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"With great power comes great responsibility": the three nuances of a successful 'zero tolerance' classroom


“With great power comes great responsibility” and the best manifestation of this in teaching is zero tolerance behaviour policies. Many recent articles about these policies appear to infer that they are discriminatory and cruel. To an extent, I agree: If used incorrectly, they can act as a sledgehammer cracking a nut. However, if used in a thoughtful and nuanced manner, they can help to create strong bonds between teachers and pupils and ensure an excellent learning environment for all.

I think there are three main principles or nuances which should be applied when using zero tolerance or high expectations behaviour policies:

1. High expectations don’t just apply to the pupils:
Just as ‘zero tolerance’ creates high expectations for pupils’ behaviour, I believe it creates high expectations for teachers’ teaching.

It is no coincidence that I believe that my teaching has improved the most during my time at a school with a ‘zero tolerance’ behaviour policy: teaching in an environment in which high or low level disruption does not occur revealed the true quality of my practice. I suddenly realised that I had actually been planning 45 minute lessons, rather than 75; before this point at least 30 minutes of every lesson was spent managing behaviour or constantly asking for quiet. If my pupils did not understand something or finished my lesson misunderstanding a concept, I couldn’t say that it was because they weren’t paying attention or could not focus.

My school enforces its ‘zero tolerance’ stance by isolating pupils for twenty four hours if they disrupt learning or do not follow instructions. If I isolate a pupil, I need to have a restorative conversation with that pupil and ring home to discuss the isolation. This too, forces me to look at my practice and how I teach: I cannot maintain my integrity as a teacher if I ring home and inform parents that I took their child out of lessons because they weren’t paying attention to the DVD I was playing or they weren’t focused when creating a poster.

2. Teachers need to create situations which allow pupils to succeed:
One of the biggest errors I made when first using a ‘zero tolerance’ system was assuming that just applying the system was enough.

As with my first point, I believe that ‘zero tolerance’ policies create a responsibility for teachers just as they do for pupils. In order to use these systems effectively (so that they are there but there is little or no need to use them), teachers have to create an environment in which pupils find it easy to comply with them.

On analysing lessons when I first used this system, there was usually a correlation between the number of pupils I isolated and the quality of my activities and instructions throughout the lesson: pupils often began speaking or fidgeting because they had nothing to do or pupils shouted out because I had no made it clear how they were expected to respond.

This is not to absolve pupils from responsibility. Rather, I believe that it is important that, if I have to isolate a pupil, it is clear that there was no legitimate reason for them to act as they did. My responsibility is essentially to create a situation in which it is easy for them to comply with the system.

3. Application needs to be entirely transparent:
My last nuance links in closely to my second: pupils need to 100% clear when they are not meeting my expectations and why.

When I was training I had a discussion with another trainee who proudly told me that she didn’t tell her pupils how many warnings they had because “it was for her to know”. Even then I can remember passionately disagreeing and pointing out that her pupils would just keep pushing until they found out how many warnings they were going to get.

In order for pupils to respond positively to ‘zero tolerance’ systems in the classroom it must be clear to them that it is not personal and that it is being applied fairly. It sometimes makes me look like a pedant, but whenever I give a warning or send pupils to isolation, I ensure I always explain why I am doing so, often asking them to explain it back to me.

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