Glenmoor and Winton currently have a system in place that sees children being sanctioned for things they are not responsible for and the sanctions are often unreasonable. This, for many parents and students alike, has created an environment of fear, anxiety and helplessness. 

Children are displaying behaviours ranging from self-harming and refusing to go into school to a strategy of not caring anymore.

Children are put into detention for something as simple as losing a sharpener or dropping a pencil case. 

The law states the school may impose a REASONABLE sanction if a child has misbehaved.

There are several instances where a child has not misbehaved, their parents have simply not bought them something they need or they are unaware that they have fallen foul of an arbitrary rule and are given a detention or put into reflection. This is not a reasonable sanction even if you could consider such trivial things, usually outside a child's awareness, as "misbehaviour"

Parents and children alike are fearful of repercussions from the school should they stand up for themselves or children. 

As the creator of this petition I can say that neither of my children have ever been in any trouble for actually misbehaving in their school lives. They both received the awards for best behaved child in their previous school each year and yet they're constantly terrified of sanctions. 

This petition is to say,

We the parents want a new system where children are only sanctioned if they have actually misbehaved and we want those sanctions to be reasonable. 

Furthermore we want the school to create an environment where both students and parents feel safe to come forward with their grievances. 

Below are included testimonials from other parents. Most parents have asked to remain anonymous so they are all anonymous however testimonials can be viewed on request. 

 

My son was issued a detention for not understanding his homework and getting a low score? He completed the homework three times but failed to achieve 70% despite trying his hardest each time. 

Concerned parent

 

My son came home from school yesterday crying and this is not the first time he is in year 10 now and has had a feeling of being targeted by certain teachers all the way through school. I know my son has no issues with discipline he has been in the Army cadets for two years and I am always told what a kind lovely boy he is. It’s been a constant battle since year 7 and now he actually gets quite depressed. 

Concerned parent 

 

My son has pretty much given up even trying at school at this point - he’s had 2 isolations and 3 detentions so far since sep for ridiculous things like dropping his pencil case by accident ! Their policies will backfire because kids feel like they can’t so anything right  so what’s the point ! My son was never in trouble his whole way through Talbot yet seems everyday he’s getting detention or reflection for the most stupidest things

Concerned parent 

 

One of the reasons we decided on the school was that they don’t tolerate bad behavior however the  majority of sanctions that are handed down are not for bad behavior but minor infringements of petty rules or policy.  My child has been told that it is preparing them for life in the adult world or world of employment however if my employer treated me the way they are treated then they would be challenged for bullying and harassment in the workplace.  My daughter was put in isolation for a week due to an unnatural hair colour it was cherry black (so had a hint of red) I could understand if she went to school with pink or green hair but you could only see the red when the sun shines through it.  They say that your school years are the best years of your life unfortunately this hasn’t been the case for our daughter she cannot wait to leave.

Concerned parent 

 

My son is in yr11 and doing so well but he's that kind of kid, likes a challenge, likes discipline and is very confident. My daughter on the other hand is the complete opposite, she's just started Yr 7 and is shy, anxious, timid and lives everyday in fear of her anxiety taking over which will result in her being punished. She gets so nervous when she's picked out in class and has been threatened with detention if she doesn't answer correctly again, she's worried her nerves before school will cause her to forget something (maybe a high lighter) and will end up in iso or detention.

Concerned parent

 

There is clearly a strong disconnect in communication around detentions with whatever automation is in place further compounding the situation and adding to children’s stress and anxiety during an extremely difficult time in any child’s life. Where there are underlying mental health issues this is bringing them to the surface for the first time and repeatedly triggering and amplifying the situation.

We certainly have been worried about taking that to the school

Concerned parent