Furious parents compare primary school to 'North Korean prison camp'

Furious parents compare primary school to ‘North Korean prison camp’ over rules ordering pupils to serve food, sing songs before meals and keep their hands behind backs to stop them running

• A school is making pupils keep hands behind their backs under a new set of rules
• The school said the new rule ‘prevents the temptation of using their hands’
• Older pupils are also now serving younger pupils at lunch time under the rules 
• One parent likened the rules to keeping the children in a ‘concentration camp’ 

Outraged parents have slammed a primary school for being more like a ‘North Korean prison camp’ after staff introduced strict new rules.

The new ‘Behavioural Curriculum’ includes children aged as young as seven having to walk around school with their hands behind their backs to prevent them from running.

Harnham Junior School in Salisbury, Wiltshire introduced the changes when the school restarted after the Christmas break. The youngsters are only supposed to put out their hands to keep their balance when going up and down stairs.

During lunchtimes, the children must sing a song together before they are allowed to sit down and eat.

Harnham Junior School in Wiltshire has introduced a strict new regime of rules for its pupils 

Children at the Church of England school have been told they must keep their hands behind their back when walking around the school 

While in a bid to reverse a ‘general decline in standards’ at meal times, older children must sit with younger ones and serve them their meals and clear plates away ‘like waiters’.

The mother of one Year Six child said her son was told off because he got another child’s pudding order wrong.

She posted on social media: ‘He told me he was told off as he got another child’s pudding order wrong and when he took it back to swap it he was told off. WTF, he is a child and not responsible for serving other children. Slavery was abolished hundreds of years ago!’

Each table must talk among themselves about a pre-determined discussion topic and be expected to speak to the whole hall afterwards about that subject.

Topics have so far included which colour is the most peaceful and what pet is best to keep.

Many parents have complained to the school that they don’t want their children to be treated as waiters.

There have also been reports of several Year Six pupils not having enough time to eat their own lunches because they were too busy serving others.

Some parents have said they are disgusted by the new rules and have likened the Church of England school to a prison camp or dictatorship.

An emergency meeting is now due to be held on Wednesday between headteacher Luke Coles and parents to discuss the issue.

Tim Bevington, 41, who has three children at the school, said: ‘Lunchtime is supposed to be when the kids can freely enjoy time with friends. They should be allowed to bond with their chosen friendship groups, not be forced to sit with people they don’t know.

Some parents accused the new rules of being ‘completely ridiculous’ and far too strict 

Teachers at the school said: ‘Changes that we have introduced will have a huge impact on creating a much calmer atmosphere’

‘My children are not waiters and waitresses, the kids should be responsible for their own mess.

‘And giving them a topic and forcing them to talk about it, in my opinion that’s another lesson. Lunchtime should be time for them to relax and get ready for afternoon lessons.

‘It’s all completely ridiculous. I will not have my kids being forced to walk in the halls with their hands behind their backs like they are in a detention centre or concentration camp.

‘I don’t know what the school is playing at but I’m fuming and have written to them complaining.’

One mum, who wants to remain anonymous, said: ‘My son came home really upset and scared. He is worried about going into school now.

‘It’s making a lot of children uncomfortable and anxious about going to school and I think making them walk with their hands behind their back is ridiculous.

‘And the fact they didn’t inform parents beforehand is disgusting.’

Nick Snook, 35, whose daughters attend the school, said: ‘I don’t understand what they think the benefits of these rules will be. They seem to be punishing everyone because of a few children misbehaving.

‘It’s madness. I can’t see how this will be good for the majority of kids, it sounds more like a military school or prison camp than a primary teaching children as young as seven.’

On social media others jokingly questioned if the headteacher was Kim Jong-Un and many parents said they would be pulling their children out if this was their school.

In a letter to parents outlining the new ‘Behavioural Curriculum’, assistant headteacher Ruth Fletcher said they didn’t consult with parents as they thought it would ’cause unnecessary angst’.

The letter stated they were basing the new rules on research by Bill Rogers, a British education consultant and author of behaviour management books, Doug Lemov, a US educator and author, and Tom Bennett, the lead behaviour advisor for the Department of Education.

Miss Fletcher said: ‘This isn’t something that has just been decided without any thought. Extensive research has been used, not to mention other schools visited by staff to identify what has been tried, tested and works.

‘I recognise that when you hear what we are trying to implement it does sound very formal, however when you see the results it is far more relaxed than it actually sounds.

‘Changes that we have introduced will have a huge impact on creating a much calmer atmosphere and will help to ensure all children enjoy coming into school daily.’

The teacher added that some children had said lunchtimes were often too loud and not very pleasant.

The school now has ‘Family Lunch’ sittings involving a mix of all years.

The letter said: ‘This reinforces the value of the older children being role models to the younger children and also allows the children to mix with others who might not be in their immediate circle of friends, encouraging an atmosphere of inclusivity, extending friendship opportunities and practising making new friends.’

It said the children would sing along to a familiar song to allow the whole ‘family group’ to arrive before sitting down to eat, making the start of lunch calmer, and a discussion topic would be shared ‘to promote talk around the table because research shows children who eat at a formal dinner table have improved vocabulary’.

Referring to the hands behind the back rule, the letter said: ‘Research, and experience, shows that it is difficult to run without moving your arms and so the routine of children having their hands behind them encourages all children to walk.

‘It also prevents the temptation of using their hands in other ways that might not be acceptable.

‘Obviously, there are times, for example, when walking down stairs, when this would not be a good idea and so children would be expected to use their hands/arms in the usual way to steady themselves.’

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