reflection on introducing detensions as consequences

Over term 1 and now into term 2 the PE department has been keeping students back after school for acts of defiance. This has not happened in our school for a long period of time, mainly due to the logistics in following up students who do not attend and also because the school was advised by higher powers that detentions were not a productive way of improving teaching and learning.

I was initially concerned when introducing a consequences system that students would deliberately rebel against the system. There were also colleagues within the school that spoke to me about detentions not being culturally responsive. What convinced me that is was worth implementing was the Te Reo teacher, Matua Ian, who explained to me that consequences are culturally responsive and our students respond to discipline. I was also encouraged by John Rohs our principal who talks about us owing to our students the need for consequences of actions. This message resonated with me.

As a PE department, we agreed that defiance is an act of not following through with the teacher's reasonable request. This had to be explained to the students. Students who are defiant receive 10-minute detention after school. They are expected to come to us. When they don't, contact is made home and the students receive a one hour Friday detention. If they don't attend they are referred to Senior leadership.

In my mind consequences for students should not mean a consequence for the teacher. If the teacher has to put in extra work it is the teacher that is disadvantaged. Therefore students come to us and they do jobs that would otherwise have been done by the teacher or other students. Rubbish, cleaning, plugging in Chromebooks, jobs around the classroom all make the time productive.

Coming towards the end of term 2, we have got to the point where almost every student attends the end of day detentions. They are also a powerful tool the teacher has at their disposal in term of classroom management. We have had very few incidences of students being referred to Senior Leadership, and when this has happened Senior Leadership has been very supportive in resolving the matter.

In my mind, this action has been the single most important feature in increasing engagement and compliance from students in our department