Guidance was meant to prevent students at Great Yarmouth Charter academy feigning illness to duck out of lessons

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

A Norfolk school that advised teachers to provide buckets for pupils to vomit in during lessons has backtracked, telling parents that “genuinely unwell” children will receive proper treatment.

The bucket guidance surfaced in a document given to teachers at the start of the year at Great Yarmouth Charter academy, after the struggling school was taken over by the Norwich-based Inspiration Trust.

The Eastern Daily News reported that the document distributed by Barry Smith, the school’s new headteacher, listed a series of rules and practices that teachers and pupils were to follow – including the suggestion that pupils be offered a bucket if they said they felt ill in class.

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“We all know children say things like that to get out of work. You never pretend to be ill to get out of work because we expect you to work through it. If you feel sick we will give you a bucket. If you vomit – no problem! You’ve got your bucket. That’s probably all your body wanted – to vomit. If you are really ill we will make sure you get all the attention you need,” the document said.

Inspiration Trust said the induction document was only meant to be circulated to staff internally, and the school issued a clarified behaviour guide for pupils and parents this week.

Under “sickness and absence” the revised rules state: “Pupils may sometimes pretend to be ill to avoid classes they do not like, and teachers will make a judgment call as to whether a pupil is genuinely unwell.

“Where a pupil is genuinely unwell the school will make arrangements for their care, and will contact parents if appropriate.”

The revised rules also soften other punitive measures contained in the earlier document, including a threat to confiscate any mobile phones seen during school hours.

They include advice to pupils to be in bed by 9.30pm on school nights, after they have checked the contents of their pencil cases “to make sure you have three black pens that work, two sharp pencils and a 30cm ruler. You don’t need anything else in your pencil case”.

In a letter to parents this week, Smith described “a great deal of rumour and speculation on social media” over the new rules, and offered to hold a parents’ meeting at the school on Thursday.

Formerly known as Great Yarmouth high school, the school was taken over and renamed by Inspiration Trust in August after several years of poor exam results and being rated as inadequate by Ofsted.

Ofsted inspectors visiting the school found that many lessons were disrupted by misbehaviour.

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“Pupils told inspectors that all of their lessons in some subjects are disrupted by the behaviour of a small number of pupils. In lessons, inspectors observed pupils openly defying teachers, answering back, refusing to work and leaving classrooms when they chose to. Pupils told inspectors that this was typical,” the report stated.

A follow up visit by inspectiors late last year found that “the school’s culture of behaviour and promotion of a safe environment for pupils remains inadequate”.

Smith took over as headafter a spell as deputy head at Michaela community school in London, the free school founded by Katharine Birbalsingh that has become famous for its stringent discipline.

Many of the rules he has imposed resemble those used at Michaela and other similar schools. Critics say they unfairly penalise pupils for minor deviations.

Tom Bennett, an independent school behaviour adviser to the Department for Education, said pupil illness was one of the difficult issues faced by teachers.

“It’s obvious to most teachers that many students exploit this excuse in order to duck out of lessons. On the other hand, no teacher should allow a genuinely sick student to suffer in their lesson,” he said. “Personally I would err on the side of kindness and trust.”

Inspiration Trust said the initial response from parents and pupils to the new rules had been positive.