Our kids are banned from looking out of the window and aren’t allowed to hold a pen at school as it’s ‘too distracting’
FUMING parents have claimed their kids are being banned from looking out the window and holding a pen during classes.
The families have now started staging protests outside their youngsters’ North Devon school as they claim their children are spending more time in detention than learning.
It comes after the Ilfracombe Academy updated its behaviour rules, which families say is seeing their children unnecessarily punished.
They claim their kids get detention, which is called reflection, for holding pens, looking out the window, taking notes and being just a minute late to class.
But the school has defended itself, saying it’s just trying to maintain its “high standards”.
One mum, however, said she had taken the extreme step of pulling her Year 11 daughter from the academy as a result of the dramatic change.
The parent, who wanted to remain anonymous, claimed: “None of the lessons are the same as they were as they are made to look at the teacher only.
“There’s no looking at their peers or out the window. There’s no pen holding or taking notes while the teacher speaks.
“They have to be on their seats before the second bell goes off and they have to use a ruler to read books.
“It is like no personality is allowed from themselves or the teacher.”
One dad, Simon Parsons, said his children were coming home with similar stories.
As a result, he said his son was also “finding it very hard to cope”.
Simon said: “This year he’s spent a lot of time in reflection for minor things like fiddling with his pen, looking out the window and being a minute late to class.
“My son has attention-deficit disorder (ADD) and dyspraxia so it’s not his fault he gets distracted and is unorganised.”
He added: “If it gets bad enough I’ll be deregistering them like many parents have already done and home-schooling them.”
The strict rules are said to have come from a move for the academy to become part of the Athena Learning Trust.
While the school is still officially a part of St Christopher’s Trust, its new outlined behaviour procedure is headed with Athena.
Ilfracombe Academy today told The Sun: “Across the school, we uphold the highest standards for our students to ensure all those who are part of the school community can access learning without disruption to reach their full potential.
“A key part of this is ensuring our students can focus well and undertake lessons without disruption.
This year he’s spent a lot of time in reflection for minor things like fiddling with his pen, looking out the window and being a minute late to class.
Simon Parsons
“As part of upholding these high standards, students are asked to arrive to school on time, attend lessons promptly and be in their seat before the late bell rings, and attend school in the appropriate uniform.
“On rare occasions, when this is not achieved, students are asked to reflect on their choices and work from a different space for a short period, where their learning continues.
“We are pleased that many of our students maintain these high standards, and where parents have questions about the school’s behaviour policy, we encourage them to reach out to the school for a conversation.”
Athena Learning Trust previously said: “While the school isn’t due to join the trust until later this year, we are supporting them in engaging with the small number of parents who have contacted the school directly and are supporting the community more widely.
“We also know the school is grateful to all of the parents who have contacted them expressing their support for raising standards and expectations, so their child has a positive learning environment.
“As always, if parents have any specific questions, we ask them to contact the school directly.
“Within our trust, our priority is the safety, wellbeing and learning of students across all of our schools.
“We are committed to delivering high-quality education and work to ensure every student can access learning in a calm and productive environment to reach their full potential.”