Shame is not a Weapon.

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It’s that time of year. Sad little faces in newspapers holding up flat, back shoes. Angry parents railing against new heads. Edu twitter bursting into cyclone levels of argumentative energy in which sides rail against each other using the spear of shame as a weapon. Stop shaming schools! Cries one side. Stop shaming children! Cries the other.

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Entirely Without Compassion

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There seems to have been a lot said recently on the merits of a ‘no excuses’ behaviour policy – some of it quite self congratulory. But I have some questions about the impact that the overall ethos of bragging about being “strict” has on other schools.

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Putting the Heart Back into Learning


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I held a child back last week for detention. He’d been shouting out and generally being annoying and so I kept him back. I know that the point of a detention is supposed to be a punishment, but for me, it’s a chance to get to know this person a little better.

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