say Yes! (and so does @_MissingTheMark) 1/ I say that a mistake we are making in education is that we are pretending that young people are essentially all the same, and that their needs can be met with a standardised package of education. We treat them as blank slates, as buckets to be filled. 2/

Is it 'lowering expectations' to be flexible and make adjustments for individual students? Do all students have to be made to do the same thing or be let down? No. 1/ Here's the thing about 'high expectations'. All children cannot be the best at school. It is not possible. School is competitive. Doing 'well' is defined as doing better than everyone else of your age group. 2/