Green bibs for naughty pupils
A SCHOOL could force pupils to wear bright green bibs for “community-service” litter picking if they skip detention.
One concerned mum warned the plan could “humiliate” those punished.
She said: “I don’t like the idea of my kid having to wear a bright green bib.
“If they do something wrong then punish them, but that just seems like humiliation to me and could cause mental health and anxiety problems.” The 2,000 secondary pupils at Kenton School Academy, in Newcastle upon Tyne, will first receive warnings if they behave badly.
Those who ignore them will spend the rest of a lesson in a “reflection room” and get a 30-minute detention that evening.
Should they fail to turn up, they are given a more severe form of detention.
But the school adds: “That will be cancelled should the pupil undertake 30 minutes of community service… such as litter picking or assisting in clearing the canteen. Pupils will wear a green hi-vis bib.” Principal Sarah Holmes-Carne said she is “more than happy to listen to parents’ views” as a consultation into the community service plan gets under way.
In 2014 then Education Secretary Michael Gove said pupils should be made to do chores under approved punishments including litter picking and mopping floors.
Ofsted boss Amanda Spielman said this year that sanctions like writing lines or cleaning up were “entirely appropriate”.